isha wa watashi no shoujou o mite, kaze da to shindanshimashita

The doctor looked at my symptoms and diagnosed me with a cold.

Breakdown of isha wa watashi no shoujou o mite, kaze da to shindanshimashita

• は: topic particle
• 私わたし: I
• を: direct object particle
• の: possessive case particle

Questions & Answers about isha wa watashi no shoujou o mite, kaze da to shindanshimashita

Why are there spaces between the words?

Japanese normally does not use spaces between words. This sentence would usually be written as:

医者は私の症状を見て、風邪だと診断しました

The spaces in your version are just there to help learners see the parts more clearly.

Why is は used after 医者 instead of が?

は marks 医者 as the topic: the sentence is talking about the doctor.

So 医者は feels like:

• As for the doctor...
• The doctor, ...

If you used が, it would focus more on the doctor as the one who did the action, often with a nuance like answering who did it? Both can be grammatical, but は is very natural here for a neutral statement.

What does 私の症状 mean exactly?

私の症状 literally means my symptoms.

• 私 = I / me
• の = links nouns, often showing possession or relationship
• 症状 = symptom / symptoms

So 私の症状 is the symptoms belonging to me, or the symptoms I had.

Also, 症状 does not have to show singular or plural. Depending on context, it can mean a symptom or symptoms.

Why is を attached to 症状?