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125 Japanese Medical Terms You Should Know [Audio Included]

asian doctor talking to elderly couple

Whether you find yourself residing in Japan or just visiting the country, having a grasp of medical terminology is invaluable. While we all hope for good health, the unexpected can happen, and you never know when you’ll need to see a medical professional or discuss an ailment. 

Furthermore, health-related topics frequently arise in everyday conversations. Let’s go over 125 Japanese medical terms for body parts, physical and mental ailments, treatments and more.


The Body — 体 (からだ)

Important-organs-in-human-body

These body parts in Japanese will come in handy when talking about medical issues, and about the body in general. 

JapaneseEnglish
足首 (あしくび) ankle
腕 (うで) arm
背中 (せなか) back
血液 (けつえき) blood
骨 (ほね) bone
頬 (ほお) cheek(s)
耳 (みみ) ear
目 (め) eye
足 (あし) foot
額 (ひたい), おでこ forehead
歯茎 (はぐき), 歯肉 (しにく) gums
手 (て) hand
頭(あたま) head
心臓 (しんぞう) heart
尻 (しり) hip
臓器 (ぞうき) (internal) organ(s)
腸 (ちょう) intestine
膝 (ひざ) knee
脚 (あし) leg
肝 (きも), 肝臓 (かんぞう) liver
腰 (こし) lower back, lumbar spine, waist
肺 (はい) lung(s)
口 (くち) mouth
筋肉 (きんにく) muscle
首 (くび) neck
鼻 (はな) nose
肩 (かた) shoulder
皮膚 (ひふ) skin
胃 (い) stomach
こめかみ temple
腱 (けん) tendon(s)
喉 (のど), 咽喉 (いんこう) throat
歯 (は) tooth

Example:

リンゴをかじったら、歯茎から血が出た!

(りんごをかじったら、はぐきから ちが でた!)

“When I bit into an apple, my gums bled!”

Physical Ailments — 体の病気 (からだの びょうき) 

little-girl-with-fever

No one wants to deal with physical ailments, but they inevitably arise. Here are some Japanese terms so you’ll know how to talk about them when they do. 

JapaneseEnglish
アレルギー (あれるぎー) allergy
細菌 (さいきん) bacteria
癌 (がん) cancer
咳 (せき) coughing, a cough
中耳炎 (ちゅうじえん) ear infection
熱 (ねつ) fever, heat
頭痛 (ずつう) headache
感染 (かんせん) infection
炎症 (えんしょう) inflammation
麻痺 (まひ), しびれ numbness
痛み (いたみ) pain
痰 (たん) phlegm, mucus, snot
肺炎 (はいえん) pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs due to fluid)
脊椎側湾症 (せきつい そくわんしょう), 側湾症 (そくわんしょう) scoliosis (abnormal twisting or bending of the spine)
喉の痛み (のどのいたみ) sore throat
捻挫 (ねんざ) sprain, torn ligament
捻挫した足首 (ねんざしたあしくび) a sprained ankle
腫れ (はれ) swelling
症状 (しょうじょう) symptom
腱鞘炎 (けんしょうえん), 腱炎 (けんえん), 腱の炎症 (けんのえんしょう) tendonitis (inflammation of the tendon)
ウイルス (ういるす) virus

Example:

 
(かれはかぜにかんせんし、せきとねつのしょうじょうがでています。)
 
“He has been infected with a cold, and he is experiencing symptoms of coughing and fever.”

Mental Ailments — 精神病 (せいしんびょう)  

young-depressed-woman

Mental ailments are common and require specialized attention. In order to get the necessary help for ourselves or a loved one, we need to know how to talk about them. 

JapaneseEnglish
中毒 (ちゅうどく) addiction
アルコール依存症 (あるこーる いぞんしょう) alcoholism
摂食障害 (せっしょくしょうがい) anorexia
不安症 (ふあんしょう) anxiety
注意欠陥・多動性障害 (ちゅういけっかん・たどうせいしょうがい) attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
自閉症 (じへいしょう) autism
やけ食い (やけぐい) binge eating
双極性障害 (そうきょくせいしょうがい) bipolar disorder
依存症 (いぞんしょう) dependency
うつ病 (うつびょう) depression
障害 (しょうがい) disorder
摂食障害 (せっしょく しょうがい) eating disorder
強迫性障害 (きょうはくせいしょうがい) obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
创傷後ストレス障害 (そうしょうごすとれすしょうがい) post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
精神障害 (せいしん しょうがい) psychiatric disorder
統合失調症 (とうごうしつちょうしょう) schizophrenia
ストレス(すとれす) stress

Example:

彼女はうつ病と不安症に苦しんでおり、精神障害の治療を受けています。

(かのじょは うつびょうと ふあんしょうに くるしんでおり、せいしんしょうがいの ちりょうを うけています。)

“She’s suffering from depression and anxiety and is receiving treatment for her psychiatric disorders.”

Treatment — 治療 (ちりょう)  

giving-anesthia-to-woman-in-operating-room

These terms for medical treatments in Japanese will certainly come in handy if you ever have to visit a hospital in Japan. They’ll also boost your understanding when watching medical dramas in Japanese!

