When we want to say that someone "becomes sick" or "gets sick" in Japanese, we use the verb phrase 病気になる (byōki ni naru). This is a common and practical phrase to know for everyday conversations about health.
The first part, 病気 (byōki), means "sickness" or "illness." The second part, になる (ni naru), is a grammatical pattern that means "to become" or "to turn into something." So, put together, it literally means "to become sickness."
You can use this phrase when talking about yourself or someone else. For example, if you caught a cold, you might say you 病気になりました (byōki ni narimashita). It's a very straightforward way to express this idea.
When discussing states of being or changes in condition, Japanese often uses a combination of nouns or adjectives followed by a verb that indicates a change into that state. In the case of getting sick, the noun for illness, 病気 (byouki), is combined with the verb になる (ni naru), which means 'to become'. This literally translates to 'to become ill'.
This construction is very common and can be applied to many other situations where something changes state, such as 大人になる (otona ni naru) for 'to become an adult' or 医者になる (isha ni naru) for 'to become a doctor'. It emphasizes the transition into the state rather than just being in the state.
How Formal Is It?
"昨日、社長はご病気になりました。"
"最近、病気になる人が増えています。"
"先週末、ちょっと体調を崩しちゃってさ。"
"赤ちゃんがお熱を出した。"
"働きすぎてぶっ倒れた。"
수준별 예문
私はよく病気になります。
I often get sick.
昨日、私は病気になりました。
Yesterday, I got sick.
風邪をひくと病気になります。
When you catch a cold, you get sick.
彼は病気になりたくないです。
He doesn't want to get sick.
病気になるのは嫌です。
I don't like getting sick.
たくさん寝ると病気になりません。
If you sleep a lot, you won't get sick.
彼女はいつも病気になりやすいです。
She is always prone to getting sick.
夏に病気になるのは大変です。
Getting sick in summer is tough.
最近、ストレスが溜まっていて、病気になりやすい気がするんです。
Lately, I feel like I'm prone to getting sick due to accumulated stress.
予防接種を受けたおかげで、インフルエンザには病気にならずに済みました。
Thanks to getting vaccinated, I avoided getting sick with the flu.
彼は無理なダイエットをして、ついには病気になってしまったそうです。
I heard he went on an extreme diet and ended up getting sick.
季節の変わり目は体調を崩しやすく、病気になる人が増えますね。
During season changes, it's easy to get out of condition, and more people get sick.
海外旅行中は、水に注意しないと病気になる可能性があります。
When traveling abroad, you might get sick if you're not careful about the water.
過労が続くと、心身ともに病気になるリスクが高まります。
Continued overwork increases the risk of getting sick, both mentally and physically.
幼い頃は体が弱くて、よく病気になって親を心配させました。
When I was young, I was frail and often got sick, making my parents worry.
医者は、十分な睡眠を取らないと病気になるよ、と忠告してくれました。
The doctor advised me that I would get sick if I didn't get enough sleep.
最近、ストレスで病気になることが増えた。
Lately, I've been getting sick more often due to stress.
彼は無理をしすぎて、ついに病気になってしまった。
He pushed himself too hard and finally got sick.
病気にならないように、普段から健康に気を付けている。
I try to stay healthy everyday so I don't get sick.
インフルエンザが流行しているので、病気にならないようにマスクをしている。
Influenza is widespread, so I'm wearing a mask to avoid getting sick.
彼女は体が弱いから、すぐに病気になってしまう。
She has a weak constitution, so she gets sick easily.
旅行中に病気になるのは避けたいものだ。
Getting sick during a trip is something to be avoided.
季節の変わり目は体調を崩しやすく、病気になりやすい。
During season changes, it's easy to get run down and fall ill.
精神的なストレスが原因で、病気になることもある。
Sometimes, mental stress can cause one to get sick.
사용법
When talking about getting sick in Japanese, you'll commonly use the verb 病気になる (byouki ni naru). This literally means 'to become sick.' Example: 最近、よく病気になるんです。 (Saikin, yoku byouki ni naru n desu.) (Recently, I often get sick.) You can also use it to describe someone else getting sick: 彼は風邪で病気になった。 (Kare wa kaze de byouki ni natta.) (He got sick with a cold.) This phrase is quite straightforward. If you want to specify *what kind* of sickness, you can put the name of the illness before 病気になる, often with a particle like で or に depending on the context, though simply stating the illness is also common. Example: インフルエンザで病気になった。 (Infuruenza de byouki ni natta.) (I got sick with the flu.)
