Translation guide
A fever that comes and goes, with periods of normal temperature in between. In Japanese, this is most commonly expressed with the medical term 間欠熱 (かんけつねつ), but in everyday conversation, descriptive phrases are often used.
intermittent fever (everyday)
Descriptive phrase
Standard medical term for intermittent fever. Used in clinical contexts.
The patient is presenting with intermittent fever.
Describing a fever that comes and goes in casual conversation.
Literally 'fever goes up and down'. Natural way to describe fluctuating fever.
My fever has been going up and down since yesterday.
Means 'fever recurs'. Slightly more formal than the above.
Literally 'fever appears intermittently'. More explanatory, less common in daily speech.
In casual conversation, Japanese speakers rarely use the clinical term 間欠熱. Instead, they describe the symptom with phrases like 熱が上がったり下がったりする. Reserve 間欠熱 for medical reports or discussions with healthcare professionals.
Since the fever kept coming back, I went to the hospital.
With this illness, you may have intermittent fever.