Course
Unit 13 · Intermediate
Health and the body
Get help when you're unwell: say what hurts, ask for a doctor or pharmacy, and recognise altitude sickness on the trail.
In this unit you'll learn to
- Say "I'm not well" and where it hurts
- Name key body parts and symptoms
- Ask for medicine, a doctor or a hospital
- Recognise altitude sickness (lek laagyo)
Listen along
Health and illness (lesson 13)
Public-domain audio — FSI Nepali Basic Course (via Live Lingua).
At the pharmacy
Traveller
मलाई सञ्चो छैन।
Malai sancho chhaina.
I'm not well.
Pharmacist
के भयो?
Ke bhayo?
What's wrong?
Traveller
टाउको दुख्यो र ज्वरो आयो।
Taauko dukhyo ra jwaro aayo.
I have a headache and a fever.
Pharmacist
कति दिन भयो?
Kati din bhayo?
For how many days?
Traveller
दुई दिन। औषधि छ?
Dui din. Aushadhi chha?
Two days. Do you have medicine?
Pharmacist
छ, यो खानुहोस्।
Chha, yo khaanuhos.
Yes, take this.
Vocabulary
- सञ्चो sancho
- well / healthy
- बिरामी biraami
- sick / ill
- दुख्नु dukhnu
- to hurt / ache
- टाउको taauko
- head
- पेट pet
- stomach / belly
- ज्वरो jwaro
- fever
- औषधि aushadhi
- medicine
- डाक्टर daaktar
- doctor
- अस्पताल aspataal
- hospital
- लेक लाग्नु lek laagnu
- to get altitude sickness
Grammar
"I'm not well" and "X hurts"
Malai sancho chhaina = "I'm not well" (literally "to-me wellness isn't"). For a specific pain: [body part] dukhyo / dukhchha — Taauko dukhchha ("my head hurts"), Pet dukhyo ("my stomach hurt").
Notice malai ("to me"): in Nepali, feelings and ailments attach to you with -lai, not with "I have".
"What's wrong?" — Ke bhayo?
Ke bhayo? ("what happened?") is the everyday "what's wrong?". Answer with the symptom: Jwaro aayo ("a fever came"), Rughaa laagyo ("I caught a cold"), Vamita bhayo ("I felt sick / vomited").
Altitude — lek laagnu
High on a trek you'll hear lek laagyo ("got altitude sickness"). If you feel a bad headache, nausea and dizziness while climbing, the rule is to descend: Tala jharnu parchha ("must go down"). Worth knowing before Everest or Annapurna.
Practice
1. Say "I'm not well."
Show answer
मलाई सञ्चो छैन। (Malai sancho chhaina.)
2. Say "I have a headache."
Show answer
टाउको दुख्यो। (Taauko dukhyo.)
3. Ask "Do you have medicine?"
Show answer
औषधि छ? (Aushadhi chha?)
4. Ask "What's wrong?"
Show answer
के भयो? (Ke bhayo?)