When someone at home is unwell, British people use words most textbooks skip: poorly, under the weather, the GP, the surgery, the chemist's. Learners often translate directly and say "I have fever" or "I go to the doctor's office". Many say "I feel sick" for a cold, but in British English that suggests vomiting. In this episode: • Saying you feel ill • Sick, ill and temperatures • At home: tissues, plasters and paracetamol • The gp, the surgery and the chemist's • Work, school and kind words • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: poorly (PAW-lee) — ill, unwell (casual, very common with children) I feel poorly — I feel ill (casual) I'm under the weather — I feel a bit ill, nothing serious (casual) I feel a bit rough — I feel quite ill or very tired (casual) I think I'm coming down with something — I think I'm starting to get ill (casual) I've got a cold — a blocked or runny nose, feeling tired I've got a sore throat (THROHT) — my throat hurts I've got a runny nose — my nose keeps running I've got a temperature (TEM-pruh-chuh) — my body is hotter than normal I've been sick — I vomited I feel sick — I feel as if I might vomit; I feel nauseous (NAW-zee-us) He's off sick — he is at home, not at work, because he is ill (neutral) Let's take your temperature — let's measure it It's thirty-eight point five — 38.5, said with "point" It's gone up — it is higher now It's come down — it is lower now a tissue (TISH-oo) — a soft paper for your nose blow your nose — clear your nose into a tissue a plaster (PLAH-stuh) — a small sticky strip you put on a cut Real British English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — modern British accent, everyday grammar, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang, he/she/it for things, and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.