A common mistake for English speakers is to directly translate 'I am sick' as 私は病気です (watashi wa byouki desu). While grammatically correct, this sounds a bit more formal and severe, like stating a medical condition, rather than casually saying you're feeling unwell. For a more natural way to say 'I am sick' or 'I feel unwell,' especially for minor illnesses, you'll often hear: 具合が悪いです。 (Guai ga warui desu.) (I feel unwell / My condition is bad.) Or simply: 風邪を引きました。 (Kaze o hikimashita.) (I caught a cold.) - If it's a cold. Remember, 病気になる focuses on the *act* of becoming sick, while phrases like 具合が悪いです describe your *current state* of being sick.
실생활에서 연습하기
실제 사용 상황
Talking about yourself getting sick
- 風邪をひいて病気になった。
- インフルエンザにかかって病気になった。
- ストレスで病気になった。
Talking about someone else getting sick
- 彼/彼女は病気になった。
- 友達が病気になった。
- 家族が病気になった。
Talking about what you do when you get sick
- 病気になったら、医者に行く。
- 病気になったら、薬を飲む。
- 病気になったら、家で休む。
Talking about preventing sickness
- 病気にならないように、手洗いをする。
- 病気にならないように、よく寝る。
- 病気にならないように、健康的な食事をする。
Talking about the duration of sickness
- 一週間病気だった。
- まだ病気だ。
- すぐに病気が治った。
대화 시작하기
"最近、病気になりましたか？"
"病気になったら、どうしますか？"
"病気にならないために、何かしていますか？"
"今までで一番ひどい病気は何でしたか？"
"周りの人が病気になったら、どう助けますか？"
일기 주제
もし病気になったら、一番心配なことは何ですか？
病気になった時に、誰に助けてほしいですか？その理由も書いてください。
病気にならないために、これからどんな習慣を取り入れたいですか？
子供の頃に病気になった時の思い出を書いてください。
病気を通して学んだことはありますか？
자주 묻는 질문
10 질문病気になる (byōki ni naru) specifically means 'to become sick' or 'to get sick,' implying the onset of an illness. 体調が悪い (taichō ga warui) means 'one's physical condition is bad' or 'feeling unwell.' It's a more general term for not feeling well, which could include being sick, but also just being tired or out of sorts without a specific illness. So, if you say 病気になる, you're usually talking about catching a cold or getting the flu, etc.
Yes, you can definitely use 病気になる for things like a headache or a stomachache. If you get a headache, you could say 頭が痛くて病気になった (atama ga itakute byōki ni natta - I got sick with a headache). It covers a wide range of illnesses, from minor to more serious ones. It just means 'to get sick' in general.
While 病気になる isn't impolite, you might hear ご病気になられる (go-byōki ni narareru), which uses honorifics and sounds more polite, especially when talking about someone else's illness. For yourself, 病気になった (byōki ni natta - I got sick) is perfectly fine and natural.
The past tense of 病気になる is 病気になった (byōki ni natta). For example, 昨日、風邪をひいて病気になった (kinō, kaze o hiite byōki ni natta - Yesterday, I caught a cold and got sick).
You would say 病気になりたくない (byōki ni naritakunai). The ない (nai) form of the verb なる (naru) is ならない (naranai), and to express 'wanting to do X' you use the masu-stem + たい (tai), and 'not wanting to do X' is masu-stem + たくない (takunai). So, なりたい (naritai) for 'want to become' and なりたくない (naritakunai) for 'don't want to become'.
A common phrase you'll hear is 病気にならないように気をつけてください (byōki ni naranai yō ni ki o tsukete kudasai), which means 'Please be careful not to get sick.' You might also hear 病気になってしまった (byōki ni natte shimatta), which implies 'I unfortunately got sick,' expressing regret.
Yes, you can absolutely use 病気になる for animals. For example, 私の犬が病気になった (watashi no inu ga byōki ni natta - My dog got sick). It applies to both people and animals.
No, that's a different nuance. If someone annoyed you so much you felt sick, you'd probably use something like 気分が悪くなった (kibun ga waruku natta - I felt bad/nauseous) or 吐き気がした (hakike ga shita - I felt nauseous). 病気になる is for physically contracting an illness, not a metaphorical 'sickness' from annoyance.
It means you 'got sick' at some point. The current state of being sick would be 病気です (byōki desu - I am sick) or 病気になっている (byōki ni natte iru - I am in the state of being sick). 病気になる focuses on the action or event of becoming sick.
病気になる uses the verb なる (naru), which means 'to become.' So, literally, it means 'to become sick (病気 - byōki).' You'll see なる (naru) used in many other contexts to express a change in state or condition, like 寒くなる (samuku naru - to become cold) or 医者になる (isha ni naru - to become a doctor). Here, it means 'to enter the state of being sick.'
