How to Read Your Chinese Health Checkup Report in English

A Chinese health checkup report (体检报告, tǐjiǎn bàogào) is a thorough document — often 20 or more pages — and if yours arrives in Chinese, it can feel impenetrable. This guide explains the report's structure, the key terms you will meet, and how to tell what actually needs your attention.

The structure of a typical report

Most Chinese checkup reports follow the same order:

1. Cover and personal information — name, age, sex, checkup date, package name
2. Summary and conclusions (小结 / 体检结论) — the most important section; read this first
3. Abnormal findings list (异常结果) — items flagged for attention or follow-up
4. Detailed results by department — internal medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, ENT, dental, gynecology/urology
5. Laboratory results — blood, urine, stool, with reference ranges
6. Imaging reports — ultrasound, CT, X-ray, ECG descriptions and impressions
7. Doctor's recommendations (健康建议) — lifestyle advice and follow-up plan

Tip: if you read nothing else, read sections 2, 3, and 7. Everything else is supporting detail.

Key terms you will encounter

| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning | |---|---|---| | 正常 | zhèngcháng | Normal | | 异常 | yìcháng | Abnormal | | 偏高 / 偏低 | piāngāo / piāndī | Slightly high / slightly low | | 建议复查 | jiànyì fùchá | Recommend re-examination | | 建议就诊 | jiànyì jiùzhěn | Recommend seeing a specialist | | 未见明显异常 | wèi jiàn míngxiǎn yìcháng | No obvious abnormality seen | | 结节 | jiéjié | Nodule | | 囊肿 | nángzhǒng | Cyst | | 脂肪肝 | zhīfáng gān | Fatty liver | | 血压 | xuèyā | Blood pressure | | 血糖 | xuètáng | Blood sugar | | 胆固醇 | dǎn gù chún | Cholesterol |

Understanding lab results

Each lab line shows three things: your value, the unit, and the reference range (参考值 / 参考范围). Focus on:

• Values outside the reference range — marked with ↑ or ↓, or highlighted
• Patterns, not single points — mildly elevated ALT plus fatty liver on ultrasound tells a coherent story; one isolated borderline value often means little
• Tumor markers — a slightly raised CEA or CA125 is common and usually benign (smoking, inflammation, and benign conditions all move these). It is a prompt for follow-up, not a diagnosis
• Trends over time — if you have previous reports, compare the same markers year to year; a stable mildly-high value matters less than a rising one

Understanding imaging impressions

Imaging sections end with an "impression" (印象 / 诊断意见) — the radiologist's conclusion in one or two lines. Common benign findings that sound alarming in translation:

• Nodules (结节) — extremely common in thyroid and lung reports; most are benign and simply monitored
• Cysts (囊肿) — liver and kidney cysts are usually harmless incidental findings
• Fatty liver (脂肪肝) — very common; graded mild/moderate/severe, and often reversible with lifestyle changes

What deserves prompt attention: phrases like 建议进一步检查 (recommend further examination), 占位 (space-occupying lesion), or any finding the summary flags with 建议就诊 (see a specialist).

Red flags vs routine flags

Routine — follow the suggested timeline:

• Borderline blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar
• Mild fatty liver
• Small benign-appearing nodules or cysts with a "recheck in 6-12 months" note
• Slightly elevated tumor markers with no other findings

Act promptly:

• The report explicitly recommends specialist consultation (建议就诊)
• Markedly abnormal values (not just borderline)
• New findings compared with your previous reports
• Any chest CT or imaging impression mentioning further workup

Getting a proper English version

In order of preference:

1. Hospital international center — ask before or during your checkup; some issue English reports routinely, others on request
2. Professional medical translation — have the summary, abnormal findings, and recommendations translated; this is usually enough
3. Your doctor at home — bring the translated summary plus the original; reference ranges and units travel fine across languages

Avoid relying solely on phone-camera translation apps for the summary page — they handle tables and medical phrasing poorly, and a mistranslated recommendation is worse than none.

Building your own bilingual glossary

If you plan to get checkups in China more than once, keeping a small personal glossary pays off. After each checkup, note the Chinese terms for your recurring items — for example, the exact phrasing of your blood pressure, cholesterol, and any chronic findings. Next year you can scan the new report for those same terms and compare values directly, even before any translation arrives. Many returning patients find this faster than waiting for the translated summary for routine year-over-year checks.

What to do after you understand the report

1. File the report (and previous years') where you can find them — trends matter
2. Book the follow-ups the report recommends, on its suggested timeline
3. Share the summary with your regular doctor at home
4. Act on lifestyle recommendations — the report's value is realized in what you do next, not in the reading

How HuaCure helps

We arrange English-language reports or professional summaries of Chinese checkup reports, explain flagged findings in plain language, and coordinate follow-up specialist appointments in China when the report recommends them. If you already have a Chinese report and need help understanding it, send us the summary pages.

Medical review note

This article was reviewed by the HuaCure medical content team for accuracy and is for information only, not medical advice.