# allergy, allergies, allergic



## losvedir

Hi all!

I'm going to be visiting Singapore for a week (starting tomorrow!), and will be traveling with someone who has food allergies. She'll have her epi-pen and will be careful, but I was hoping to learn a few relevant words. We'll be staying in Chinatown. (Is that more Cantonese or Mandarin? I know a bit of Mandarin, and was hoping I'd be able to use it.)

So, how would you say "she has food allergies"? The extent of my Chinese would be something like: "ruguo ta chi ____, ta jiu si le!" (is that intelligible? I only know pinyin. Tried to say "if she eats ___, she'll die!").

She's allergic to many legumes: chick peas, lentils, and ordinary green peas are the most common issues. Minorly allergic to peanuts. Most beans (black beans, pinto beans, etc) are okay.

What are the most common legumes in Singapore (/ Singaporean Chinese) food? How do you say the different names of those foods?

Thanks!


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## kareno999

I think everybody in Singapore speaks English, or at least Singlish , so you should be fine. If you wanna say "she's allergic to ..." you can try "ta dui ... guomin" 她对...过敏 but that doesn't sound as serious as your version though.


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## BODYholic

Hi  losvedir,

As stated by kareno999, most of the people in Singapore speak English to a certain extend. You just have to make do with our strange accent and unidiomatic English expressions. 

Chick peas and lentils are not common ingredients in Asian cooking. Otherwise, green peas may be present in local fried rice or sometimes, soup. And to be honest, I believe there aren't many people here even knows the proper Chinese terms of these greens. So knowing them doesn't really help you much. I would suggest when you are placing your order, do remind the server/hawker that your friend is _allergic to beans_ (do not use the term _legumes_, only food columnists use it here). In Chinese, it would be "_ta dui *dou lei shi wu* guo min_" (她对*豆类食物*过敏).

The common legumes in Singapore are Chinese long beans (长豆) and green beans (四季豆).

Have a pleasant trip.


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## losvedir

kareno999 and BODYholic -- thanks so much for your responses! We're in Singapore now and it's lovely. The allergies have not been a problem.


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## Youngfun

_She kena allergic to beans one_ 
_She buay tahan beans_


But I don't know if this is right in Singlish.


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## BODYholic

Youngfun said:


> _She kena allergic to beans one_



_Kena _means 受 or 受到 and it is usually followed by a verb. E.g _kena _whack upside down = being seriously beaten.

You may say, "She _makan_ beans one time, sure _up lorry_ _one_". Or simply, "She allergic to beans _one_."

But good try.


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## Youngfun

Btw:

lentils = 小扁豆 xiao2 bian3 dou4
chick peas = 鹰嘴豆 ying1 zui3 dou4

Among the legumes you mentioned, these 2 are not commonly found in Chinese cuisine, only green peas are common: 
green peas = 豌豆 wan1 dou4

peanuts = 花生 hua1 sheng1

These are the ordinary names in Mandarin used in Mainland China. But vegetable names can be very different with the regional differences.

It's very hard to translate vegetable names without consulting wikipedia or baidu... I've always thought that lentils were 绿豆 (in Italy the green ones are most common)，and chick peas were 莲子... because they look very alike, but are different species. I always make wrong associations between common vegetables eaten in the West with common vegetables eaten in China, but then I found out they are not the same thing.
According to my aunt, even Chinese black (soya) beans 黑豆 are different from those in Italy (_fagioli neri_).


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## Vivemafille

Which expression is right for "allergies"? For example, if my nose is running and my eyes are watering because there is pollen in the air from trees or flowers, I may say, "I have allergies."
1. 对 某 物 过 敏 or  
2. 過敏


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## twinklestar

1. 过 敏 Simplied Chinese is used in the mainland of China, and Singapore.

2. 過敏 Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and by some oversea Chinese; and many mainlanders would understand it too.

Generally you will say 对XXX过敏

我过敏 sounds weird.

我对花粉过敏 is natural and smooth.


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## Vivemafille

Thank you so much. I am an English as a Second Language teacher in San Francisco. My students will be appreciative.


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## 因当风吹过蔷薇

I am allergic to xxx. = 我对 xxx 过敏（/過敏）。

I have allergies. = 我有过敏（/過敏）症。[literally: she has allergy sickness]

In some context, where the topic of discussion is clear, 症 can be omitted, e.g. the speaker is reasoning his phobia/sickness towards xxx.
In fact, in daily life you'll probably hear 过敏/過敏 more than 过敏/過敏症. 
But as a foreign mandarin speaker, it is always safe to start a conversation with 过敏/過敏症


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## retrogradedwithwind

In spoken Chinese, I usually say 我对**过敏。 It is natural or compulsory to point out what I am allergic to. Of course if everyone is clear what entails my allergies, 我有点过敏 or 我过敏 is fine too.


