Making a Clinic Appointment When You Feel Unwell | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 今日はせきが出て、疲れています。

   I have a cough and feel tired today.

   今日

   today

   せき

   cough

   出て

   comes out

   疲れています

   feel tired

   More detail

   今日 means “today,” the time expression that places the condition in the current day. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence to set the time for what follows. Example: 今日は休みです。 — “Today is a day off.” The particle は in the full sentence makes today the topic or frame: “As for today …” せき means “a cough.” It is a noun. Japanese commonly describes symptoms with a noun plus a verb rather than with an English-style verb such as “to cough.” Example: せきがあります。 — “I have a cough.” 出て is the connective form of 出る, “to come out” or “to appear.” Here, 出る describes the cough occurring or coming out; it does not mean that the speaker deliberately takes something out. The て form connects this clause to the next one. A useful form chain is 出る (non-past form) → 出て (connecting form) → 出ました (polite past, “came out/appeared”). Example: せきが出ています。 — “I have a cough” or “I am coughing.” 疲れています means “am/feel tired.” It comes from the verb 疲れる, “to become tired,” with ている and polite ます: 疲れる → 疲れている → 疲れています. With this verb, ている presents the resulting condition as continuing, so the sentence describes the speaker’s current tired state. Example: 今日は疲れています。 — “I feel tired today.” The structure is 今日は (“as for today”) + せきが出て (“a cough is occurring”) + 疲れています (“I feel tired”). Together, the utterance means: “I have a cough and feel tired today.” The て form links the two current health conditions into one report.

2. クリニックに電話して、予約を取りたいと伝えてください。

   You should call the clinic and ask for an appointment.

   クリニック

   clinic

   電話して

   call

   予約

   appointment; reservation

   取りたい

   want to take; want to get

   伝えてください

   please tell; please convey

   More detail

   クリニック means “clinic.” It is a loanword written in katakana. With に after it, クリニックに marks the place or destination involved in the call: “to the clinic.” 電話して is the て-form of 電話する (“to make a phone call”). Here it links this action to the following instruction: “call … and then ….” The same form can also make a polite request when used with another verb, but in this sentence its request force comes from the final 伝えてください. Example: 病院に電話します。 — “I will call the hospital.” 予約 means “appointment” or “reservation.” The following を marks it as the thing affected by the verb 取る, literally “take,” which in this expression means “secure” or “make” an appointment. 取りたい is the desire form of 取る: 取る → 取りたい, “want to take/get.” The たい form expresses the subject’s desire. In 予約を取りたい, it means “want to make an appointment.” Example: 席を取りたいです。 — “I want to reserve a seat.” と marks the content of what is said or conveyed. Thus 予約を取りたいと introduces the message “that [someone] wants to make an appointment.” Japanese commonly leaves the subject unstated when context makes the intended person clear; here the fixed translation identifies that person as “you.” 伝えてください is a polite request built from 伝える (“convey; tell”) and ください (“please”), with the verb in its て-form: 伝える → 伝えて + ください. It asks the listener to convey the preceding message. Unlike a simple 言ってください (“please say it”), 伝えてください emphasizes passing information to another person. Together, クリニックに電話して gives the first action, and 予約を取りたいと伝えてください asks the listener to tell the clinic that they want to make an appointment. The complete meaning is: “Please call the clinic and tell them that you want to make an appointment.”

3. 電話をしたら、何と言えばいいですか。

   What should I say when I call?

   電話をしたら

   when I call

   何と

   what

   言えばいいですか

   should I say?

   More detail

   電話をしたら contains 電話をする, “to make a phone call,” in the form 電話をした, followed by ら. The たら pattern can mark a condition or a time sequence; here it means “when I call,” as established by the fixed translation. Japanese often leaves the subject unstated, and the translation identifies the caller as “I.” For example: 家に着いたら、連絡してください。 — “When you get home, please contact me.” 何と uses 何 (“what”) with と, the particle that marks quoted content. With a verb such as 言う (“to say”), it asks what words or wording should be used: 何と言いますか。 means “What do you say?” In this utterance, 何と is the content being said, not a separate object such as a thing being called. 言えばいいですか is built from 言う, “to say,” in the conditional form 言えば, followed by いい, “good,” and the question ending ですか. The reusable pattern V-ばいいですか literally asks whether it is good if someone does V, and naturally means “What should I do?” or “Is it best to do V?” Here, 言えばいいですか means “should I say [it]?” Example: 何と言えばいいですか。 — “What should I say?” Together, 電話をしたら sets the situation—when I make the call—and 何と identifies the words to be said. 言えばいいですか asks for the appropriate wording, producing the meaning “What should I say when I call?” This pattern is useful whenever you need advice about what to say in a particular situation.

