Symptoms

❃ Symptoms

အဖျားရှိတယ် [ A hpyar shi de ]: I have a fever.
ခေါင်းကိုက်တယ် [ Gaung kaik de ]: I have a headache.
ဗိုက်နာတယ် [ Bite na de ]: I have a stomachache.
ချောင်းဆိုးတယ် [ Chaung so de ]: I am coughing.
လည်ချောင်းနာတယ် [ Le gyaung na de ]: I have a sore throat.
နှာစေးနေတယ် [ Hna say ne de ]: I have a runny nose.
ပျို့နေတယ် [ Pyo ne de ]: I feel nauseous.
အန်တယ် [ An de ]: I vomited.
ဝမ်းလျှောနေတယ် [ Wun shaw ne de ]: I have diarrhea.
ဝမ်းချုပ်နေတယ် [ Wun choke ne de ]: I am constipated.
အသက်ရှူကြပ်တယ် [ A thet shu kyat de ]: I can't breathe well.
နှာခေါင်းပိတ်နေတယ် [ Hna gaung peik ne de ]: My nose is blocked.
သတိလစ်ချင်သလိုဖြစ်နေတယ် [ Tha di lit chin tha lo phyit ne de ]: I feel like fainting.
ချွေးအရမ်းထွက်တယ် [ Chway a yan htwet de ]: I am sweating a lot.
အင်ပြင်ထွက်နေတယ် [ In pyin htwet ne de ]: I have a rash.
ယားတယ် [ Ya de ]: It is itchy.
ရောင်နေတယ် [ Yaung ne de ]: It is swollen.
သွေးထွက်နေတယ် [ Thway htwet ne de ]: It is bleeding.
မနေ့ကတည်းကဖြစ်နေတာ [ Ma ne ga de ga phyit ne da ]: It has been like this since yesterday.
ပိုဆိုးလာတယ် [ Po so la de ]: It is getting worse.

Cultural notes

When traveling in a tropical climate like Myanmar's, accurately describing your medical symptoms is an absolutely vital skill to ensure you receive the correct treatment quickly. The hot and humid environment introduces unique health challenges, such as the persistent threat of dengue fever from mosquitoes or severe dehydration from the heat. Therefore, vaguely stating that you feel unwell is not enough; you must pinpoint your affliction. If your body temperature rises, you must immediately state အဖျားရှိတယ် (a hpyar shi de) [ʔə pʰjá ʃḛ dɛ̀], meaning "I have a fever." Given the prevalence of tropical diseases, a high fever is treated with immense seriousness by local pharmacists and doctors, who may immediately suggest a blood test. Another common ailment for foreign visitors unaccustomed to the local spices, oils, or unfiltered water is gastrointestinal distress. If you find yourself repeatedly rushing to the bathroom, telling someone ဝမ်းလျှောနေတယ် (wun shaw ne de) [wʊ́ɴ ʃɔ́ nè dɛ̀], meaning "I have diarrhea," will quickly get you directed to the nearest pharmacy for rehydration salts and medication. If your stomach issues are accompanied by a feeling of sickness, saying ပျို့နေတယ် (pyo ne de) [pjo̰ nè dɛ̀], meaning "I feel nauseous," is crucial. The local pharmacies in Myanmar are highly accessible, and pharmacists are generally well-trained and capable of dispensing medications that would require a strict doctor's prescription in Western countries, such as strong antibiotics or specific antiparasitic pills. By learning these precise symptom descriptions, you bridge the medical language gap. It empowers you to bypass the confusion of pantomiming your illness and ensures that whether you are at a humble village clinic or a modern hospital in Yangon, the healthcare providers understand exactly how to treat you, keeping your travel plans safe and on track.

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