Hi, everyone. Today I wanted to go through a list of vocabulary and some phrases
that you might need if you go to a German "Krankenhaus", or what we call in the States "a hospital".
This could be just for your regular checkup, which in German we call a "Vorsorgeuntersuchung"
or it could be for a "Notfall", which would be an emergency.
In case of an emergency in Germany, you can call 112,
which is basically the German version of 911.
This will put you into contact with the "Notfalldienst" or the German emergency service.
This will get you "Polizei" (police), "Feuerwehr" (fire department),
or, what you are more than likely going to be needing, since you are watching this video,
a "Rettungsdienst".
A "Rettungsdienst" translates directly as "rescue service"
These are the people who are going to show up in a "Krankenwagen", which is an ambulance in German.
They will then, of course, take you in the "Krankenwagen" to the "Krankenhaus".
There you will be seen by either an "Arzt", which is what I am dressed as right now,
or "die Ärztin", if it's a female.
More than likely you are going to see either a "Krankenschwester" or a "Krankenpfleger" before you get in to see the "Arzt".
This is basically the same system as it is here in the States. You see a nurse before you can see the doctor.
Now, once you get to the "Krankenhaus", whether that be with the "Krankenwagen",
your own "Auto" or "mit dem Bus"
"oder mit dem Zug, oder einfach nur zu Fuß".
It doesn't matter. The first thing you are probably going to have to do is answer some questions about why you are there
and, of course, fill out some stuff about your insurance.
The German word for "health insurance" is "Krankenversicherung".
At this point someone might ask you a few questions.
One of those questions being, "Wie geht es Ihnen?" (How are you doing?)
Don't expect to hear the common "Wie geht's?" when you go to a German "Krankenhaus".
Of course, this will be a little bit more of a formal situation, so you obviously aren't going to be using the "du-form" with anyone involved in this conversation.
You can answer this question "Wie geht es Ihnen?" in a variety of ways. Here are a few examples.
Es geht mir schlecht. (I am doing poorly.)
Es geht mir nicht gut. (I am not doing well.)
Ich fühle mich schwach. (I feel weak.)
Mir ist schwindlig. (I feel dizzy/woozy.)
Mir wird schlecht. (I am getting sick.)
Usually this means that you are about to throw up.
Ich bin krank. (I am sick.)
Of course, if you are here for a regular "Vorsorgeuntersuchung", you could say,
Ich bin gesund. (I am healthy.)
Beyond the usual "Ich bin krank" and "Ich bin gesund"
there are a few other things that you can say "ich bin" to.
Ich bin müde. (I'm tired.)
Ich bin erkältet. (I am sick.)
Ich bin verletzt. (I am injured.)
Ich bin heiser. (I am hoarse.)
You might also hear the phrase, "Was fehlt Ihnen?"
This is probably a follow-up question to the answer you gave before.
Again, based on your reason for going into the "Krankenhaus" to begin with, you may have different answers here.
You can start with the basic "Ich habe" (I have)
and then you have a few options that you can go with. Here are some of the simpler ones.
Ich habe Kopfschmerzen. (I have a headache.)
Ich habe Halsschmerzen. (I have a sore throat.)
Ich habe Zahnschmerzen. (I have a toothache.)
Ich habe Rückenschmerzen. (I have a backache.)
Ich habe Bauchschmerzen. (I have a stomachache.)
Ich habe Fieber. (I have a fever.)
Ich habe eine Erkältung. (I have a cold.)
Ich habe Husten. (I have a cough.)
Ich habe Schnupfen. (I've got the sniffles.)
Ich habe eine Grippe. (I have the flu.)
Ich habe Durchfall. (I have diarrhea.)
Why do I get the feeling that one of my students is going to take that part of the video out, loop it in a gif and then put it up on Instagram or somewhere.
Ich habe eine Krankheit. (I have a sickness.)
This is pretty vague and your doctor may get a little upset with you if you just keep saying,
"I'm sick." "I don't feel well." but you don't actually give them any instructions.
Ich habe Krebs. (I have cancer.)
