A temperature and a sick note in Arabic
The family doctor's office, a morning clinic in Arabic. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «صباح الخير. منذ ثلاثة أيام عندي حرارة ويؤلمني الحلق.» — Good morning. For three days I have had a temperature and a sore throat; «تفضل اجلس. تسعل أيضا؟» — Please, sit down. And you are coughing too?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the family doctor's office, a morning clinic. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- صباح الخير. منذ ثلاثة أيام عندي حرارة ويؤلمني الحلق.сабаах аль-хайр. мудху саляасат айаам ʿиндии хараара ва-йуʾлимни аль-хальк.Good morning. For three days I have had a temperature and a sore throat.
- تفضل اجلس. تسعل أيضا؟тафаддаль иджлис. тасʿаль айдан؟Please, sit down. And you are coughing too?
- قليلا, وأشعر بقشعريرة في الليل.кадыляан, ва-ашʿуру би-кашʿариира фи аль-лайль.A little, and I feel chills at night.
- دعني أرى. الحلق أحمر والحرارة مرتفعة.даʿни ара. аль-хальк ахмар ва-ль-хаараара муртафиʿа.Let me look. The throat is red and the temperature is high.
- هل هي البرد العادي؟ عندي طفل صغير في البيت.халь хия аль-бард аль-ʿаадий? ʿиндии тифль сагиир фи аль-бейт.Is it an ordinary cold? I have a small child at home.
- إنفلونزا خفيفة. سأعطيك دواء وإجازة يومين.инфлюанза хафифа. са-аʿтыка даваан ва-иджаазат йаумайн.A mild flu. I will give you medicine and two days of sick leave.
Lines one by one
| Arabic | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| صباح الخير. منذ ثلاثة أيام عندي حرارة ويؤلمني الحلق. | сабаах аль-хайр. мудху саляасат айаам ʿиндии хараара ва-йуʾлимни аль-хальк. | Good morning. For three days I have had a temperature and a sore throat. |
| تفضل اجلس. تسعل أيضا؟ | тафаддаль иджлис. тасʿаль айдан؟ | Please, sit down. And you are coughing too? |
| قليلا, وأشعر بقشعريرة في الليل. | кадыляан, ва-ашʿуру би-кашʿариира фи аль-лайль. | A little, and I feel chills at night. |
| دعني أرى. الحلق أحمر والحرارة مرتفعة. | даʿни ара. аль-хальк ахмар ва-ль-хаараара муртафиʿа. | Let me look. The throat is red and the temperature is high. |
| هل هي البرد العادي؟ عندي طفل صغير في البيت. | халь хия аль-бард аль-ʿаадий? ʿиндии тифль сагиир фи аль-бейт. | Is it an ordinary cold? I have a small child at home. |
| إنفلونزا خفيفة. سأعطيك دواء وإجازة يومين. | инфлюанза хафифа. са-аʿтыка даваан ва-иджаазат йаумайн. | A mild flu. I will give you medicine and two days of sick leave. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Arabic in this situation?
“صباح الخير. منذ ثلاثة أيام عندي حرارة ويؤلمني الحلق.” (сабаах аль-хайр. мудху саляасат айаам ʿиндии хараара ва-йуʾлимни аль-хальк.) — Good morning. For three days I have had a temperature and a sore throat. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.