Everyday Thai describes symptoms with direct predicates: ปวดหัว “have a headache,” เจ็บคอ “have a sore throat,” ไอ “cough,” and มีไข้ “have a fever.” The person experiencing the symptom comes first when needed, but is often omitted in a clinic or pharmacy because the patient is obvious.
Pharmacy questions add productive slots for the symptom, medicine, amount, and frequency. These formulas help communicate; they are not medical diagnosis or dosing advice. For an actual medicine, follow the pharmacist's or clinician's instructions rather than substituting a memorized example.
Describing what feels wrong
Thai often uses person + ปวด/เจ็บ + body part. ปวด commonly describes an ache or internal pain; เจ็บ is broader and frequent with a sore or injured area. The exact combination is partly lexical and must be learned.
| Fixed frame | Substitutable slot | Use |
|---|---|---|
| ปวด _ | หัว, ท้อง, หลัง, ฟัน | ache or internal pain |
| เจ็บ _ | คอ, แขน, ขา, แผล | soreness, pain, or injury |
| มี _ | ไข้, ผื่น, อาการแพ้ | report a symptom or condition as present |
| มา แล้ว | symptom + duration | say how long it has continued |
| แพ้ _ | medicine, food, substance | report an allergy |
| รู้สึก _ | dizzy, weak, nauseated | describe a felt condition |
ฉันปวดหัวตั้งแต่เมื่อคืนค่ะ
chan puat hua tangtae muea khuen kha
I've had a headache since last night. (ordinary-polite symptom report, female speaker)
ผมเจ็บคอแล้วก็ไอนิดหน่อยครับ
phom chep kho laeo ko ai nit noi khrap
I have a sore throat and a slight cough. (ordinary-polite symptom report, male speaker)
ลูกมีไข้ตั้งแต่เช้าค่ะ
luk mi khai tangtae chao kha
My child has had a fever since this morning. (ordinary-polite report, female speaker)
English says my head hurts or I have a headache. Thai normally begins with the experiencer and uses ปวดหัว directly; it does not need มี before ปวด or an obligatory possessive on หัว. The body-part expression guide explains why inherent body-part ownership is usually recoverable.
Asking about symptoms and duration
At a clinic or pharmacy, มีอาการอะไร asks “What symptoms do you have?” เป็นมานานแค่ไหน asks how long the current condition has continued. มา presents the state as extending toward the current reference point, while แล้ว marks the duration as reached.
มีอาการอะไรบ้างคะ
mi akan arai bang kha
What symptoms do you have? (ordinary-polite clinical question, female speaker)
ปวดท้องมาเกือบสองวันแล้วครับ
puat thong ma kueap song wan laeo khrap
I've had stomach pain for almost two days. (ordinary-polite reply, male speaker)
เริ่มมีผื่นเมื่อไรคะ
roem mi phuen muearai kha
When did the rash start? (ordinary-polite clinical question, female speaker)
เพิ่งเห็นผื่นตอนอาบน้ำเมื่อเช้าครับ
phoeng hen phuen ton ap nam muea chao khrap
I first noticed the rash while showering this morning. (ordinary-polite reply, male speaker)
The duration follows the predicate: ปวดท้องมาสองวันแล้ว. English perfect tense does not create a special Thai verb form. เพิ่ง marks recency, and เมื่อเช้า supplies past time.
An allergy is important new information, so state it explicitly:
ฉันแพ้ยาเพนิซิลลินค่ะ
chan phae ya phenisinlin kha
I'm allergic to penicillin. (ordinary-polite medical information, female speaker)
This page cannot supply a safe phrase for every emergency. ช่วยเรียกรถพยาบาลให้หน่อย is a practical request for an ambulance; serious symptoms require local emergency help, not extended language practice.
ช่วยเรียกรถพยาบาลให้หน่อยครับ
chuai riak rot phayaban hai noi khrap
Please call an ambulance for me. (urgent but polite request, male speaker)
At a pharmacy
A common request is มียาแก้ + symptom + ไหม “Do you have medicine for…?” Here แก้ means remedy or relieve in a lexical compound. A safer open question is ควรใช้ยาอะไร “What medicine should I use?” because the pharmacist can assess the situation.
มียาแก้ไอไหมคะ
mi ya kae ai mai kha
Do you have cough medicine? (ordinary-polite pharmacy question, female speaker)
ผมคัดจมูกมาก ควรใช้ยาอะไรครับ
phom khat chamuk mak khuan chai ya arai khrap
My nose is very congested. What medicine should I use? (ordinary-polite pharmacy question, male speaker)
ยานี้กินก่อนหรือหลังอาหารคะ
ya ni kin kon rue lang ahan kha
Should this medicine be taken before or after food? (ordinary-polite question, female speaker)
กินยา is the ordinary collocation “take medicine,” literally “eat medicine.” More formal instructions may use รับประทานยา (formal). Do not replace conversational กิน just because English uses take.
Amounts, frequency, and classifiers
Medicine instructions combine separate quantity and recurrence frames. Tablets or pills often use เม็ด; packets use ซอง; bottles use ขวด. ครั้ง counts occasions.
| Question | Answer frame | What is counted? |
|---|---|---|
| กินครั้งละกี่เม็ด | ครั้งละ _ เม็ด | tablets per occasion |
| กินวันละกี่ครั้ง | วันละ _ ครั้ง | occasions per day |
| เอากี่ซอง | ยา _ ซอง | packets |
| เอากี่ขวด | ยา _ ขวด | bottles |
ยานี้กินวันละกี่ครั้ง ครั้งละกี่เม็ดคะ
ya ni kin wan la ki khrang khrang la ki met kha
How many times a day should this medicine be taken, and how many tablets each time? (ordinary-polite request for instructions, female speaker)
ขอยาน้ำหนึ่งขวดครับ
kho ya nam nueng khuat khrap
One bottle of liquid medicine, please. (ordinary-polite pharmacy request, male speaker; noun–number–classifier order)
The numeral follows the noun and precedes its classifier: ยาน้ำหนึ่งขวด. In วันละสองครั้ง, ละ distributes two occasions per day. Never infer a real dosage from these grammatical frames; the values belong to the actual label or clinician's directions.