Ich habe eine Verletzung. (I have an injury.)
FYI: Normal people are going to say "Ich habe mich verletzt." or "Ich bin verletzt."
Ich habe mich erkältet. (I have caught a cold.)
There are also a bunch of other phrases that just don't fit into that nice, neat, little
you know, "Ich habe" or "Ich bin". So here are a few of those phrases.
Mein Kopf tut mir weh. (My head hurts.)
Mein Ohr tut mir weh. (My ear hurts.)
Meine Nase tut mir weh. (My nose hurts.)
Meine Zähne tun mir weh. (My teeth hurt.)
You can just say "mein" or "meine"
followed by whatever body part it is that hurts you.
If it is a single form, you would use "tut".
If it's a plural form, you're gonna use "tun".
Don't forget you also have to have "mir weh" at the end of the sentence.
If you want to see more vocabulary with body parts in it,
you can check out this video that I did a long time ago with Mr. Potato Head.
Ich huste. (I am coughing.)
Normally, I would say "Ich huste ständig." (I am coughing constantly.)
Ich zittere. (I'm shivering.)
Ich falle in Ohnmacht. (I am fainting.)
Normally, you won't be able to say this while you are doing it, so you might be saying it after the fact,
saying "I fainted."
Ich bin in Ohnmacht gefallen. (I fainted.)
Or you could say "I feel faint."
Ich fühle mich der Ohnmacht nahe. (I feel close to fainting.)
Ich breche. Ich erbreche. (I am throwing up/puking.)
Again, you probably won't say this while you are doing it, so you might need the phrase,
Ich habe gebrochen or Ich habe erbrochen. (I threw up.)
Ich habe mich versehentlich geschnitten. (I accidentally cut myself.)
Ich wurde von jemandem geschnitten. (I was cut by someone.)
Ich wurde von etwas geschnitten. (I was cut by something.)
Ich wurde von Glas geschnitten. (I was cut by glass.)
Mein *insert body part here* entzündet sich. (My *insert body part here* is inflamed.)
Again, depending upon the gender of the noun, or if it is plural, you might need to add "meine" instead of "mein".
Also, if it's plural, you're going to use "entzünden sich" instead of "entzündet sich".
Again, Mr. Potato Head. Body parts.
Ich habe mich verbrannt. (I burned myself.)
Ich habe einen Herzinfarkt. (I am having a heart attack.)
Ich habe einen Herzinfarkt gehabt. (I had a heart attack.)
Ich habe einen Unfall gehabt. (I had an accident.)
Once the "Arzt" or "Ärztin" has taken a look at you,
they will probably tell you what you need to do in order to get better.
They may prescribe (aufschreiben)
some kind of a "Medikament" (medication) or "Medizin" (medicine)
This means they will hand you a "Rezept",
which is your prescription
and you'll take this "Rezept" to the "Apotheke" (pharmacy).
They may give you a "Pflaster" (bandaid),
or sometimes called a "Heftpflaster".
Sometimes, if just something simple like this won't do,
you may need something bigger, which is called a "Verband" (bandage).
They may prescribe you a "Tablette" or tablet or pill.
Sometimes also called a "Pille", which is like "pill", but with an "e".
Sometimes they will tell you to just take something simple like "Aspirin" (aspirin).
They might also prescribe you some kind of salve or in this case an ointment, which in German we call "Salbe".
The salve may come in handy, falls du dich verbrannt hast. (in case you have burned yourself.)
If you have "Husten" (a cough), you might take "Hustenbonbons" (cough drops)
or "Hustensaft", which literally means "cough juice"
Obviously, in English we call this "cough syrup".
If you have something wrong with your "Augen" or your "Ohren",
you might be prescribed some type of drop, which they call "Tropfen".
Now that you're "fertig" (finished) with your "Besuch" (visit) in the "Krankenhaus" (hospital), you can "geh nach Hause" (go home) and "ruh dich aus" (relax).
Bald wirst du wieder gesund. (Soon you will be healthy again.) Gute Besserung. (Get well soon.)