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## Skatinginbc

If my nose is running (流鼻涕) and my eyes are watering (流眼泪) due to pollen in the air, I may say, "我有花粉热" (cf. hay fever 枯草热), "我得了花粉症", or "我患了过敏性鼻炎".  I may say "我有過敏" in a casual conversation like this: 
A: Achoo!
B: Do you have a cold?
A: 我有過敏 (= a lazy way of saying 我有過敏反应 "I'm having an allergic reaction").


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## twinklestar

我不知道什么是“花粉热“，刚才查了一下才知。

如果A回答我，“我有过敏“, 我会再问，什么过敏？

过敏性鼻炎的诱因并非一种。这里有很多原因。

不是人人都知道什么叫“过敏性鼻炎“， 我也不懂，才查了一下。

我对*XXX过敏*是最通俗的说法。


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## fyl

没有吧，我觉得“花粉热”、“过敏性鼻炎”这些词都很常见啊...这么说正常情况下是没有问题的。

"我对xxx过敏" is simple and natural if the allergen is clear.
Otherwise you can use just the word 过敏. It seems the way to use it can differ from place to place. But to me, 我有点过敏 or 我过敏了 are the best.


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## twinklestar

fyl said:


> 没有吧，我觉得“花粉热”、“过敏性鼻炎”这些词都很常见啊...这么说正常情况下是没有问题的。.



None of my family, friends or acquaintences have/had such a problem. Though, I heard about  过敏性鼻炎 in some advertisements, but I didn't try to know what it is. 

Are you sure you exactly know what  过敏性鼻炎 is? It is a MEDICAL TERM.  There are several culprits which can cause allergy except for pollen. I have given a link about it in my previous post.


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## fyl

twinklestar said:


> It is a MEDICAL TERM.  There are several culprits which can cause allergy except for pollen. I have given a link about it in my previous post.


The point is, one can specify the disease or reason for allergy instead of just saying "I have allergies". We were not saying 花粉热 or 过敏性鼻炎 is an equivalent of 对花粉过敏. These are examples of specific disease names that may cause that symptom.
For example, I have a headache and you asked me what's wrong, the answer can be simply 我头疼, but it can also be more specific like 我感冒了, 我脑袋撞房顶了 or whatever other specific "reason" for headache.
Similarly, when my nosing is running because of pollen, I can say 我有花粉热, 我有过敏性鼻炎 or other disease (depends on what I have) to explain the situation. The listeners do not have to have knowledge about those disease; they will understand 花粉热/过敏性鼻炎/... are names of the diseases that cause allergy in that context without feeling strange, because those names are heard in life (e.g. ads as you said) and self-explained to some extent.


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## twinklestar

fyl said:


> I can say 我有花粉热, 我有过敏性鼻炎 or other disease (depends on what I have) to explain the situation. The listeners do not have to have knowledge about those disease; they will understand 花粉热/过敏性鼻炎/... are names of the diseases that cause allergy in that context without feeling strange, because those names are heard in life (e.g. ads as you said) and self-explained to some extent.



This is an interesting question. After replying the post of yours, I did chatted with my friends about it. None of them exactly know what 过敏性鼻炎 is. We are not as knowledgeable as you. I have honestly told you we didn't know. 

Some pollen in the air is invisible. If someone suddenly said,"我过敏”, I would be at a lost.

I am talking about my own experience. so do you. Please just don't expect to everyone would understand it. Excuse me, I am over about this issue.
Here are the possible  allergen except for pollen for allergic rhinitis
*（3）动物皮屑*动物的皮屑及分泌物携带致敏原。猫、狗变应原在室内尘土和家具装饰中广泛存在。
*（4）真菌变应原*霉菌向室内、外环境中释放变应原性孢子，湿热环境生长迅速。
*（5）蟑螂变应原*变应原见于其粪便及甲壳中，颗粒较大，不在空气中播散。
*（6）食物变应原*在变应性鼻炎不伴有其他系统症状时，食物变态反应少见。另一方面，在患者多个器官受累的情况下，食物变态反应常见。对婴儿来说，多数是由牛奶和大豆引起的；对成人来说常见食物变应原包括：花生、坚果、鱼、鸡蛋、牛奶大豆、苹果、梨等。

Source: Baidu.


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