HSK 2 · Lesson 6你怎么了？ What’s wrong?

How you feel: 我头疼 “I have a headache”. Reasons — 因为…，所以…, the question 为什么. Prohibition with 别. 一会儿 “a little while”, 就 “right after”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

A headache

A
你怎么了？
Nǐ zěnme le?
What’s wrong?
B
我头疼，眼睛也不舒服。
Wǒ tóu téng, yǎnjing yě bù shūfu.
I have a headache, and my eyes don’t feel good either.
A
为什么？昨天晚上没睡觉吗？
Wèi shénme? Zuótiān wǎnshang méi shuìjiào ma?
Why? Didn’t you sleep last night?
B
因为明天要考试，所以我晚上没睡觉。
Yīnwèi míngtiān yào kǎoshì, suǒyǐ wǒ wǎnshang méi shuìjiào.
I have an exam tomorrow, so I didn’t sleep last night.
A
别看书了，去药店买点儿药吧。
Bié kàn shū le, qù yàodiàn mǎi diǎnr yào ba.
Stop reading and go buy some medicine at the pharmacy.
B
好，我休息一会儿就去。
Hǎo, wǒ xiūxi yíhuìr jiù qù.
OK, I’ll rest a bit and then go.

At the doctor’s

A
你哪儿不舒服？
Nǐ nǎr bù shūfu?
What’s the problem?
B
我手疼。
Wǒ shǒu téng.
My hand hurts.
A
我看一下。没什么问题，吃点儿药，多休息。
Wǒ kàn yíxià. Méi shénme wèntí, chī diǎnr yào, duō xiūxi.
Let me have a look. Nothing serious — take some medicine and rest a lot.
B
我可以打篮球吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ dǎ lánqiú ma?
Can I play basketball?
A
这个星期别打了。
Zhège xīngqī bié dǎ le.
Not this week.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 我头疼 — “I have a headache”

Person + body part + 疼 / 不舒服

The predicate here is a whole little sentence: 我 + 头疼 “me — head hurts”. Likewise 他个子很高 “he — height tall”, 她眼睛很漂亮. The doctor asks: 你哪儿不舒服？ “where do you feel unwell?”.

我头疼。
Wǒ tóu téng.
I have a headache.
她眼睛很漂亮。
Tā yǎnjing hěn piàoliang.
She has beautiful eyes.

2. 因为…，所以… — “because…, so…”

因为 + reason，所以 + result

Chinese often marks both the reason and the result: 因为下雨，所以我没去 “because it rained, (so) I didn’t go”. Either word can stand alone: 因为下雨，我没去 / 下雨了，所以我没去. “Why?” is 为什么？, and the answer starts with 因为.

因为下雨，所以我没去。
Yīnwèi xià yǔ, suǒyǐ wǒ méi qù.
It rained, so I didn’t go.
你为什么不吃饭？
Nǐ wèi shénme bù chīfàn?
Why aren’t you eating?

3. 别 + verb — “don’t…”

别 is the short, colloquial form of 不要: 别看了 “don’t look”, 别说话. With 了 at the end it means “stop doing”: 别看书了 “stop reading”.

别说话！
Bié shuōhuà!
Don’t talk!
别看手机了。
Bié kàn shǒujī le.
Stop looking at your phone.

4. 一会儿 “a while” and 就 “right then”

一会儿 after a verb means “for a little while”: 休息一会儿 “rest a bit”, 等一会儿 “wait a moment”. 就 links two actions — right after the first comes the second: 我休息一会儿就去 “I’ll rest a bit and then go”, 下了课就回家 “go home right after class”.

我们休息一会儿吧。
Wǒmen xiūxi yíhuìr ba.
Let’s rest for a while.
他下了课就回家。
Tā xiàle kè jiù huí jiā.
He goes home right after class.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    我头疼。 Wǒ tóu téng. — I have a headache.

  2. Answer
    你为什么不来？ Nǐ wèi shénme bù lái? — Why aren’t you coming?

  3. Answer
    别看手机了。 Bié kàn shǒujī le. — Stop looking at your phone.

  4. Answer
    我休息一会儿就去。 Wǒ xiūxi yíhuìr jiù qù. — I’ll rest a bit and then go.

2. Choose the missing word

  1. 因为下雨，___我没去。

    Answer
    所以
  2. 你___不吃饭？

    Answer
    为什么
  3. ___说话！上课了。

    Answer
    别
  4. “Her eyes hurt”: 她___疼。

    Answer
    眼睛

3. Build the sentence

  1. Where do you feel unwell?

    Answer
    你哪儿不舒服？ Nǐ nǎr bù shūfu?
  2. It rained, so I didn’t go.

    Answer
    因为下雨，所以我没去。 Yīnwèi xià yǔ, suǒyǐ wǒ méi qù.
  3. Let’s rest for a while.

    Answer
    我们休息一会儿吧。 Wǒmen xiūxi yíhuìr ba.
  4. Wash your hands before eating.

    Answer
    吃饭前要洗手。 Chīfàn qián yào xǐ shǒu.

4. Dialogue: you are the doctor

You are speaker A. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
你哪儿不舒服？
Nǐ nǎr bù shūfu?
What’s the problem?
B
我头疼。
Wǒ tóu téng.
I have a headache.
A
为什么？昨天睡得好吗？
Wèi shénme? Zuótiān shuì de hǎo ma?
Why? Did you sleep well last night?
B
不好，因为我晚上看手机看了三个小时。
Bù hǎo, yīnwèi wǒ wǎnshang kàn shǒujī kànle sān ge xiǎoshí.
Badly — I was on my phone for three hours in the evening.
A
别看手机了，多休息。
Bié kàn shǒujī le, duō xiūxi.
Stop using your phone and rest a lot.
B
好，谢谢医生！
Hǎo, xièxie yīshēng!
OK, thank you, doctor!

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. My hand hurts.
    Answer
    我手疼。Wǒ shǒu téng.
  2. Why didn’t you come yesterday?
    Answer
    你昨天为什么没来？Nǐ zuótiān wèi shénme méi lái?
  3. Wait a moment!
    Answer
    等一会儿！Děng yíhuìr!

💡 Did you know?: “Drink more hot water”

The most common Chinese advice to anyone unwell is 多喝热水, “drink more hot water”. People in China drink warm or hot water even in summer, and trains and hotels have boilers for it. Many see iced water as unhealthy.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).