Health and the Body in the B1 and B2 Exam

Vocabulary from the health and body section looks simple until you need to say something precisely: what hurts, since when, what the symptoms are, what kind of doctor you are going to, whether you have a prescription and insurance. In the exam, it costs points not because the names of body parts are difficult, but because they combine with cases (przypadki), prepositions (przyimki), verbs (czasowniki) and typical situations: speaking at the reception desk, describing how you feel, reading a leaflet or writing a message about being ill.

What you need to know at B1, and what is added at B2

At B1 level, the topic in the standards is called "Zdrowie i higiena osobista". It includes body parts, personal hygiene, how you feel, illnesses, a visit to the doctor and the pharmacy. This means that the candidate should be able to say things simply but clearly: "Boli mnie gardło", "Mam kaszel", "Chcę umówić wizytę", "Poproszę coś na gorączkę".

At B2 level, the topic is broader. It also includes state of health, a specialist doctor, medicines, diagnostics, meaning tests and analyses, and addictions. At B2, it is not enough to say "jestem chory". You need to understand and produce more precise sentences: "Lekarz skierował mnie na badanie krwi", "Mam przewlekłe bóle pleców", "Pacjent powinien ograniczyć palenie i alkohol".

In practice, learn whole phrases, not single words. The word "głowa" on its own does not give you much. You need constructions: "boli mnie głowa", "mam zawroty głowy", "uderzyłem się w głowę", "lekarz obejrzał mi gardło". Here you can immediately see why it is worth reviewing cases and noun declension.

Body parts: not only names, but whole combinations

First you need to know the basic body parts: głowa, twarz, oko, ucho, nos, usta, ząb, gardło, szyja, ramię, ręka, łokieć, dłoń, palec, brzuch, plecy, noga, kolano, stopa, serce, żołądek. At B2, more medical or more precise words are also useful: skóra, kręgosłup, staw, mięsień, kość, krew, ciśnienie, oddech.

Watch the plural (liczba mnoga). We say: "bolą mnie plecy", because "plecy" normally occurs in the plural. We say: "bolą mnie zęby", but "boli mnie ząb" if we mean one tooth. With body parts, agreement between the verb and the noun is very often needed: "boli" with one thing, "bolą" with many. If you confuse forms such as "ręka, ręce" or "oko, oczy", go back to the section on grammatical gender and plural.

Combinations with prepositions are very typical:

• "uderzyłem się w kolano", not *uderzyłem się do kolana,
• "mam ranę na ręce", not *mam ranę w ręce, if the wound is on the surface,
• "czuję ból w klatce piersiowej", when you are talking about pain inside,
• "lekarz zajrzał mi do gardła", because the direction is inward,
• "mam opuchliznę pod okiem", not *pod oka.

Prepositions are small, but in the exam they often decide whether an answer is correct. It is worth reviewing prepositions and their government, especially combinations with "na", "w", "do", "u", "od", "z".

Symptoms, complaints and how you feel

The safest construction is "boli mnie" plus a body part: "Boli mnie głowa", "Boli mnie brzuch", "Bolą mnie plecy". Here we do not say "moja głowa" or "mój brzuch", because in Polish it is usually clear whose body you are describing.

The second important group is "mam" plus a noun: "Mam gorączkę", "Mam kaszel", "Mam katar", "Mam dreszcze", "Mam wysypkę", "Mam zawroty głowy", "Mam problemy ze snem". These are very useful exam sentences, because they are short and unambiguous.

The third group is verbs describing a condition:

• "źle się czuję",
• "czuję się osłabiony" albo "czuję się osłabiona",
• "kręci mi się w głowie",
• "jest mi niedobrze",
• "mam mdłości",
• "kaszlę od trzech dni",
• "kicham i boli mnie gardło".

At B2, it is useful to know the difference between a disease, a symptom and a complaint. A disease is, for example, grypa, angina, alergia, zapalenie płuc. A symptom is something you see or feel: gorączka, kaszel, ból, wysypka, duszności. A complaint is a health problem felt by the patient: ból pleców, ból brzucha, zgaga, bezsenność.

Also be precise about time: "Od rana boli mnie głowa", "Od tygodnia mam kaszel", "Wczoraj dostałem gorączki", "Po jedzeniu boli mnie żołądek". This kind of information often appears in listening dialogues and in the oral exam.

A visit to the doctor, the pharmacy, a prescription and insurance

In Poland, situation-specific phrases are important. At reception you can say: "Chciałbym umówić się do lekarza rodzinnego", "Czy są wolne terminy na jutro?", "Mam skierowanie do specjalisty", "Czy wizyta jest na NFZ?", "Jestem ubezpieczony" albo "Jestem ubezpieczona".

At the doctor's, you need concrete sentences. Do not start with a long story. First say what the problem is: "Od trzech dni mam gorączkę i suchy kaszel". Then add details: "Brałem tabletki przeciwgorączkowe, ale nie pomogły". The doctor may ask: "Czy jest pan uczulony na jakieś leki?" albo "Czy przyjmuje pani leki na stałe?".

At the pharmacy, these phrases are useful:

• "Chciałbym zrealizować receptę",
• "Poproszę lek na kaszel",
• "Czy ten lek jest bez recepty?",
• "Jak często mam go brać?",
• "Czy mogę dostać tańszy zamiennik?",
• "Poproszę coś na ból gardła".

