Day 11: Body Parts — Learn Chinese in 30 Days

What You’ll Learn Today

Body part vocabulary sounds basic until you need it — and when you need it (at the doctor, pharmacy, or after an accident), you really need it. Today we cover the essentials plus the single most important medical phrase you’ll ever learn in Chinese.

The Most Important Phrase: …疼

To say something hurts in Chinese, put the body part first, then add 疼 (téng):

• 头疼 (tóu téng) — headache / my head hurts
• 肚子疼 (dù zi téng) — stomachache / my stomach hurts
• 背疼 (bèi téng) — back pain
• 脚疼 (jiǎo téng) — my foot hurts

At a doctor’s office: 我[body part]疼。 — “My [body part] hurts.”

Full Body Reference

Chinese	Pinyin	English
头	tóu	Head
脸	liǎn	Face
眼睛	yǎn jing	Eyes
耳朵	ěr duo	Ears
鼻子	bí zi	Nose
嘴/口	zuǐ / kǒu	Mouth
牙	yá	Teeth
脖子	bó zi	Neck
肩膀	jiān bǎng	Shoulder
手臂	shǒu bì	Arm
手	shǒu	Hand
胸	xiōng	Chest
肚子	dù zi	Stomach/Belly
背	bèi	Back
腿	tuǐ	Leg
脚	jiǎo	Foot

Sentence Patterns

Pattern 1: Describing pain

我头很疼。— Wǒ tóu hěn téng. — My head hurts a lot.

Pattern 2: At the pharmacy

我需要止痛药。— Wǒ xū yào zhǐ tòng yào. — I need pain relief medicine.

Pattern 3: Calling for help

我需要去医院。— Wǒ xū yào qù yī yuàn. — I need to go to the hospital.

Cultural Note

In China, Traditional Chinese Medicine (中医 zhōng yī) is practiced alongside Western medicine. Many Chinese people visit TCM practitioners for issues like chronic pain, fatigue, and digestion — alongside or instead of seeing a conventional doctor.

Pharmacies (药店 yào diàn) in China often sell a wide range of medicines without prescription that would require a prescription in Western countries. For minor ailments, pharmacists can advise you directly — bring a translation app to describe your symptoms.

Practice Exercise

How do you say these in Chinese?

1. I have a headache.
2. My stomach hurts.
3. I need to go to the hospital.
4. Where is the pharmacy?

Answers: 1) 我头疼。2) 我肚子疼。3) 我需要去医院。4) 请问药店在哪里？