Vietnamese · KNLTV Bậc 1 (A1) · Chapter 29

Cơ thể và sức khỏeThe body and health

Body vocabulary: cơ thể, đầu, bụng, họng, tay, chân, đau, sốt, bị, bác sĩ. Key grammar: say what hurts with "đau + body part" — "đau đầu" (headache), "đau bụng" (stomach ache) — and say an illness with "bị + illness" — "bị sốt" (have a fever), "bị đau họng" (have a sore throat). English speakers, used to "I have a fever", tend to use "có" — "Tôi có sốt" ✗ → "Tôi bị sốt" ✓. Illnesses and misfortunes take "bị", not "có". Tone corner: "đau" (ngang) vs "đầu" (huyền) — just one mark apart.

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Tôi có sốt? Tôi bị sốt?— Tôi có sốt? or Tôi bị sốt?

  1. NamTom ơi, bạn trông không khỏe. Bạn bị sao?Tom, you don't look well. What's wrong?
  2. TomTôi có đau đầu. Và tôi có sốt.I have a headache. And I have a fever. (slip: illness takes "bị", not "có" → "Tôi bị đau đầu. Tôi bị sốt.")
  3. NamBệnh thì dùng "bị", không dùng "có": "Tôi bị đau đầu. Tôi bị sốt."For illness use "bị", not "có": "Tôi bị đau đầu. Tôi bị sốt."
  4. TomÀ, tôi bị đau đầu và bị sốt. Tôi đi bác sĩ đây.Ah, I have a headache and a fever. I'm off to the doctor.
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Bạn thấy thế nào?— How do you feel?

  1. LinhTom ơi, hôm nay bạn thấy thế nào?Tom, how do you feel today?
  2. TomTôi đau họng và đau đầu.My throat and head hurt.
  3. LinhBạn có bị sốt không?Do you have a fever?
  4. TomCó, tôi bị sốt. Tôi đi bác sĩ.Yes, I have a fever. I'm going to the doctor.
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cơ thể

nounbody

đầu

nounhead

bụng

nounbelly, stomach

họng

nounthroat

tay

nounhand, arm

chân

nounleg, foot

đau

adjectiveto hurt, painful

sốt

nounfever

bị

verbto suffer, be afflicted (marks illness/misfortune)

bác sĩ

noundoctor

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Being ill: "đau đầu" and "bị sốt" (use "bị", not "có")

Explanation

There are two ways to say you are ill. First, for where it hurts, say "đau + body part": "đau đầu" (headache), "đau bụng" (stomach ache), "đau họng" (sore throat). Second, for an illness or misfortune, use "bị + illness": "bị sốt" (have a fever), "bị cảm" (have a cold), "bị đau họng" (have a sore throat). "Bị" signals a bad thing happening to you. English speakers, used to "I have a fever", tend to use "có" — "Tôi có sốt" ✗. But illness never takes "có"; it must take "bị": "Tôi bị sốt" ✓. To ask after someone: "Bạn bị sao?" (what's wrong?) or "Bạn có bị sốt không?" — here "có... không?" is only the question frame, while "bị" is the illness word.

Examples

  • Tôi đau đầu.I have a headache.
  • Tôi bị sốt.I have a fever.
  • Cô ấy bị đau họng.She has a sore throat.
  • Bạn bị sao? — Tôi đau bụng.What's wrong? — My stomach hurts.
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Thanh điệu: "đau" khác "đầu"— Tones: "đau" vs "đầu"

Read aloud, hearing the tones clearly:

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