我的健康
Wǒ de jiànkāng — My Health
Kindergarten’s body parts come back for a serious purpose: saying what hurts. This is the unit a student would actually need abroad, and it’s taught with that in mind.
Unit objectives
- Say what hurts using 我的…疼
- Describe five common symptoms
- Run a short conversation with a doctor
- Give simple advice using 应该 — “should”
Key vocabulary
健康 疼 生病 发烧 咳嘃 感冒 药 休息 应该 舒服
Saying what hurts
One pattern covers every ache: the body part, then 疼.
我的头疼。 My head hurts.
我的肚子疼。 My stomach hurts.
There’s also a common way to say you feel generally unwell: 我不舒服 — literally “I’m not comfortable.”
When something’s wrong
It hurts here
Body parts from Kindergarten, now attached to 疼. Pointing plus saying.
Symptoms
Fever, cough, cold, tiredness — and matching symptoms to likely causes in a sorting game.
At the doctor
A role-play in pairs: describing symptoms, answering questions, receiving advice.
You should…
应该 for giving advice — students play the doctor and tell each other what to do.
Two medical traditions, side by side
Chinese hospitals routinely offer both Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine — herbal formulas, acupuncture, cupping — often in the same building, and many people use both without seeing a contradiction. You’ll also meet everyday health beliefs with no Western equivalent, like the idea that some foods are “heating” and others “cooling,” or the very widespread preference for hot water over cold. Students don’t need to evaluate any of this; knowing it exists means a Chinese friend’s advice to drink hot water won’t seem baffling.
Unit 3 progress check
A light, no-pressure way to see what’s sticking:
- Can your child say which part of them hurts?
- Can they describe two symptoms?
- Can they give one piece of advice using 应该?
This is a unit worth over-learning. It’s the one a student might genuinely need at short notice.