「病は気から」— "Illness comes from the mind." The Japanese have long believed that mental state affects physical health, and medical kanji reflect this deeply. Whether you're visiting a hospital, buying medicine at a pharmacy, or reading a health checkup report, these kanji are essential.
This article covers 20 health and medicine kanji — and wraps up the body series.
Core Kanji Table
Illness & Symptoms
| Kanji | On'yomi | Kun'yomi | Meaning | Common Words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 病 | ビョウ (byō) | やまい (yamai)・やむ (yamu) | illness | 病気 (びょうき, sick), 病院 (びょういん, hospital) | 病気 = illness/sickness |
| 症 | ショウ (shō) | — | symptom | 症状 (しょうじょう, symptom), 炎症 (えんしょう, inflammation) | 花粉症 = hay fever |
| 痛 | ツウ (tsū) | いたい (itai)・いたむ (itamu) | pain | 頭痛 (ずつう, headache), 痛み (いたみ, pain) | いたい is the go-to word for "ouch!" |
| 傷 | ショウ (shō) | きず (kizu)・いたむ (itamu) | wound/injury | 傷 (きず, wound), 負傷 (ふしょう, injury) | 心の傷 = emotional scar |
| 患 | カン (kan) | わずらう (wazurau) | afflict/suffer | 患者 (かんじゃ, patient), 患部 (かんぶ, affected area) | 患者 = patient |
| 疲 | ヒ (hi) | つかれる (tsukareru) | fatigue | 疲れ (つかれ, tiredness), 疲労 (ひろう, fatigue) | 疲れた！= I'm exhausted! |
| 熱 | ネツ (netsu) | あつい (atsui) | heat/fever | 発熱 (はつねつ, fever), 熱中症 (ねっちゅうしょう, heatstroke) | 熱中症 = heatstroke |
Treatment & Medicine
| Kanji | On'yomi | Kun'yomi | Meaning | Common Words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 医 | イ (i) | — | medicine/doctor | 医者 (いしゃ, doctor), 医学 (いがく, medical science) | 医者 = doctor |
| 薬 | ヤク (yaku) | くすり (kusuri) | medicine/drug | 薬 (くすり, medicine), 薬局 (やっきょく, pharmacy) | 薬局 = pharmacy |
| 診 | シン (shin) | みる (miru) | examine | 診察 (しんさつ, examination), 診断 (しんだん, diagnosis) | 診る = to examine (medical) |
| 療 | リョウ (ryō) | — | therapy | 治療 (ちりょう, treatment), 療養 (りょうよう, recuperation) | 療養 = recuperation |
| 治 | チ (chi)・ジ (ji) | なおる (naoru)・なおす (naosu) | cure/heal | 治る (なおる, to heal), 治療 (ちりょう, treatment) | 治る = to get better (intransitive) |
| 癒 | ユ (yu) | いやす (iyasu)・いえる (ieru) | heal/soothe | 癒し (いやし, healing/comfort), 治癒 (ちゆ, recovery) | 癒し = soothing, comforting |
Microbes & Toxins
| Kanji | On'yomi | Kun'yomi | Meaning | Common Words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 毒 | ドク (doku) | — | poison | 毒 (どく, poison), 中毒 (ちゅうどく, poisoning) | 食中毒 = food poisoning |
| 菌 | キン (kin) | — | germ/bacteria | 細菌 (さいきん, bacteria), 殺菌 (さっきん, sterilization) | 除菌 = sanitization |
Internal Organs
| Kanji | On'yomi | Kun'yomi | Meaning | Common Words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 胃 | イ (i) | — | stomach | 胃 (い, stomach), 胃腸 (いちょう, gastrointestinal) | 胃が痛い = stomachache |
| 腸 | チョウ (chō) | — | intestine | 大腸 (だいちょう, large intestine), 腸炎 (ちょうえん, enteritis) | 大腸・小腸 = large/small intestine |
| 肝 | カン (kan) | きも (kimo) | liver | 肝臓 (かんぞう, liver), 肝心 (かんじん, essential) | 肝心 = crucial/essential |
| 胆 | タン (tan) | きも (kimo) | gallbladder | 胆石 (たんせき, gallstone), 大胆 (だいたん, bold) | 大胆 = bold/daring |
| 臓 | ゾウ (zō) | — | organ | 心臓 (しんぞう, heart), 内臓 (ないぞう, internal organs) | 内臓 = internal organs |
病院 vs クリニック: Where Do You Go?