JapaneseEnglish
麻酔 (ますい) anesthesia
抗生物質 (こうせいぶっしつ) antibiotics
包帯 (ほうたい) bandage
歯科 (しか) dental
診断 (しんだん) diagnosis
医者 (いしゃ) doctor
緊急 (きんきゅう) emergency
検査 (けんさ) examination
病院 (びょういん) hospital
免疫 (めんえき) immunity
注射 (ちゅうしゃ) injection
婦人科 (ふじんか) gynecology
薬 (くすり) medicine
看護師 (かんごし) nurse
腫瘍学 (しゅようがく) oncology
耳鼻咽喉科 (じびいんこうか), 耳鼻科 (じびか) otolaryngology (medicine of the ears, nose and throat)
痛み止め (いたみどめ) painkiller
患者 (かんじゃ) patient
薬局 (やっきょく) pharmacy
錠 (じょう) pill, counter for number of pills
処方箋 (しょほうせん) prescription
向精神薬 (こうせいしんやく) psychotropic drug (medicine for psychiatric disorders)
放射線学 (ほうしゃせんがく) radiology
回復 (かいふく) recovery
外科 (げか) surgery (department)
手術 (しゅじゅつ) surgery (operation)
療法 (りょうほう) therapy
治療 (ちりょう) treatment
レントゲン (れんとげん) x-ray

Example:

 
(いしゃは かんじゃに ますいを つかって しゅじゅつを おこないました。)
 
“The doctor used anesthesia on the patient and performed surgery.” 

Medical Verbs — 医療動詞 (いりょうどうし)

mother-giving-child-medicine

Japanese verbs related to health and medical treatment are good to know so you can communicate clearly and understand the doctor’s instructions.

JapaneseEnglish
麻痺する (まひする), しびれる to be paralyzed
出血する (しゅっけつする) to bleed
噛む (かむ) to chew
治す (なおす) to fix, cure, heal someone
痛い (いたい), 痛む (いたむ) to hurt
手術する (しゅじゅつする) to perform surgery
処方する (しょほうする) to prescribe
治る (なおる) to recover
再発する (さいはつする)  to relapse, the disease returns
噛まず飲む (かまず のむ), 噛まないで飲む (かまないで のむ) to swallow whole
腫れる (はれる) to swell
薬を飲む (くすりをのむ) to take medicine
治療する (ちりょうする) to treat
捻挫する(ねんざする) to twist/sprain/tear a ligament
診察する (しんさつする) to examine

Example:

彼女は足を捻挫して、今は腫れているので、薬を飲んで痛みが和らぐのを待っています。

(かのじょは あしを ねんざして、いまは はれているので、くすりをのんで いたみがやわらぐのを まっています。)

“She twisted her ankle, and it’s swollen now, so she’s waiting for the pain to heal by taking medicine.”

Other Useful Vocabulary — 他の役立つ語彙 (ほかの やくだつ ごい)  

health-insurance-claim-form

Here are some more terms in Japanese related to health and medicine that you may find useful in your travels or daily life. 

JapaneseEnglish
急性 (きゅうせい), 急性的な (きゅうせいてきな) acute (immediate, temporary)
食後 (しょくご) after a meal
食前 (しょくぜん) before a meal
慢性 (まんせい), 慢性的な (まんせいてきな) chronic (everlasting, recurring)
先天性 (せんてんせい), 先天的な (せんてんてきな) congenital (from birth)
健康保険 (けんこう ほけん) health insurance
一日何回 ~したらいいですか? (いちにち なんかい~したら いいですか?) How many times a day should I...?
義~ (ぎ~) prosthesis
再発 (さいはつ) relapse
副作用 (ふくさよう) side effect

Example:

私には、慢性的な中耳炎があります。風邪を引くと、いつも中耳炎になります。

(わたしには、まんせいてきな ちゅうじえんがあります。かぜをひくと、ちゅうじえんになります。)

“I have chronic ear infections. Whenever I get a cold, I also get an ear infection.”

How to Learn Medical Terms in Japanese

Besides bookmarking this page and coming back to it at study time, here are some more ways to learn Japanese medical terms:

  • Trick yourself into thinking you have to study for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and crack out a practice book! Whether you’re actually taking the test or not, the JLPT materials are among the most useful sources for studying vocabulary in bulk, and you can see words used in real-life situations.
  • As long as you’re using a smartphone, try an app for learning kanji that may include some medical terms, so you can learn to read medicine boxes and prescriptions.

 

Adding some medical terms to your Japanese vocabulary will help you feel more at ease in health-related situations.

By learning these terms, you’ll be able to communicate with doctors, nurses and other medical staff (or patients) more effectively and find what you need at the pharmacy. 

Try to learn a handful of new words each day, and you’ll soon have them all down! 

And One More Thing...

If you love learning Japanese with authentic materials, then I should also tell you more about FluentU.

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FluentU has a broad range of contemporary videos as you'll see below:

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FluentU makes these native Japanese videos approachable through interactive transcripts. Tap on any word to look it up instantly.

learn-japanese-with-songs

All definitions have multiple examples, and they're written for Japanese learners like you. Tap to add words you'd like to review to a vocab list.

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And FluentU has a learn mode which turns every video into a language learning lesson. You can always swipe left or right to see more examples.

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The best part? FluentU keeps track of your vocabulary, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It'll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You'll have a 100% personalized experience.

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