4. 具合が悪くて、医師に診てもらいたいと伝えてください。

   Tell them you feel unwell and would like to see a doctor.

   具合

   condition; how one feels

   悪くて

   being unwell

   医師

   doctor; physician

   診てもらいたい

   would like to be seen

   伝えてください

   please tell them

   More detail

   具合 means a condition or state, especially how someone is feeling physically in this sentence. The pattern 具合が悪い means “to feel unwell” or “to be in poor condition”; が marks the condition being described. For example, 今日は具合がいいです。 means “I feel well today.” 悪くて is the form of 悪い used to connect this condition to what follows. 悪い means “bad” here, and its て form is 悪くて. In this sentence, the connection gives the reason or background for the request: “feeling unwell, and …” or naturally “because I feel unwell, …”. This is the adjective’s inflection; 具合 does not change form. 医師 is a formal word for “doctor” or “physician.” A more everyday word is 医者, but 医師 is appropriate in a medical or service-related context. The particle に after it marks the medical professional from whom the speaker wants to receive care. 診てもらいたい expresses wanting to have a medical examination or consultation. 診る is the base verb for examining or treating a patient; in this form it appears as 診て, the て form. もらう literally expresses receiving something, and 診てもらう means receiving the doctor’s examination or care. Adding たい to the verb stem gives the speaker’s desire: 診てもらいたい, “want to be seen by a doctor” or “would like to see a doctor.” For example, 病院で診てもらいたいです。 means “I would like to be seen at a hospital.” 伝えてください is a polite request meaning “please tell them” or “please convey this.” It consists of 伝える, “to tell or convey,” followed by てください, a request pattern meaning “please do …”. The recipient of the message is not named in the Japanese sentence; the fixed translation supplies “them” as the intended recipient. The clause before と is the content to convey. Putting the parts together, 具合が悪くて gives the speaker’s unwell condition and its connection to the request; 医師に診てもらいたい says that the speaker would like to receive care from a doctor; and と伝えてください asks the listener to convey that message to them. Thus the whole utterance means: “Tell them you feel unwell and would like to see a doctor.”

5. 空いている時間も聞きたいです。

   I also want to ask what times are available.

   空いている

   available

   時間

   time; times

   も

   also

   聞きたい

   want to ask

   More detail

   空いている means “being available” here. It comes from 空く (“to become vacant; to become available”) in the 〜ている form. With availability, 空いている describes a time slot that is open, not merely a physically empty object. Example: 席が空いている。 — “The seat is available.” 時間 means “time” or, in this context, “a time slot / times.” It can refer to a period generally or to a suitable appointment time when the context is scheduling. Example: 時間があります。 — “I have time.” も means “also” or “as well.” It marks 時間 as an additional thing being asked about. The basic reusable pattern is Nも (“N also/as well”), and its exact English placement can vary with the sentence. 聞きたい means “want to ask” here. It is 聞く (“to ask; to hear”) plus 〜たい, which expresses the speaker’s desire to do something: 聞く → 聞きたい. The following です makes the statement polite. For example, 予約について聞きたいです。 — “I want to ask about the reservation.” Together, 空いている時間 means “available times,” も adds this as another topic, and 聞きたいです means “I want to ask.” Thus the whole utterance means: “I also want to ask what times are available.”

6. そうすれば、あなたに都合のよい予約を見つけてもらえます。

   That will help them find an appointment that works for you.