Seeing a doctor in Japan isn't as simple as "go to the hospital." Understanding these distinctions is practical knowledge:
| Japanese | Reading | Scale | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 病院 | びょういん | Large (20+ beds) | Full hospital with multiple departments |
| クリニック / 診療所 | クリニック / しんりょうじょ | Small (≤19 beds) | Neighborhood clinic for minor issues |
| 歯医者 | はいしゃ | — | Dental clinic |
| 薬局 | やっきょく | — | Pharmacy (prescription required) |
| ドラッグストア | ドラッグストア | — | Drugstore (no prescription needed) |
How it works in Japan: Go to a クリニック first. If needed, get a 紹介状 (しょうかいじょう, referral letter) to visit a 病院. Going directly to a large hospital without a referral may cost extra.
Chinese-Japanese Medical False Friends
Some kanji have surprisingly different medical connotations in Chinese vs Japanese:
| Kanji | Japanese Usage | Chinese Usage | The Trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 湯 | お湯 (おゆ) = hot water | 汤 = soup | Japanese 湯 is NOT soup! |
| 丈夫 | 大丈夫 (だいじょうぶ) = it's okay | 丈夫 = husband | Japanese = "don't worry" |
| 癒 | 癒し (いやし) = soothing/comfort | 愈合 = wound healing | Japanese leans more spiritual |
| 菌 | 除菌 (じょきん) = sanitize | 杀菌 = sterilize | Japan loves 除菌 on everything |
If a Japanese nurse asks 「お湯を飲みますか？」, she's not offering you soup — she's asking if you'd like hot water!
Practice
Q1. What does 「病は気から」 mean?
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"Illness comes from the mind." It means your mental state affects your physical health. 気 here means "spirit/mood," not "air." This reflects a traditional Japanese view on wellness.
Q2. What's the difference between 治る and 治す?
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Intransitive vs transitive. 治る (なおる) = to get better on its own (病が治る = the illness healed), 治す (なおす) = to cure something (医者が病気を治す = the doctor cured the illness). This intransitive/transitive pair is crucial in medical Japanese.
Q3. Does 肝心 mean "liver and heart"?
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No! 肝心 (かんじん) = crucial, essential. Example: 肝心なことを忘れた = "I forgot the most important thing." Although the kanji literally say "liver" and "heart," the word has nothing to do with organs — ancient Japanese believed the liver and heart were the body's most vital organs, so the compound came to mean "essential."
Q4. What's the difference between a クリニック and a 病院 in Japan?
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Size. A クリニック (診療所) has 19 beds or fewer — it's a small neighborhood clinic. A 病院 has 20 or more beds — it's a full-scale hospital. The Japanese healthcare system expects you to visit a clinic first and get a referral (紹介状) before going to a large hospital.
Q5. A nurse says 「お湯を飲みますか？」— what is she offering?
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"Would you like some hot water?" In Japanese, 湯 (ゆ) = hot water, NOT soup. This is one of the most common false friends between Chinese and Japanese. If you want soup in Japanese, the word is スープ.
Summary
- Medical kanji are essential for life in Japan — hospital visits, buying medicine, reading health reports
- Illness & symptoms: 病, 症, 痛, 傷 are the foundation for describing how you feel
- The treatment pipeline: 医 → 診 → 療 → 治 → 癒, from doctor visit to full recovery
- Organ kanji: 胃, 腸, 肝, 胆, 臓 — key to understanding health checkup results
- Watch out for false friends: 湯 ≠ soup, 丈夫 ≠ husband — don't get confused at the hospital
This wraps up the body series! From head and face, to torso and limbs, to health and medicine — you now have a complete kanji vocabulary for the human body. Ready to tackle a new series?