HaloBahasa

Saying you are sick in Indonesian

Sakit means sick, sore and painful all at once. Point at the part that hurts and you have said most of it.

a1Lesson 43 of 435 min

By the end of this lesson

  • Say you are unwell and where it hurts
  • Ask for a pharmacy or a doctor

The one word

Sakit covers sick, ill, sore, painful and hurts. You do not need separate vocabulary for being unwell and for something aching.

Saya sakit. ‘I’m ill.’
Perut saya sakit. ‘My stomach hurts.’

Naming the part

Put the body part first and sakit after, exactly like any other adjective.

kepala ‘head’
perut ‘stomach’
gigi ‘tooth’
tenggorokan ‘throat’
punggung ‘back’
kaki ‘leg, foot’
tangan ‘arm, hand’

Sakit kepala. ‘Headache.’
Sakit perut. ‘Stomach ache.’

Note that kaki covers both leg and foot, and tangan covers both arm and hand. Indonesian does not split them, and if the difference matters you point.

The rest of what you need

demam ‘fever’
mual ‘nauseous’
pusing ‘dizzy’
alergi ‘allergic’

Saya demam. ‘I have a fever.’
Saya alergi antibiotik. ‘I’m allergic to antibiotics.’

Getting help

Apotek di mana? ‘Where’s the pharmacy?’
Saya perlu dokter. ‘I need a doctor.’
Ada obat untuk sakit perut? ‘Do you have something for a stomach ache?’

That last one uses ada from the essentials course, and it is how you actually buy medicine: you describe the problem rather than name a product.

Rumah sakit is hospital, literally ‘sick house’. Worth knowing before you need it.

What you’ll actually hear

Pharmacists in tourist areas often speak enough English, and many will hand you something after hearing one word. Saying sakit perut rather than miming will still change the interaction, and in a village it may be the only option you have.

Words from this lesson

sakitsick, painful, soreOne word for all of it. Sakit kepala, 'headache'.
obatmedicine
apotekpharmacyFrom Dutch apotheek.
dokterdoctor
rumah sakithospitalLiterally 'sick house'.