   そうすれば

   if that is done; then

   あなたに

   for you

   都合のよい

   convenient; suitable

   予約

   appointment; reservation

   見つけてもらえます

   can have someone find it

   More detail

   そうすれば means “if that is done; then.” It combines そうする, “do so,” with the -ば conditional ending. The omitted subject is not necessarily “you”; here, the preceding context supports the action of asking about available times. A reusable pattern is Xすれば、Y = “if X is done/happens, Y.” あなたに means “for you.” In あなたに都合のよい, に identifies the person whose circumstances determine whether something is convenient. It does not make あなた the direct object. 都合のよい describes something as suitable or convenient for the relevant person. 都合 can mean circumstances, convenience, or suitability, while よい means “good” and is the form used before a noun here: 都合のよい予約, “an appointment that works for you.” いい is a common less formal alternative to よい, but the fixed sentence uses よい. Example: 都合のよい時間 means “a convenient time.” 予約 is a noun meaning “appointment” or “reservation.” The fixed translation selects “appointment” in this context. In another context, ホテルの予約 can mean “a hotel reservation.” 見つけてもらえます contains the lexical verb 見つける, “find,” in its -て form, 見つけて, followed by もらえます. The pattern V-てもらう presents the speaker as receiving the benefit of someone else’s action; the polite potential form もらえます presents that arrangement as possible. The helper is not named in the Japanese wording, while the fixed translation identifies the helpers as “them.” Thus, in this sentence, the relevant people can find an appointment that is convenient for you. Example: スタッフに席を見つけてもらえます。 means “You can have the staff find you a seat.” Together, そうすれば sets up a result based on the preceding action, あなたに都合のよい予約 means “an appointment that works for you,” and 見つけてもらえます expresses that the relevant people can find it. The whole utterance means: “That will help them find an appointment that works for you.”

7. 今からクリニックに電話します。

   I will call the clinic now.

   今から

   from now; now

   クリニック

   clinic

   電話します

   will call; call by phone

   More detail

   今から means “from now” and, in this sentence, naturally gives the starting point for the action: “now” or “starting now.” It can introduce an action that is about to happen. Example: 今から出かけます。 — “I’m going out now.” クリニック is the noun “clinic.” It is a loanword written in katakana. Here it is the destination or institution being called; the sentence does not specify a particular department or person at the clinic. 電話します is the polite form of 電話する, “to call by phone.” 電話する is a noun-plus-する construction, and 電話します uses the polite nonpast form of する. Japanese nonpast forms can describe future actions as well as present or habitual actions. With 今から, this form refers to an action the speaker is about to carry out: “will call” or “am going to call.” Example: 会社に電話します。 — “I will call the company.” Together, 今から sets the action’s starting time, クリニック identifies the institution being called, and 電話します states the speaker’s polite intention or imminent action. The complete meaning is: “I will call the clinic now.”

8. 症状を書いておいて、はっきり説明できるようにしてください。

   Write your symptoms down so you can explain them clearly.

   症状

   symptoms

   書いておいて

   write down beforehand

   はっきり

   clearly

   説明できる

   can explain

   ようにしてください

   please make it so that

   More detail

   症状 means “symptoms.” It is a noun; in 症状を書く, 症状 is the thing being written, marked by を. 書いておいて comes from 書く (“to write”) plus 〜ておく. 書いて is the て-form, and 〜ておく indicates doing something in advance or leaving it prepared for later. Here it means “write the symptoms down beforehand.” The request force comes from the final ください, not from 書いておいて alone. Example: 名前を書いておいてください。 — “Please write your name down beforehand.” はっきり means “clearly” or “distinctly.” It describes how the explaining can be done. Example: はっきり話してください。 — “Please speak clearly.” 説明できる means “can explain.” 説明する means “to explain,” and its potential expression is commonly formed as 説明できる, using できる after the noun-based verb expression. The form itself does not identify who has the ability. Example: 自分の考えを説明できます。 — “I can explain my idea.” ようにしてください is a polite request meaning “please make it so that” or “please ensure that.” In 〜できるようにしてください, it asks someone to arrange things so that the stated ability or condition is possible. Here, はっきり説明できるようにしてください means “please make it possible to explain clearly.” Together, 症状を書いておいて asks the listener to write the symptoms down in advance, and はっきり説明できるようにしてください gives the purpose or desired result: being able to explain them clearly. The whole utterance means: “Write your symptoms down so you can explain them clearly.”