Korean Symptoms Vocabulary: 40 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Symptoms Vocabulary at a Glance

This list has 40 words in five groups of eight. The groups follow what a doctor asks about: fever and cold signs, pain, the stomach, the skin and long-term illnesses. It belongs to Health and Medicine. Each word comes with a short polite sentence, so you can say what is wrong and not only name the symptom.

Korean does not use one verb for every symptom. Pain takes 아파요, while fever and cough take 나요, and catching a cold takes 걸렸어요. The next section ranks the words and explains that split.

Which Symptom Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 아파요 (it hurts), 열 (fever), 기침 (cough), 두통 (headache) and 복통 (stomachache) first. They cover the most common reasons to see a doctor, and four of them fit a frame you can reuse. Add the body-part word and you can say almost anything: 머리가 아파요 means my head hurts.

• Words to say. 아파요, 열, 기침, 콧물, 두통, 복통, 알레르기. These describe how you feel.
• Words to recognise. 독감, 코로나, 당뇨병, 고혈압, 천식. These appear in notices, forms and the doctor's questions.
• Words to hear. 심해요 (it is severe) and 며칠 (how many days) come from the doctor, so learn to recognise the questions even when you cannot yet answer in full.

Compare the three respiratory illness words used in notices: 감기 (a cold), 독감 (the flu) and 코로나 (COVID-19). 감기 is mild and common, 독감 is influenza (the flu), and 코로나 is the everyday shortened name for COVID-19. Notices and test slips use these three, so learn to tell them apart. The scene below shows a clinic with numbered objects that match the list.

Word · 8

1. 1

   열

   Play

   yeol

   fever

2. 2

   기침

   Play

   gichim

   cough

3. 3

   콧물

   Play

   konmul

   runny nose

4. 4

   두통

   Play

   dutong

   headache

5. 5

   복통

   Play

   boktong

   stomachache

6. 6

   설사

   Play

   seolsa

   diarrhea

7. 7

   두드러기

   Play

   dudeureogi

   hives

8. 8

   당뇨병

   Play

   dangnyobyeong

   diabetes

Fever and Cold

Fever and cold symptoms use the verb 나다, which means to come out or to appear. You do not say I have a cough with 있다 in most speech; you say 기침이 나요, a cough comes out. Colds and flu use 걸리다, to be caught: 감기에 걸렸어요 means I caught a cold. The particle 에 marks the illness you caught.

Example Sentences

Two frames do most of the work in this list. For pain, use body part + 이/가 아파요, as in 목이 아파요. For fever, cough and runny nose, use noun + 이/가 나요, as in 열이 나요. For long-term conditions, use noun + 이/가 있어요. Remember that 이 follows a consonant and 가 follows a vowel, so 열이 and 기침이, but 재채기가. Say each example aloud after the audio and then swap in a different noun.

How Do You Say Pain in Korean?

Pain is 아프다 (apeuda), a descriptive verb meaning to hurt. To say where it hurts, name the body part and add 이/가 아파요, as in 머리가 아파요 (my head hurts) or 배가 아파요 (my stomach hurts). Compounds with 통 (痛, pain) name the ache: 두통 is head pain, 복통 is belly pain and 치통 is tooth pain. 통증 is the formal word for pain in general.

The word 배 means stomach in 배가 아파요, but it can also mean a pear or a boat. Context tells you which one. Koreans also say 속이 안 좋아요 (my insides feel bad) for a stomach upset, a softer expression than 아파요.

Digestive Problems

Digestive words are short nouns used with 이/가 나요 or 이/가 있어요. 설사 is diarrhea, 변비 is constipation, 구토 is vomiting in formal speech, and 메스꺼움 is nausea. 체하다 is a verb for the uncomfortable full feeling after eating too fast, and it has no neat English match. Use it to tell a pharmacist why you want a 소화제.

How Do You Say Skin and Allergies in Korean?

Skin words describe what you see or feel on the surface. 알레르기 is allergy, a loanword, and 두드러기 is hives, an itchy raised rash that often follows an allergic reaction. 상처 is a wound and 화상 is a burn. Use 생겼어요 (it appeared) or 났어요 (it came out) with most skin problems.

