Knowing the word for a symptom is useful, but a healthcare professional may need more information. With a few reusable sentence patterns you can explain what you feel, when the symptom started, how it has changed, and what affects it.
You do not need a long or complicated explanation. Short statements such as J'ai mal depuis hier or Ça va mieux aujourd'hui can give important information clearly.
Say what you feel
Different symptoms naturally use different French patterns. Avoir is common with symptoms expressed as nouns, while avoir mal describes pain in a part of the body:
| Pattern | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| avoir + symptom | J'ai de la fièvre. | I have a fever. |
| avoir mal à + body part | J'ai mal à la gorge. | I have a sore throat. |
| être + adjective | Je suis fatigué. | I'm tired. |
| se sentir + adjective | Je me sens faible. | I feel weak. |
| avoir envie de + infinitive | J'ai envie de vomir. | I feel like vomiting. |
These patterns are more useful than trying to translate the English phrase “I feel” in the same way every time. The natural French construction depends on the symptom you want to describe.
If you have more than one symptom, connect simple statements with et:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai mal à la tête et j'ai de la fièvre. | I have a headache and a fever. |
| Je suis fatigué et je me sens faible. | I'm tired and I feel weak. |
| J'ai mal au ventre et j'ai envie de vomir. | My stomach hurts and I feel like vomiting. |
Say when a symptom started
To say when a symptom started, you can add depuis to a statement about the symptom:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai de la fièvre depuis hier. | I've had a fever since yesterday. |
| J'ai mal au dos depuis deux jours. | My back has hurt for two days. |
| Je me sens faible depuis ce matin. | I've felt weak since this morning. |
| Je tousse depuis une semaine. | I've been coughing for a week. |
| Ça dure depuis trois jours. | It's been going on for three days. |
| Depuis quand avez-vous ces symptômes ? | How long have you had these symptoms? |
You can also use Ça a commencé:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Ça a commencé hier. | It started yesterday. |
| Ça a commencé ce matin. | It started this morning. |
| Ça a commencé il y a trois jours. | It started three days ago. |
Use depuis to describe how long the symptom has continued. Use il y a with a completed starting point in the past.
Explain whether symptoms are changing
Use simple expressions with aller to say whether your condition is improving or getting worse:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Ça va mieux. | It's getting better. |
| Ça va beaucoup mieux. | It's much better. |
| Ça ne va pas mieux. | It's not getting better. |
| Ça va plus mal. | It's getting worse. |
| C'est pire aujourd'hui. | It's worse today. |
Two other verbs describe getting worse and getting better:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| s'aggraver | to get worse |
| s'améliorer | to improve |
| Est-ce que ça s'aggrave ? | Is it getting worse? |
| Ça s'aggrave le soir. | It gets worse in the evening. |
| Ça s'améliore. | It's improving. |
The following examples show how to describe whether a symptom is always present or if it comes and goes:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| C'est constant. | It's constant. |
| Ça va et ça vient. | It comes and goes. |
| Ça arrive surtout le soir. | It happens mostly in the evening. |
| Ça arrive parfois la nuit. | It sometimes happens at night. |
| C'est fréquent. | It's frequent. |
| de temps en temps | from time to time |
| Ça revient de temps en temps. | It comes back from time to time. |
| Ça a disparu. | It's gone. |
These short descriptions can be combined with information about when the symptom began.
Say what makes it worse
To describe something that makes a symptom worse, connect the symptom with quand or après:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai mal quand je marche. | It hurts when I walk. |
| J'ai mal quand je respire. | It hurts when I breathe. |
| Je tousse quand je m'allonge. | I cough when I lie down. |
| C'est pire quand je bouge. | It's worse when I move. |
| C'est pire après les repas. | It's worse after meals. |
Use avec to mention something that accompanies a symptom:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai de la fièvre avec des frissons. | I have a fever with chills. |
| J'ai mal à la tête avec des nausées. | I have a headache with nausea. |
Say what makes it better
Ça va mieux quand... is a useful pattern for explaining what brings relief:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Ça va mieux quand je me repose. | It's better when I rest. |
| Ça va mieux quand je suis assis. | It's better when I'm sitting. |
| Ça va mieux après avoir mangé. | It's better after eating. |
| Ça va mieux avec ce médicament. | It's better with this medicine. |
The doctor may ask what reduces the symptom. The answer can name what helps:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Est-ce que quelque chose vous soulage ? | Does anything relieve it? |
| Le repos me soulage. | Rest relieves it. |
You can also describe something that does not help:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Le repos n'aide pas. | Rest doesn't help. |
| Ce médicament n'aide pas beaucoup. | This medicine doesn't help much. |
| Ça ne change rien. | It doesn't make any difference. |
Describe how severe a symptom is
You can describe severity of a symptom with a simple modifier:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| un peu | a little |
| assez | quite, fairly |
| très | very |
| léger / légère | mild |
| fort / forte | strong, severe |
| intense | intense |
The expression you choose depends on the kind of symptom. With an adjective, use a word such as très. With a verb, use beaucoup:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Je suis très fatigué. | I'm very tired. |
| Je me sens un peu faible. | I feel a little weak. |
| La douleur est légère. | The pain is mild. |
| La douleur est très forte. | The pain is very severe. |
| Je tousse beaucoup. | I cough a lot. |
If a healthcare professional asks you to rate pain with a number, you can use sur dix:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| C'est trois sur dix. | It's three out of ten. |
| La douleur est à sept sur dix. | The pain is seven out of ten. |
Put the details together
You can describe a symptom clearly by giving a few pieces of information in sequence: what you feel, when it started, how it has changed, and what affects it. Each part can remain a short sentence:
| French | English |
|---|---|
| J'ai mal au dos depuis trois jours. C'est pire quand je marche. | My back has hurt for three days. It's worse when I walk. |
| Je tousse depuis lundi. Ça va mieux pendant la journée, mais c'est pire la nuit. | I've been coughing since Monday. It's better during the day, but it's worse at night. |
| J'ai mal au ventre depuis ce matin. Ça a commencé après le petit-déjeuner. | My stomach has hurt since this morning. It started after breakfast. |
| Je me sens faible depuis hier. Ça ne va pas mieux aujourd'hui. | I've felt weak since yesterday. It's not getting better today. |
You do not need to include every type of detail each time. Give the information that helps explain what is happening, and answer follow-up questions as they come.
From learning to practice
When you hear medical conversations in French, listen for questions about time, change, and triggers as well as the symptom itself. In your own conversations, focus on giving one useful detail at a time so that the other person can ask for more information when needed.