Sign up ×

When we know somebody is sick, how can we wish them to get better? What are the best ways and also the standard ones to do that?

I'd like you to differentiate among some things, if and when applicable:

  1. Tell someone directly (get better soon) VS tell someone's relative/friend (I wish your __ gets better soon);
  2. When the cause is something "light" (like a flu) VS something more serious (being in the hospital);
  3. When there is confidence with the interlocutor VS when there's no confidence;
  4. etc... Other things that I might have forgotten.
share|improve this question

1 Answer 1

up vote 5 down vote accepted

One common phrase is this one, where X is the somebody in your question:

Zhù X zǎo rì kāng fù

For example, 祝你早日康復/祝你早日康复, which can be translated into "wish/hope you'll recover soon." or "wish/hope you'll make a speedy recovery."


  • 祝 (zhù) = Wish
  • 你 (nǐ) = You
  • 早日 (zǎo rì) = in the near future, soon
  • 康復/康复 (kāng fù) = recover from illness

This phrase can be used in most situations (mostly formal, informal and situations 1, 2 & 3 in your questions).

For "light" sickness, say a cold or a headache, people often say:

  1. 多休息/多休息 = Take more rest.
    Duō xiū xí

  2. 多保重/多保重 = Please take care.
    Duō bǎo zhòng

  3. 小心別又著涼了/小心别又着凉了 = Please don't get cold again.
    Xiǎo xīn bié yòu zháo liáng le

You'd often hear parents or elderly relatives say Example 3 to their kids or young people in the family when they have a cold.

share|improve this answer
First of all, thank you. :) Secondly, when you add new expressions, can you add the pinyin to your answer as well? Thanks in advance! – Alenanno Dec 23 '11 at 23:46
I took the liberty of changing some of the formatting. :) I think your answer does it all, and I don't see others adding more info, so I'll accept yours. :) – Alenanno Dec 28 '11 at 12:42
@Alenanno Your format reads much better ;) Thanks for all your hard work. – Georgeee Dec 28 '11 at 12:44

Your Answer


