Episode study · A1
Folge 70: Beim Arzt
Friends walk Nico into a clinic: appointment, insurance card, and talk of a possible fracture.
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Episode summary
Nico should not put full weight on the injured foot, though he insists he can walk alone. At the practice, the group hopes the wait will be short because they booked an appointment. Reception greets them formally and confirms the booking: their friend Nico González has pain in his foot. Staff note that the foot looks bad and ask about severe pain; someone worries the doctor may need an X-ray and that the bone could be broken—Nico needs the word gebrochen explained. Because he has never visited this practice, the desk asks for his insurance card and whether he has health insurance. After he hands it over, they send him down the hall into the treatment room to wait for the doctor.
Key vocabulary
der Termin
Meaning: appointment
Example: Wir haben um drei Uhr einen Termin.
die Praxis
Meaning: doctor’s practice / clinic
Example: Sind Sie zum ersten Mal in dieser Praxis?
die Versichertenkarte
Meaning: health insurance card
Example: Bitte geben Sie mir Ihre Versichertenkarte.
die Krankenversicherung
Meaning: health insurance
Example: Haben Sie eine Krankenversicherung?
der Behandlungsraum
Meaning: treatment room
Example: Gehen Sie bitte in den Behandlungsraum.
röntgen
Meaning: to X-ray
Example: Der Arzt muss den Fuß vielleicht röntgen.
gebrochen
Meaning: broken (fractured)
Example: Vielleicht ist der Fuß gebrochen.
auftreten
Meaning: to step / put weight (on a foot)
Example: Du darfst nicht so stark auftreten.
warten
Meaning: to wait
Example: Hoffentlich müssen wir nicht lange warten.
die Schmerzen
Meaning: pain (often plural in German)
Example: Haben Sie starke Schmerzen?
Grammar & usage focus
Formal Sie at the doctor’s desk
Clinic staff address patients with Sie: Haben Sie einen Termin? Haben Sie starke Schmerzen? Modal dürfen appears for physical limits (Du darfst nicht so stark auftreten among friends). For unknown words, Was heißt …? is the A1 rescue phrase—here for gebrochen. Perfect tense shows prior contact: Ich hab angerufen.
Examples
- Haben Sie einen Termin? — Ja, ich hab angerufen.
- Was heißt „gebrochen“?
Comprehension check
Why does the group expect a short wait?
Show answer: They already have an appointment.
What medical worry comes up about Nico’s foot?
Show answer: It may need an X-ray and might be broken.
What documents or coverage does reception ask for?
Show answer: His insurance card, and confirmation that he has health insurance—especially as a first-time patient.
Where do they send Nico after check-in?
Show answer: Into the treatment room; the doctor will come shortly.
Tips for shadowing this episode
Shadow the reception block in Sie-form until Haben Sie einen Termin? feels natural. Learn Versichertenkarte and Krankenversicherung as a pair. Pause on Was heißt „gebrochen“? and invent two more Was heißt …? questions with clinic words.
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