How do I communicate what I need to the pharmacist?

Hands down, regardless of how good your Chinese is, the best way is just to take the hanzi characters in on a piece of paper and show them to the pharmacist. Technical and medical terms leave little room for error and the pharmacists will understand the hanzi much easier than a verbal rendition or explanation.

As it happened with me, the pharmacist took one look at my paper and said, “Nope, don’t have it.” I then pointed to the second translation (shā dīng àn chún 沙丁胺醇) and she said, “We have that.” It turned out to be Ventolin, one of the name brands for the inhaler with English on the box! I’m glad I brought hanzi translations with me.

Just a warning, if you are trying to find over-the-counter drugs in China, you’ll probably be able to get most things you want without a prescription. But if they look at your paper, you should be prepared to hear them say you need a

  * chǔfāng 处方 = prescription

In that case, you’ll have to get in to see a doctor.