Pay attention to the verbs: "brać lek", "zażywać lek" and "przyjmować lek" are correct. In everyday language, "brać" is the most common. In more official language, for example in a leaflet, you will see "przyjmować" or "stosować". Aspect (aspekt) also matters: "Biorę antybiotyk od poniedziałku" talks about a process, while "Wziąłem tabletkę o ósmej" talks about one completed action. If this is difficult for you, revise perfective and imperfective aspect.

Example sentences that are genuinely useful

1. Od rana boli mnie głowa i mam dreszcze.
2. Chciałabym umówić wizytę u lekarza rodzinnego.
3. Czy mogę dostać lek na kaszel bez recepty?
4. Lekarz skierował mnie na badanie krwi.
5. Jestem ubezpieczony i mam numer PESEL.
6. Po tym leku jest mi niedobrze.
7. Od tygodnia bolą mnie plecy, szczególnie rano.
8. Mam alergię na penicylinę, więc nie mogę brać tego antybiotyku.
9. Staram się zdrowo odżywiać i regularnie ćwiczyć.
10. Rzuciłem palenie, bo miałem problemy z oddychaniem.

Typical mistakes made by Ukrainian, Russian and English speakers

Ukrainian speakers

• *Mam ból w głowie instead of Boli mnie głowa. The mistake comes from a syntactic calque and an attempt to describe the place of the pain literally.
• *Tabletki od kaszlu instead of tabletki na kaszel. This is similar to East Slavic constructions with the equivalent of "od". In Polish, when we talk about the purpose of treatment, we usually say "na".
• *Zapisałem się na lekarza instead of zapisałem się do lekarza or umówiłem się na wizytę. This is a prepositional calque. In Polish we go "do lekarza", but we make an appointment "na wizytę".

Russian speakers

• *U mnie temperatura instead of Mam gorączkę. This is a calque from the Russian way of talking about a condition. In Polish, "temperatura" can mean a measurement result, but the natural sentence is "mam gorączkę".
• *Robić analizę krwi instead of zrobić badanie krwi. The mistake comes from a false similarity and a calque of the word "analiza". In everyday Polish medical communication, we more often say "badanie krwi".
• *Lekarz wypisał mi recept instead of Lekarz wypisał mi receptę. This is an error of inflection and gender. "Recepta" is feminine, and in the accusative case (biernik) it has the form "receptę".

English speakers

• *Jestem chory z grypą instead of Mam grypę or Choruję na grypę. This is a calque from English "ill with". Polish does not copy the English preposition here: we say chorujemy "na" coś.
• *Biorę medycynę instead of Biorę lek or Biorę lekarstwo. This is a false friend. "Medycyna" is a field of science or a course of study, not a pill or medicine you take.
• *Złamałem moją nogę instead of Złamałem nogę. English often uses a possessive pronoun, but Polish usually leaves it out with parts of the body. If the context is clear, there is nothing to carry over from "my".
• *Potrzebuję receptę instead of Potrzebuję recepty. The verb "potrzebować" takes the genitive (dopełniacz), so the form is "recepty". This is where verb government (rekcja czasownika) helps.
• *Jestem alergiczny do penicyliny instead of Mam alergię na penicylinę or Jestem uczulony na penicylinę. This is a calque from English "allergic to". Polish prepositions are not a one-to-one map of English prepositions: here we use "na".

What this looks like in the exam

Health and the body can appear in any module, because this is a vocabulary area, not one single grammar exercise. In listening comprehension, you may hear a conversation at reception, a dialogue in a pharmacy, or a description of symptoms. In reading comprehension, you may get a clinic notice, a fragment of a leaflet, or a text about a healthy lifestyle. In writing, the topic may require you to describe an illness, justify an absence, or give advice to a friend. In the speaking part, you may talk about how you feel, your lifestyle, sport, diet, or a visit to the doctor.

In the grammatical accuracy module, health vocabulary is sometimes only the material used to test forms. At B1, in the sample papers from March 2020, grammar has 8 tasks and 45 minutes, and the whole module is worth 30 points. The tasks include, among others, the inflection (odmiana) of nouns, adjectives and pronouns, conjunctions, verbs, questions, aspect (aspekt), moods (tryby), and prepositions. So a sentence about a doctor may be testing the case (przypadek), not medicine itself.

At B2, grammar also has 8 tasks, but it lasts 60 minutes and the module is worth 40 points. More difficult types are added: participles (imiesłowy), the passive voice (strona bierna), impersonal forms (formy nieosobowe), and changing complex sentences into simple ones. The topic of health may appear in sentences such as: "Pacjent skierowany na badania czeka w rejestracji".

For exams up to 31 December 2026, the pass threshold at B1 is at least 50% from each module of the written part separately and from the speaking part. At B2, you need at least 60% from each module separately and from the speaking part. An average score does not save your points. If one module is below the threshold, the exam is failed. After 1 January 2027, the thresholds are not known, because there is no new implementing act yet.

What to review before the exam

• Names of basic body parts in the singular and plural.
• Constructions: "boli mnie", "bolą mnie", "mam", "jest mi", "czuję się".
• Phrases for registration, the doctor and the pharmacy.
• Words: recepta, skierowanie, badanie, ubezpieczenie, lekarz rodzinny, specjalista.
• Prepositions in phrases: "do lekarza", "na wizytę", "na badanie", "na kaszel", "w aptece".
• The difference between "brać lek", "wziąć tabletkę", "przyjmować leki" and "stosować lek".
• Basic vocabulary about a healthy lifestyle: dieta, sen, ruch, stres, uzależnienia.