At the doctor's appointment in Russian
A general practitioner office at the clinic, morning in Russian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Здравствуйте. У меня три дня высокая температура.» — Hello. I have had a high temperature for three days; «Что ещё болит?» — What else hurts?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a general practitioner office at the clinic, morning. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Здравствуйте. У меня три дня высокая температура.Zdravstvuyte. U menya tri dnya vysokaya temperatura.Hello. I have had a high temperature for three days.
- Что ещё болит?Chto eshchyo bolit?What else hurts?
- Горло и живот. И я всё время чихаю.Gorlo i zhivot. I ya vsyo vremya chikhayu.My throat and my stomach. And I sneeze all the time.
- Скажите «а-а». Так. Это ангина.Skazhite «a-a». Tak. Eto angina.Say "aah". There. It is tonsillitis.
- Это заразно? Дома маленький ребёнок.Eto zarazno? Doma malenkiy rebyonok.Is it contagious? There is a small child at home.
- Заразно. Не давайте ему свою воду и мойте руки.Zarazno. Ne davayte emu svoyu vodu i moyte ruki.It is contagious. Don't share your water with him and wash your hands.
- А больничный можно? Мне на работу нельзя.A bolnichnyy mozhno? Mne na rabotu nelzya.And can I get a sick note? I cannot go to work.
- Конечно. Пейте воду и не ходите на работу.Konechno. Peyte vodu i ne khodite na rabotu.Of course. Drink water and don't go to work.
Lines one by one
| Russian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Здравствуйте. У меня три дня высокая температура. | Zdravstvuyte. U menya tri dnya vysokaya temperatura. | Hello. I have had a high temperature for three days. |
| Что ещё болит? | Chto eshchyo bolit? | What else hurts? |
| Горло и живот. И я всё время чихаю. | Gorlo i zhivot. I ya vsyo vremya chikhayu. | My throat and my stomach. And I sneeze all the time. |
| Скажите «а-а». Так. Это ангина. | Skazhite «a-a». Tak. Eto angina. | Say "aah". There. It is tonsillitis. |
| Это заразно? Дома маленький ребёнок. | Eto zarazno? Doma malenkiy rebyonok. | Is it contagious? There is a small child at home. |
| Заразно. Не давайте ему свою воду и мойте руки. | Zarazno. Ne davayte emu svoyu vodu i moyte ruki. | It is contagious. Don't share your water with him and wash your hands. |
| А больничный можно? Мне на работу нельзя. | A bolnichnyy mozhno? Mne na rabotu nelzya. | And can I get a sick note? I cannot go to work. |
| Конечно. Пейте воду и не ходите на работу. | Konechno. Peyte vodu i ne khodite na rabotu. | Of course. Drink water and don't go to work. |
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 Russian in this situation?
“Здравствуйте. У меня три дня высокая температура.” (Zdravstvuyte. U menya tri dnya vysokaya temperatura.) — Hello. I have had a high temperature for three days. 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.