How to say “get well soon” in Chinese

zǎo kāng
get well soon

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Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.

Word by word

zǎorì
soon / at an early date
kāngfù
to recover (health)

Tone tip

日 (rì) is a sharp fourth tone with the tricky Mandarin 'r': closer to a buzzy 'zh' with no tongue-tip contact than an English 'r'. The full wish is 祝你早日康复; a lighter 'look after yourself' is 多休息 (duō xiūxi), 'get lots of rest'.

In a sentence

Tīngshuō nǐ shēngbìng le, zhù nǐ zǎorì kāngfù.

I heard you're sick, get well soon.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say "get well soon" in Chinese?+

"get well soon" in Mandarin Chinese is 早日康复, pronounced zǎorì kāngfù. 日 (rì) is a sharp fourth tone with the tricky Mandarin 'r': closer to a buzzy 'zh' with no tongue-tip contact than an English 'r'. The full wish is 祝你早日康复; a lighter 'look after yourself' is 多休息 (duō xiūxi), 'get lots of rest'.

What does 早日康复 mean literally?+

早日康复 breaks down as 早日 (zǎorì) = soon / at an early date, 康复 (kāngfù) = to recover (health). Together it means "get well soon".

How do I get the tones right in zǎorì kāngfù?+

日 (rì) is a sharp fourth tone with the tricky Mandarin 'r': closer to a buzzy 'zh' with no tongue-tip contact than an English 'r'. The full wish is 祝你早日康复; a lighter 'look after yourself' is 多休息 (duō xiūxi), 'get lots of rest'.

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See all the phrases on the how to say things in Chinese index, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.