Ways to say it
| Mandarin | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 醫療證明 / 医疗证明 | yīliáo zhèngmíng |
| 病假條 / 病假条 | bìngjiàtiáo |
医疗证明 is the word for an official document from a doctor or hospital that confirms an illness, an injury or a treatment. For the everyday note that excuses you from work or school, people usually say 病假条 (bìngjiàtiáo).
What does it mean word for word?
醫療證明 is made of 醫療, medical treatment and 證明, proof or certificate. 病假條 is made of 病, illness, 假, leave and 條, a slip of paper, so it is literally an illness leave slip.
Which one should you use?
医疗证明 is the formal, general term for any medical certificate. 医学证明 is another formal way to say it. 病假条 is the common colloquial term and refers specifically to a sick note for an absence from work or school.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Both 医疗证明 and 病假条 are commonly used in mainland China. The first form in each pair, such as 醫療證明, is written in traditional characters and the second, such as 医疗证明, in simplified characters.
How do you pronounce it?
醫療證明 is pronounced yīliáo zhèngmíng and 病假條 is pronounced bìngjiàtiáo.
When do people say it?
When you ask a doctor for a note to excuse you from work or school, the usual expression is 開假條 / 开假条, to issue a leave slip.
Did you know?
- The term 假 in 病假條 can mean 'leave' or 'vacation', but it is also the most common word for 'fake' or 'false'. Context is the only way to tell if a slip is for sick leave or is a forgery.
- In mainland China, a 病假條 is often stamped with a red circular seal called a 公章. Without this physical ink stamp, many employers will not accept the medical certificate as authentic.
- The character 條 in 病假條 is a classifier used for long, narrow objects. It is the same character used to count fish, rivers and trousers.
Examples in context
- 我需要一份医疗证明。I need a medical certificate.
- 医学证明必须由专业医生签署。The medical certificate must be signed by a professional doctor.
- 明天我要请病假，你能帮我开一张病假条吗？I need to take sick leave tomorrow, can you help me with a medical certificate?
- 我需要一份病情证明来请假。I need a medical certificate to take leave.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “medical certificate” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