Allergy information matters at a pharmacy or restaurant. Learn the Korean name for any food or drug you react to, then say it with 알레르기가 있어요. The Korean Pharmacy Vocabulary page has more words for allergies and side effects.

Chronic Illnesses

Chronic illnesses are conditions that continue for months or years, and the Korean words are mostly Sino-Korean compounds that end in 병 (illness), 증 (condition) or 염 (inflammation). A doctor will often ask whether you have any of these, so learn to recognise them. Use 이/가 있어요 to say you have one.

Naming a symptom is only half of what a doctor needs, because they also ask how bad it is and how long.

How Do You Say How Bad It Is and for How Long?

A doctor asks two follow-up questions: how severe is it, and since when? Severity words go before the verb, and duration phrases end in 부터 (from). Combine them with any symptom to give a full report. For example, 어제부터 열이 많이 나요 means I have had a high fever since yesterday.

Note that 이틀 means two days, a native Korean word, and that 전 means before. For severe or sudden symptoms, skip the grammar and use the emergency phrases. Describing a longer history is a useful step toward the pharmacy and dentist visits.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Symptom words have several sound changes, mostly at syllable boundaries. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which does not mark every sound change.

Linking is the habit of moving a final consonant to the next syllable when that syllable starts with a vowel sound. It is why 열이 sounds like yeo-ri. Listen for it in every example sentence that has a noun with a particle.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The five clips below replay the hardest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Symptom Words?

These five mistakes come from applying one English verb to every symptom.

1. Using 아파요 for a cough or fever. Pain takes 아파요, but fever, cough and runny nose take 나요. Say 열이 나요, not 열이 아파요.
2. Mixing up 감기 and 독감. 감기 is the common cold, and 독감 is the flu, which is stronger and usually brings a high fever. Do not use them as synonyms.
3. Dropping the particle. Say 머리가 아파요, not 머리 아파요, when you can. Everyday speech drops particles, but the full form is clearer in a clinic.
4. Reading 목 only as neck. 목 means both neck and throat. 목이 아파요 usually means a sore throat, and 목이 뻐근해요 means a stiff neck.
5. Learning illness names without the frame. Names alone are not sentences. Learn 이/가 있어요 for conditions and 이/가 나요 for fever and cough, and your 40 words become 40 sentences.

If you are unsure, point to the part that hurts and say 여기가 아파요 (it hurts here). That works for any body part. For single words from this list, see fever in Korean and cough in Korean.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Use the deck first, the quiz second and the worksheet third. The flashcard deck below holds all 40 words with audio; start with recognition mode and add listening mode when you can read each card. Your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, copy the 40 words by hand in groups of eight. Write one sentence per group with a different body part, such as 배가 아파요.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Pharmacy Vocabulary, where you buy and take the medicine, or Korean Dentist Vocabulary. If symptoms are severe, use the emergency phrases. To move up a level, go back to Health and Medicine.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Fever in Korean?

Fever is 열 (yeol). To say you have a fever, use the verb 나다: 열이 나요 (I have a fever), because the heat comes out. The word 열 also means heat. The ㄹ at the end links to the vowel of the particle, so 열이 is said [여리].

How Do You Pronounce 기침 (gichim)?

Say gi-chim in two even beats. The first syllable is like gee, and the second is chim with a puff of air on the ch. There is no sound change in this word. It means cough, and you say 기침이 나요 (I have a cough). Press the audio button to hear it.

How Many Symptom Words Should I Learn First?

Five first: 아파요, 열, 기침, 두통 and 복통. At five new words a day the whole list of 40 takes eight days plus review. Learn the two frames, 이/가 아파요 and 이/가 나요, before you learn all 40.

Where Can I Practise Symptom Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. The deck for this page holds all 40 words with Hangul, romanization and audio, with recognition and listening modes. Your progress stays in your browser. Review the cards you missed the next day.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Symptom Words?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, copy the tables on this page by hand or use the flashcard deck, which has the same 40 words.

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