셀프 테스트 24 질문
What happened to him yesterday?
What does the speaker not want to do?
What is the speaker trying to avoid by exercising daily?
Read this aloud:
病気になりました。
Focus: びょうきになりました (byouki ni narimashita)
당신의 답변:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
病気になりたくないです。
Focus: びょうきになりたくないです (byouki ni naritakunai desu)
당신의 답변:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
Read this aloud:
病気にならないように、気をつけてください。
Focus: びょうきにならないように、きをつけてください (byouki ni naranai you ni, ki o tsukete kudasai)
당신의 답변:
Speech recognition is not supported in your browser. Try Chrome or Edge.
This sentence means 'I will get sick.' The particles mark the subject and the state.
This sentence means 'He got sick yesterday.' '昨日' (kinō) means 'yesterday,' and 'なりました' is the past tense of 'なります'.
This sentence means 'She often gets sick.' 'よく' (yoku) means 'often'.
Imagine your friend is feeling unwell. Write a short message in Japanese advising them to rest so they don't get sicker.
Well written! Good try! Check the sample answer below.
Sample answer
具合が悪いみたいだね。無理しないで、しっかり休んでね。病気にならないように気をつけて。
Describe a time when you or someone you know got sick. What were the symptoms and what did you do?
Well written! Good try! Check the sample answer below.
Sample answer
先日、友達が風邪をひいてしまいました。熱が出て、頭も痛いと言っていました。彼女はすぐに病院に行って、薬をもらいました。
You are making plans with a friend, but you are worried about getting sick because of the weather. Write a sentence expressing your concern and suggesting a change of plans.
Well written! Good try! Check the sample answer below.
Sample answer
明日は天気が悪いみたいだから、病気にならないか心配だよ。来週に延期するのはどうかな？
What increases the risk of getting sick when it's cold?
Read this passage:
寒くなると、風邪をひきやすくなります。特に、手洗いやうがいをしないと、病気になるリスクが高まります。健康でいるためには、十分な睡眠とバランスの取れた食事が大切です。
What increases the risk of getting sick when it's cold?
The passage states '手洗いやうがいをしないと、病気になるリスクが高まります' (If you don't wash your hands or gargle, the risk of getting sick increases).
The passage states '手洗いやうがいをしないと、病気になるリスクが高まります' (If you don't wash your hands or gargle, the risk of getting sick increases).
Why did the colleague get sick?
Read this passage:
最近、私の同僚はとても忙しく働いていました。彼は毎日残業をして、週末も休むことなく仕事をしていました。その結果、先週ついに病気になってしまいました。
Why did the colleague get sick?
The passage mentions '彼は毎日残業をして、週末も休むことなく仕事をしていました。その結果、先週ついに病気になってしまいました' (He worked overtime every day and didn't rest on weekends. As a result, he finally got sick last week).
The passage mentions '彼は毎日残業をして、週末も休むことなく仕事をしていました。その結果、先週ついに病気になってしまいました' (He worked overtime every day and didn't rest on weekends. As a result, he finally got sick last week).
What caused the speaker to get sick during the trip?
Read this passage:
旅行中、私は慣れない食べ物をたくさん食べました。最初は美味しかったのですが、数日後にお腹が痛くなり、病気になってしまいました。次の旅行では、もっと食事に気をつけようと思います。
What caused the speaker to get sick during the trip?
The passage states '慣れない食べ物をたくさん食べました...数日後にお腹が痛くなり、病気になってしまいました' (I ate a lot of unfamiliar food... a few days later, my stomach hurt, and I got sick).
The passage states '慣れない食べ物をたくさん食べました...数日後にお腹が痛くなり、病気になってしまいました' (I ate a lot of unfamiliar food... a few days later, my stomach hurt, and I got sick).
This sentence means 'I caught a cold and got sick.' The order is Subject + reason + verb.
This sentence means 'He tends to get sick from working too much.' The order is Subject + reason + tendency.
This sentence means 'If you get sick, please go to the doctor.' The order is 'if' condition + advice.
/ 24 correct
Perfect score!
관련 콘텐츠
health 관련 단어
しばらく
B1For a while, for some time.
異変がある
B1To have an unusual change or abnormality.
異常な
B1Abnormal; unusual; irregular.
擦り傷
B1Scratch, graze, abrasion.
吸収する
B1To absorb.
禁酒
B1Abstinence from alcohol; the act of refraining from alcohol.
痛む
A2to hurt; to ache
鍼灸
B1Acupuncture and moxibustion; traditional Chinese medicine treatments.
急性的
B1Acute.
急性な
B1Acute
