Helpful Spanish vocabulary for visiting the doctor

When visiting a doctor in Spain, you need to be able to explain your condition in Spanish, ask questions, and understand the replies. For simple medical problems, especially where you already have a good elementary level of Spanish, certain useful phrases may be enough for your needs. You might be able to avoid paying an interpreter unless or until you are referred to a specialist. Also, knowing some basic healthcare-related vocabulary may be useful for seeking help from bystanders in a pressing situation.

Do not attempt to cope on your own, though, if your situation is serious and your Spanish is very limited. The following words and phrases are aimed at getting you started, and for unexpected situations. Otherwise, take an interpreter with you.

If you are not sure how to pronounce something, write it down. You can then show it to the doctor and will not have to worry about being misunderstood.

Here is an overview of some of the vocabulary you should try to remember, and practise saying out loud, to prepare yourself for using Spain's healthcare system.

Medical vocabulary for appointments

For booking an appointment (una cita) with the doctor (con el médico), you should firstly learn how to say the days (días) of the week (semana) in Spanish:

• Monday: Lunes
• Tuesday: Martes
• Wednesday: Miércoles
• Thursday: Jueves
• Friday: Viernes
• Saturday: Sábado
• Sunday: Domingo

Make sure you know the numbers 1-31, including how to say your telephone number (número de teléfono) and date of birth (fecha de nacimiento) in Spanish.

Learn the months (meses) of the year (año), and learn how to say the time of day, using an analogue clock (y media – half-past; y cuarto – quarter past; menos cuarto – quarter to; y cinco, y diez, y veinte – five past, 10 past, 20 past; menos cinco, menos diez, menos veinte – five to, 10 to, 20 to). Also learn the numbers up to 59, in case you are given a time via the digital clock (such as, 11.45, or las once y cuarenta y cinco).

Parts of the body in Spanish

For medical problems, learn the main parts of the body (we've given the definite article, 'the', to help you, but if you forget these, you will still be understood):

• Arm: El brazo
• Leg: La pierna
• Hand: La mano
• Foot: El pie
• Head: La cabeza
• Stomach: El estómago
• Back: La espalda
• Neck: El cuello
• Hip: La cadera
• Chest: El pecho
• Eye: El ojo
• Inner ear: El oído
• Throat: La garganta

Common medical items in Spanish

Useful medicine-related items you might need to know could include:

• Bandage: Venda
• Sticking plaster: Tirita
• Medicine or medication: Medicación / Medicamentos
• Prescription (I need a prescription for...): Receta (Necesito una receta para...)
• Aspirin: Aspirina
• Painkillers: Analgésicos
• Anti-inflammatory drugs: Antiinflamatorios
• Antibiotics: Antibióticos
• Pills: Pastillas
• Inhaler: Inhalador
• Vaccine: Vacuna
• Contraceptive pill: Píldora

Describing pain and reporting symptoms in Spanish

To report that any part of the body 'hurts', you simply say 'me duele' before it. For example, “my chest hurts,” or “my head aches,” would be me duele el pecho and me duele la cabeza.

If the pain has been ongoing for a while, you might be asked, ¿Desde cuándo te duele? ('how long has it been hurting for?'). You can then answer, for example, “since Tuesday,” (Desde el martes), or “for two months,” (Desde hace dos meses).Otherwise, the word for pain is dolor – such as dolor del estómago ('stomach pain').

For describing symptoms or conditions, you will need at least basic use of some common verbs. Here are three of the most crucial:

How to say 'I have' in Spanish to talk about your health

To report that you 'have' a condition at present, say tengo before it – such as:

• I have a migraine: Tengo migraña
• I have a fever: Tengo fiebre
• I have a cough: Tengo tos

For a condition you had in the past, use tuve, such as:

• I had depression for many years: Tuve depresión durante muchos años
• I had chest pains three days ago: Tuve dolores del pecho hace tres días
• I had influenza/the flu last week: Tuve gripe la semana pasada

For a condition that is very recent or has only just happened, you say he tenido (“I have had...”); for example:

• I've had a heart attack: He tenido un infarto
• I've had an accident: He tenido un accidente
• I've had a stroke: He tenido un ictus

For appointments, use tengo, such as:

• I have an appointment with the doctor/nurse: Tengo una cita con el médico/enfermero.