Well-wishes and caring responses
After hearing that someone is ill, ขอให้หายไว ๆ นะครับ/นะคะ means “I hope you get well soon.” พักผ่อนเยอะ ๆ is a caring “get plenty of rest.” Between close friends, particles may be omitted (informal), but with colleagues the polite ending sounds warmer and safer.
ขอให้หายไว ๆ นะคะ พักผ่อนเยอะ ๆ ค่ะ
kho hai hai wai wai na kha phak phon yoe yoe kha
I hope you get well soon. Get plenty of rest. (warm ordinary-polite well-wish, female speaker)
ดูแลตัวเองด้วยนะครับ ถ้ายังไม่ดีขึ้นควรไปพบหมอ
dulae tua eng duai na khrap tha yang mai di khuen khuan pai phop mo
Please take care of yourself. If you still don't improve, you should see a doctor. (ordinary-polite concern, male speaker)
ขอให้ + desired state frames a wish; it does not mean that the speaker causes recovery. นะ invites interpersonal alignment and softens the advice.
Ordinary-polite dialogue
A male customer speaks with a female pharmacist.
สวัสดีครับ ผมปวดหัวแล้วก็มีน้ำมูกตั้งแต่เมื่อคืน
sawatdi khrap phom puat hua laeo ko mi nam muk tangtae muea khuen
Hello. I've had a headache and a runny nose since last night. (ordinary-polite symptom report, male customer)
มีไข้หรือแพ้ยาอะไรไหมคะ
mi khai rue phae ya arai mai kha
Do you have a fever or any drug allergies? (ordinary-polite question, female pharmacist)
ไม่มีไข้ครับ แต่ผมแพ้ยาเพนิซิลลิน
mai mi khai khrap tae phom phae ya phenisinlin
I don't have a fever, but I'm allergic to penicillin. (ordinary-polite reply, male customer)
รับทราบค่ะ เดี๋ยวขอถามอาการเพิ่มเติมก่อนนะคะ
rap sap kha diao kho tham akan phoemtoem kon na kha
Understood. Let me ask a few more questions about your symptoms first. (ordinary-polite response, female pharmacist)
Common Mistakes
1. Adding มี before a pain predicate
❌ ผมมีปวดหัวมากครับ
Incorrect—ปวดหัว is already a complete predicate.
✅ วันนี้ผมปวดหัวมากครับ
wan ni phom puat hua mak khrap
I have a bad headache today. (ordinary-polite symptom report, male speaker)
2. Copying an obligatory English possessive
❌ ฉันปวดของฉันท้องค่ะ
Incorrect English-like possessive order; the experiencer already identifies whose abdomen hurts.
✅ ฉันปวดท้องหลังอาหารค่ะ
chan puat thong lang ahan kha
I have stomach pain after meals. (ordinary-polite symptom report, female speaker)
3. Reversing medicine count order
❌ ขอสองขวดยาน้ำครับ
Incorrect English-like order—the medicine noun precedes numeral and classifier.
✅ ขอยาน้ำสองขวดครับ
kho ya nam song khuat khrap
Two bottles of liquid medicine, please. (ordinary-polite pharmacy request, male speaker)
4. Confusing quantity per dose with daily frequency
❌ ยานี้กินเม็ดละสองครั้งค่ะ
Incorrect for intended dosage question—the distribution is occasions per day and tablets per occasion, not occasions per tablet.
✅ ยานี้กินวันละสองครั้ง ครั้งละหนึ่งเม็ดค่ะ
ya ni kin wan la song khrang khrang la nueng met kha
This medicine is taken twice a day, one tablet each time. (example of grammatical instruction wording, female voice; follow the actual label for real dosing)
Key Takeaways
Describe pain directly with ปวด/เจ็บ + body part, use conventional มีไข้/มีผื่น, and place durations after the symptom with มา…แล้ว. At a pharmacy, ask open questions and distinguish วันละกี่ครั้ง from ครั้งละกี่เม็ด. Count the medicine with its lexical classifier, and use ขอให้หายไว ๆ for a warm, non-causal well-wish.
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Start learning Thai →Related Topics
- Bodily States such as หิว, ร้อน, and หนาวB1 — Express hunger, temperature, tiredness, and other bodily states with the experiencer as Thai subject or topic rather than an English-style copular or possessive frame.
- Body-Part Verbs and Affected PossessorsB1 — Describe pain, care, and actions affecting body parts without importing obligatory English possessives into Thai.
- Experiencer Constructions for Feelings and SensationsA1 — Put the person experiencing a sensation or emotion first, then use the lexical stimulus frame selected by each invariant Thai predicate.
- Duration Expressions after PredicatesB2 — Place measured spans after Thai predicates and distinguish bare duration, continuing duration, starting points, and time-to-completion.
- Bottles, Cups, Bowls, and Other Measure ClassifiersB2 — Use container nouns as classifiers to count packaged amounts and servings while distinguishing contents from empty containers.
- เรื่อง and ครั้ง for Matters and EventsB2 — Distinguish เรื่อง for topics, stories, films, and matters from ครั้ง for repeated occasions and event occurrences.