I can make a doctor's appointment by phone, show my insurance, understand the doctor's instructions and say what hurts, and buy medicine and pills at the pharmacy.
At the doctor's and at the pharmacy
At the doctor's and at the pharmacy
Make an appointment in advance: call the clinic (poliklinika) and ask for termín na vyšetrenie, an appointment for a checkup (termín: an appointment, not a “term”). At the entrance they ask about poistenie (insurance): show your preukaz poistenca (insurance card). You wait v čakárni (in the waiting room). “Idem k lekárovi” is a set phrase: “I'm going to the doctor's”.
Doctors: zubár → zubárka. Words in -óg form the feminine with -ička: stomatológ → stomatologička, and the long ó becomes short.
The doctor asks “Čo vám je?” (“What's wrong?”): say what hurts and what you have. The doctor's commands are set phrases: learn them as a whole (table). Two of them have the short word si (Sadnite si, Ľahnite si), one has sa (Vyzlečte sa).
Medicine is sold v lekárni (at the pharmacy), not v drogérii: liek, tabletka. For some medicines you need recept (a prescription, not a “receipt”) from the doctor. To ask at the pharmacy: “Máte niečo na horúčku?” (na + the accusative).
Don't mix them up: “Bolí ma…”, ma is “me”; “Juraj má horúčku”, má is “has”. They differ only by the mark (the checker can't tell them apart in writing): look at the meaning.
Common mistakes:
• ×Sadnite sa → Sadnite si.
• ×stomatologka → stomatologička.
• ×Bolí mi zub → Bolí ma zub.
What the doctor says
Set phrases: learn them as a whole.
| In Slovak | In English |
|---|---|
| Sadnite si | sit down |
| Ľahnite si | lie down |
| Vyzlečte sa | get undressed |
| Otvorte ústa | open your mouth |
| Dýchajte | breathe |
Lesson notes
At the doctor's and at the pharmacy
Make an appointment in advance: call the clinic (poliklinika) and ask for termín na vyšetrenie, an appointment for a checkup (termín: an appointment, not a “term”). At the entrance they ask about poistenie (insurance): show your preukaz poistenca (insurance card). You wait v čakárni (in the waiting room). “Idem k lekárovi” is a set phrase: “I'm going to the doctor's”.
Doctors: zubár → zubárka. Words in -óg form the feminine with -ička: stomatológ → stomatologička, and the long ó becomes short.
The doctor asks “Čo vám je?” (“What's wrong?”): say what hurts and what you have. The doctor's commands are set phrases: learn them as a whole (table). Two of them have the short word si (Sadnite si, Ľahnite si), one has sa (Vyzlečte sa).
Medicine is sold v lekárni (at the pharmacy), not v drogérii: liek, tabletka. For some medicines you need recept (a prescription, not a “receipt”) from the doctor. To ask at the pharmacy: “Máte niečo na horúčku?” (na + the accusative).
Don't mix them up: “Bolí ma…”, ma is “me”; “Juraj má horúčku”, má is “has”. They differ only by the mark (the checker can't tell them apart in writing): look at the meaning.
Common mistakes:
• ×Sadnite sa → Sadnite si.
• ×stomatologka → stomatologička.
• ×Bolí mi zub → Bolí ma zub.