Talk about Illness in French
Learn French diseases vocabulary here. Whether you need to communicate with French doctors or you are a medical professional, this article would help.
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Les Maladies/DiseasesHow to Talk About Aches in FrenchSevere illnesses and diseases in FrenchBon rétablissement/Get well soonFrench Diseases VocabularyHealth and sickness are a normal part of life – most of us just hope not to get sick while on vacation. If you find yourself in France and getting sick, we have the perfect vocabulary for you to communicate with the local doctors to help you describe how you feel and discuss appropriate care!
We’ll explore some of the common French names for diseases and ailments and words you may hear when discussing medical care.
Les Maladies/Diseases
Nobody likes to have les maladies, or illnesses at any time, but it’s not the end of the world now that you’ll have the perfect French vocabulary to describe precisely how you’re feeling or to be able to say a disease in French.
The phrase Je suis malade means “I am sick.” If you are concerned about symptoms, a health professional can help assess what is causing them and what care is appropriate.
Éternuer means “to sneeze.” Sneezing can occur with les allergies (allergies) or un rhume (a cold). Allergies do not turn into a cold or la grippe (the flu), and sneezing alone does not establish a diagnosis such as une pneumonie (pneumonia).
Une toux means “a cough.” It can be a symptom of several conditions, including une bronchite (bronchitis); a cough does not simply become bronchitis because it was left untreated.
How to Talk About Aches in French
Many French translations of ailments follow similar patterns as they do in English. In English, we tend to use the –ache suffix to signify where exactly we’re feeling the pain or discomfort. In French, you’d add “mal à-” before the area of discomfort to signal that there’s a problem.
Some of the common aches you might experience include:
- Headache = mal à la tête
- Stomachache = mal au ventre
- Toothache = mal aux dents
- Earache = mal à l’oreille
A related word that follows the same pattern is mal à la gorge, or sore throat, which means an ache in your throat.
Severe illnesses and diseases in French
We’d hope that you never have to use these words to describe how you’re feeling, but it’s worth learning about some of the more severe cases of being sick that might require a bit of extra medical attention.
La varicelle means “chickenpox.” It is contagious and is often mild, but it can cause serious complications and can sometimes be fatal, even in children.
Our diets play a role in our health, but le diabète (diabetes) has different types and causes. Lifestyle can affect the risk of type 2 diabetes; type 1 diabetes is not caused by eating too much “bad food.” La nausée means “nausea,” and vomir means “to vomit.” These symptoms also have many possible causes.
Other serious diseases and conditions include le sida, or AIDS, and le cancer, a French cognate for “cancer.”
Now that you know how to say some diseases and ailments in French, it’s time to learn a few vocabulary words for getting better!
Bon rétablissement/Get well soon
Le docteur means “the doctor.” If you are concerned about your symptoms, a doctor or pharmacist can advise you. Some minor illnesses can be managed at home; the vocabulary here helps you describe symptoms and discuss care rather than diagnose yourself.
For the minor illnesses, you can visit la pharmacie, or the pharmacy to buy in-store médicaments, or medicine. You might even need to get une ordonnance, or prescription if you need a particular treatment not found over-the-counter.
If you find yourself using more of the severe illnesses to describe your health condition, you might want to take a trip to l’hôpital, or the hospital. Luckily now, you’ll have just enough French to be able to communicate with the doctors so they’ll know the best way to treat you.
Les antibiotiques means “antibiotics”; they treat certain bacterial infections, not viral illnesses such as a common cold. Un vaccin means “a vaccine”; vaccines help prevent certain infections rather than serving as a general treatment for an illness you already have.
The appropriate care depends on the condition.
As you go through the complete list of French vocabulary for diseases and ailments, you’ll notice many words similar to their English translations. It makes it much simpler when you visit the pharmacy, for example, and look for the right medicine to treat your illness.
See below for the French vocabulary covered above:
French Diseases Vocabulary
- ENGLISHFRENCH
- Illnesses/Sicknesses/DiseasesLes maladies
- I am sickJe suis malade
- SneezeÉternuer
- AllergiesLes allergies
- FluLa grippe
- ColdUn rhume
- PneumoniaUne pneumonie
- DiabetesLe diabète
- SinusitisUne sinusite
- ChickenpoxLa varicelle
- AIDSLe sida
- CancerLe cancer
- CoughLa toux
- BronchitisUne bronchite
- HeadacheMal à la tête
- Sore throatMal à la gorge
- TonsillitisUne angine
- StomachacheMal au ventre
- ToothacheMal aux dents
- MeningitisLa méningite
- NauseaLa nausée
- VomitVomir
- MedicineMédicament
- AntibioticsAntibiotiques
- VaccineVaccin
- PrescriptionOrdonnance
- DoctorLe docteur
- HospitalL’hôpital
- PharmacyLa pharmacie
- Get well soonBon rétablissement
