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Topic test · A2

German at the doctor test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
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One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

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tut der Kopf weh.

My head hurts.

Mir. weh tun puts the person in the dative, and the subject is the body part that hurts: der Kopf. Same logic as English “my head hurts” — you are not the subject.

Ich habe seit drei Fieber.

I have had a fever for three days.

Tagen. seit takes the dative; plural nouns get -n in the dative. And if the pain is still going on, the verb stays in the present tense: ich habe, not ich hatte.

Both of your feet hurt. Which is correct?

Mir tun die Füße weh. The verb agrees with the body part: two feet are plural, so tun. The person stays dative whatever happens — mir.

Wie Sie sich heute?

How are you feeling today?

fühlen. sich fühlen is a reflexive verb and with Sie it goes Sie fühlen sich. Your answer: Ich fühle mich besser.

Your Hausarzt is sending you to the orthopaedist. What do you ask for?

eine Überweisung — the referral: Ich brauche eine Überweisung zum Orthopäden. A Rezept goes to the pharmacy, a Krankschreibung to your employer.

Which paper do you hand in at work?

die Krankschreibung — the official name is Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung, AU for short. It goes to your insurance electronically, and getting it to your employer is up to you. The Anamnesebogen is the form you fill in at the practice on your first visit.

What does “die Praxis” mean?

die Praxis is the doctor’s practice. A pharmacy is die Apotheke, a hospital is das Krankenhaus.

At reception, this is usually the first question: “Sind Sie versichert?”

Do you have statutory or private insurance?

They are asking about the type of insurance: statutory or private. If you are statutorily insured, you hand over your card and that’s it.

Mir ist schlecht — what does it mean?

A dative state phrase: Mir ist schlecht/kalt/schwindelig. There seems to be no subject; the person who feels it is in the dative. If you say Ich bin schlecht, it means “I am bad”.

The doctor said “Nehmen Sie die Tabletten dreimal täglich”. What will you do?

dreimal täglich = three times a day. Boxes say it too: 1-0-1 means morning–noon–evening.

You can say your head hurts by saying Ich tue den Kopf weh.

Wrong. In German the body part that aches is the subject, and you are the dative: Mir tut der Kopf weh.

The sick note you get from the doctor to give to your employer is called for short.

AU (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) is the note you give your employer.

Build the sentence: I don’t have an appointment, but I’m in severe pain.

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

This is exactly the sentence you use to explain your situation when you show up at reception without an appointment.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. Pain is expressed with the dative

    Mir tut der Kopf weh — the thing that hurts is the subject, the person in pain is the dative. If more than one body part hurts, the verb becomes plural: Mir tun die Füße weh.

    Mir tut der Kopf weh.

  2. State phrases have no subject

    Mir ist schlecht/kalt/schwindelig — the person who feels it stands in the dative. Saying Ich bin schlecht means “I am a bad person”; don’t break the pattern.

    Mir ist schlecht.

  3. Duration: seit + dative

    How long a complaint has lasted is asked and told with seit; what follows is dative plural: seit drei Tagen.

    Ich habe seit drei Tagen Fieber.

  4. Referral and sick note are different papers

    To see a specialist you get die Überweisung (referral); to give to your employer you get die Krankschreibung / AU (sick note). Don’t mix them up.

    eine Überweisung zum Orthopäden

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • Ich bin schlecht.

    Mir ist schlecht.

    The state phrase needs the dative; the version with a subject says you are a bad person.

  • Mir tut die Füße weh.

    Mir tun die Füße weh.

    The thing that hurts is the subject; if it is plural, the verb is plural too: tun.

  • Ich habe seit drei Tage Fieber.

    Ich habe seit drei Tagen Fieber.

    seit takes the dative; the dative plural gets -n: Tagen.

  • I took the Überweisung to my employer.

    You take the Krankschreibung (AU) to your employer.

    An Überweisung is a referral between doctors; the paper for the employer is the AU.