Telling the doctor where it hurts in German

1. 1
   Schmerz/ʃmɛʁts/

   painnoun

   The unpleasant feeling in the body when something is injured or ill.
2. 2
   wehtun/ˈveːtuːn/

   to hurtverb

   To cause pain; to feel unpleasant and painful.
3. 3
   Rücken/ˈʁʏkən/

   backnoun

   The rear side of the body between the neck and the bottom.
4. 4

   Bauchstomach

5. 5

   Knieknee

6. 6

   stechento sting

7. 7

   pochento throb

8. 8

   drückento press

9. 9

   Untersuchungexamination

10. 10

    kranksick

The sentences3 of 10

1. Der Schmerz ist seit gestern deutlich stärker geworden, besonders am Morgen.

   The pain has gotten noticeably worse since yesterday, especially in the morning.

2. Beim Aufstehen kann mir der Rücken richtig wehtun.

   When I get up, my back can really hurt.

3. Der Schmerz sitzt tief im Rücken und wird beim Sitzen schlimmer.

   The pain sits deep in my back and gets worse when I sit.

Pronunciation

• wehtun/ˈveːtuːn/

  Both vowels are long: /veː/ and /tuːn/, and the w sounds like the v in "van".

Good to know

Praxisgebühr

In Germany, people with public health insurance generally no longer pay a practice fee, since basic care is covered by the statutory insurer. Privately insured patients, on the other hand, often get billed directly.

Überweisung

To see a specialist you often need a referral from your general practitioner. Without an appointment, waiting times at some specialists can be considerably longer.

Termin

Appointments are usually booked in advance; walking in without one is more common for acute cases. Punctuality is expected, though some waiting is still normal.