Médico is used for 'doctor', irrespective of whether they are male or female. However, if you know the nurse is female, you should use la enfermera. Note that, if you make a mistake with the gender, you will still be understood and will not offend anyone.

Also note that 'I have' is used to describe whether you are feeling hot or cold. For example, “I am hot,” (tengo calor), or “I am cold,” (tengo frío).

Using 'I can' and 'I can't' in Spanish medical conversations

You might be asked by a doctor if you 'can' do something, and want to respond that you 'can' or you 'cannot'. The question, “can you...?” is ¿puedes...? and you can either answer sí ('yes') or ('no'), or you can directly report that you are unable to do something by saying no puedo..., or that you are able to, with puedo...

• I can't breathe: No puedo respirar.
• I can drink but I can't eat: Puedo beber, pero no puedo comer.

Perhaps the answer is not a straightforward 'yes' or 'no'. You may want to say, “yes, but not very well,” (sí, pero no muy bien), or “sometimes,” (a veces).

Using 'I need' in Spanish for medical situations

Perhaps you know you need certain medication, and have to tell your doctor. Or maybe you are in medical trouble and have to tell someone in public that you need assistance. Here, the quickest word is necesito ('I need'), and is simply followed by the item or type of help necessary. For example:

• I need an ambulance: Necesito una ambulancia
• I need a doctor: Necesito un médico
• I need an appointment: Necesito una cita
• I need my pills: Necesito mis pastillas
• I need insulin: Necesito insulina
• I need some water: Necesito agua
• I need help: Necesito ayuda

To simply shout, “help!”, you would say, ¡Socorro! Or, “help me!”, which is, ¡Ayúdame!

Names of medical conditions in Spanish

If you have pre-existing medical conditions, you should learn the names of these, as well as any organs affected, such as corazón (heart), hígado (liver), pulmón/pulmones (lung/lungs) or riñon/riñones (kidney/kidneys).

These are the names of some medical conditions in Spanish:

• Diabetes type one/type two: Diabetes tipo uno/tipo dos
• Depression: Depresión
• High blood pressure: Hípertensión
• Low blood pressure: Hipotensión
• Cancer: Cáncer
• Tumour: Tumor
• Dementia: Demencia
• Fracture: Fractura
• Menopause: Menopausia
• Asthma: Asma
• Epilepsy: Epilepsia
• Insomnia: Insomnio
• Allergy: Alergia
• Diarrhoea: Diarrea
• Vomiting: Vómitos
• Nausea, or feeling sick: Náusea
• Migraine: Migraña
• Heart attack: Infarto
• Stroke: Ictus
• Brain haemorrhage, or haemorrhagic stroke: Derrame cerebral
• Menstrual period: Regla/Menstruación
• Sunstroke: Insolación
• Heatstroke: Golpe de calor

Additional useful phrases could include:

• I'm pregnant: Estoy embarazada. Perhaps followed by the number of weeks (de veinticinco semanas, or '25 weeks'), or months (de seis meses, or 'six months').
• I'm deaf: Soy sorda, if you are female, or soy sordo, if you are male.
• I'm blind: Soy ciega, for females, or soy ciego, for males.
• I'm a wheelchair-user: utilizo silla de ruedas.

Here, you might have noticed that, sometimes, for 'I am', you say estoy, and other times, you say soy. If your medical situation is a 'state of being' (un estado), then you use estoy, but if it is an integral part of your being, you say soy. It does not matter, though, if you mix these up – you are likely to still be understood, and the doctor's response will clarify it in any case.

You will find all the above much easier eventually, when your Spanish improves and you are more used to using it in public. To help you get started with the language, you may well benefit from How to learn Spanish when moving to Spain: Taking the first steps.