The short version
- Explaining what's wrong mostly takes three patterns: Me duele… (my … hurts), Tengo… (I've got…) and Estoy… (I'm…).
- Always be ready to say since when: desde hace tres días, desde ayer.
- In Spain, medicines are sold in pharmacies, and pharmacists are a good first stop for minor things.
The best time to learn some Spanish at the doctor is before you need it. When you've got a temperature and a pounding head, nobody wants to be looking up the word for "throat" in the waiting room.
This is one of those conversations that's very predictable. The doctor asks what's wrong, since when, and whether you're taking anything. The pharmacist asks what you need and explains how to take it. If you've practised those few exchanges, you'll get through them fine even on a bad day.
Here's what to say at each stage, from booking the appointment to picking up your medicine.
Words for the Spanish health system
A few words come up again and again. Knowing them makes it much easier to follow what people tell you.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el centro de salud | the local health centre (GP surgery) |
| el médico de cabecera / de familia | your GP |
| la cita / la cita previa | the appointment |
| la tarjeta sanitaria | the health card |
| las urgencias | A&E, the emergency department |
| la receta | the prescription |
| la farmacia de guardia | the duty pharmacy (open out of hours) |
| el seguro (médico) | health insurance |
To book an appointment, you'll usually use an app, a website or the phone. If you do it in person or on the phone, these will get you through:
- Quería pedir cita con el médico. (I'd like to make an appointment with the doctor.)
- ¿Tiene algo para hoy? (Do you have anything today?)
- ¿Me puede dar una cita lo antes posible? (Can you give me an appointment as soon as possible?)
- Tengo cita a las diez. (I've got an appointment at ten.) Say this at reception when you arrive.
If you're booking by phone, how to handle phone calls in Spanish covers the parts that make calls harder than face-to-face.
Saying what hurts
Me duele works like me gusta. The thing that hurts is the subject, so it changes to me duelen when there's more than one.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me duele la cabeza. | I've got a headache. |
| Me duele la garganta. | I've got a sore throat. |
| Me duele el estómago. | I've got a stomach ache. |
| Me duele la espalda. | My back hurts. |
| Me duele el oído. | I've got earache. |
| Me duele el pecho. | My chest hurts. |
| Me duelen las muelas. | I've got toothache. |
| Me duele aquí. | It hurts here. (and point) |
That last one is the most useful sentence in the whole post. If you can't find the word, point and say Me duele aquí. Nobody expects you to know the Spanish for every body part.
You can add how and when it hurts: Me duele mucho (It really hurts), Me duele un poco (It hurts a bit), Me duele cuando trago (It hurts when I swallow), Me duele por las noches (It hurts at night).
Describing your symptoms
For most other symptoms, you'll use tengo (I have) or estoy (I am).
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Tengo fiebre. | I've got a temperature. |
| Tengo tos. | I've got a cough. |
| Tengo mocos. | I've got a runny / blocked nose. |
| Tengo náuseas. | I feel sick. |
| Tengo diarrea. | I've got diarrhoea. |
| Estoy mareado / mareada. | I feel dizzy. |
| Estoy resfriado / resfriada. | I've got a cold. |
| Estoy constipado / constipada. | I've got a cold. (not constipated) |
| Tengo gripe. | I've got flu. |
| No he dormido bien. | I haven't slept well. |
In Spain, estoy constipado means you've got a cold. It doesn't mean constipated. If you do need to say that, it's estoy estreñido or estoy estreñida.
The doctor will almost always ask how long you've had it. Have this ready:
- desde ayer (since yesterday)
- desde el lunes (since Monday)
- desde hace tres días (for three days)
- desde hace una semana (for a week)
At the doctor's
Here's how a typical appointment might go. Doctors in Spain often use tú with patients, but some use usted, so you may hear either. This one uses usted.
You'll also hear short instructions during the examination: Respire hondo (Breathe in deeply), Túmbese aquí (Lie down here), Quítese la camiseta (Take your top off). If you don't catch something, ¿Perdone? ¿Me lo puede repetir más despacio? (Sorry? Could you say that again more slowly?) is completely normal.
Before the appointment, write three sentences in your phone's notes: what's wrong, since when, and what you've taken. Tengo tos y fiebre. Desde hace tres días. He tomado paracetamol. Say them out loud a few times in the waiting room. If you go blank in front of the doctor, you can read them, or just show them the screen.
At the pharmacy
Pharmacies in Spain are easy to spot by the green cross outside. Medicines, including things like paracetamol and ibuprofen, are sold there rather than in supermarkets. For minor problems, pharmacists will often suggest something and tell you if you should see a doctor instead.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Tiene algo para la tos? | Do you have anything for a cough? |
| ¿Tiene algo para el dolor de cabeza? | Do you have anything for a headache? |
| Tengo receta. ¿Le doy la tarjeta? | I've got a prescription. Shall I give you my card? |
| ¿Hace falta receta? | Do I need a prescription? |
| ¿Cuántas veces al día lo tomo? | How many times a day do I take it? |
| ¿Lo tomo con comida? | Do I take it with food? |
| ¿Me lo puede apuntar? | Could you write it down for me? |
In the public system, prescriptions are usually electronic. You'll often just hand over your tarjeta sanitaria and the pharmacist can see what the doctor prescribed.
When they explain how to take something, listen for these:
- cada ocho horas (every eight hours)
- una vez al día (once a day)
- durante cinco días (for five days)
- con las comidas (with meals)
- en ayunas (on an empty stomach)
If you're not completely sure, ask them to write it down. With medicine, guessing isn't worth it.
Emergencies
The emergency number in Spain is 112. It's free, it works from any phone, and the operators can often help in English if you ask: ¿Habla inglés? For things that are urgent but not an emergency, you can go to urgencias at a hospital or at some health centres. Out of hours, the nearest farmacia de guardia is usually listed on the door of any pharmacy.
A few short sentences are worth knowing by heart, just in case:
- Necesito un médico. (I need a doctor.)
- Llame a una ambulancia, por favor. (Please call an ambulance.)
- Soy alérgico a… / Soy alérgica a… (I'm allergic to…)
- Estoy embarazada. (I'm pregnant.)
- Soy diabético. / Soy diabética. (I'm diabetic.)
Common mistakes
Me duele mi cabeza.
Me duele la cabeza. Spanish uses la, not mi, for your own body.
Me duele los ojos.
Me duelen los ojos. Plural things take duelen.
Saying estoy constipado to mean constipated.
Estoy estreñido. Constipado means you've got a cold.
Nodding along when you didn't understand the dosage.
¿Me lo puede apuntar? Ask them to write it down.
Trying to learn a list of 50 body parts.
Learn the ones you're likely to need, and use Me duele aquí for the rest.
Recap
- Use me duele for pain, tengo for symptoms and estoy for how you feel.
- Always say since when: desde hace tres días.
- Write a three-sentence symptom note before your appointment.
- At the pharmacy, ask ¿Tiene algo para…? and get the dosage written down.
- In an emergency, call 112.
If you've just arrived, the Spanish you need in your first month in Spain covers the other everyday situations you'll meet early on. 100 Spanish Conversations takes practical themes like this one week at a time, so the words are ready before you need them. You can also ask questions about Spanish in real situations in the Skool community.
Leeroy studied Spanish for years before moving to Spain and finding he couldn't hold a conversation. He built Basically Spanish around the method that fixed it. Questions? leeroy@basicallyspanish.com