Spanish to Use at the Doctor's Office

Quick Answer

This article will teach you vocabulary and useful phrases in Spanish to use at the consultorio médico(doctor's office).

Questions This Article Answers

How do you say waist in Spanish?

How do you say forearm in Spanish?

How do you say kidney in Spanish?

How do you say burn in Spanish?

How do you say painkiller in Spanish?

What does torcerse mean?

What does tobillo mean?

What does escalofríos mean?

What does quirófano mean?

What does cirujano mean?

Speaking With a Health Professional

Speaking with a médico(doctor) or other health professional may be an overwhelming experience due to the complexity of the vocabulary. It is recommended to describir(describe) what hurts you or your symptoms the best you can so the doctor can provide the best care.

Routine Questions

The médico may start the consultation with some basic questions.

examples
¿Cuál es tu nombre completo? What’s your full name?
¿Cuántos años tienes? How old are you?
¿Tienes seguro médico? Do you have medical insurance?
¿A qué se debe tu consulta? What brings you in today?
¿Qué síntomas tienes? ¿Cuándo comenzaron? What are your symptoms? When did they start?
¿Dónde te duele? Where do you feel the pain?
¿Tienes alguna alergia? Do you have any allergies?
¿Tomas algún tipo de medicamento? Do you take any medication?
¿Alguien en tu familia tiene o tuvo esta enfermedad? Do you have a family history of this disease?

Where Does it Hurt?

To describe what body part hurts you, you can use the verbs doler(to hurt), sentir dolor(to feel pain), tener dolor(to have pain), torcerse(to sprain), quebrarse(to break), and lastimarse(to hurt).

examples
Me duele la rodilla. My knee hurts.
Me lastimé la mano jugando al baloncesto. I hurt my hand playing basketball.
Tengo dolor en el pecho. I have pain in my chest.
Siento dolor en la pierna cuando camino. I feel pain in my leg when I walk.
Me torcí el tobillo cuando bajaba las escaleras. I sprained my ankle while going down the stairs.
Creo que me quebré el dedo. I think I broke my finger.

Body Parts

The following words will help you describe what parte del cuerpo(body part) hurts you.

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
antebrazo	forearm	ingle	groin
boca	mouth	labio	lip
brazo	arm	lengua	tongue
cabeza	head	mandíbula	jaw
cadera	hip	mano	hand
cara	face	muñeca	wrist
cintura	waist	muslo	thigh
clavícula	clavicle	nariz	nose
codo	elbow	ojo	eye
columna vertebral	spine	oreja	ear
cuello	neck	pantorrilla	calf
dedo	finger	pecho	chest
dedo del pie	toe	pene	penis
diente	tooth	pie	foot
encía	gum	pierna	leg
espalda	back	rodilla	knee
espinilla	shin	seno	breast
estómago	stomach	talón	heel
garganta	throat	tobillo	ankle
hombro	shoulder	vagina	vagina

The following words are related to the órganos(organs).

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
apéndice	appendix	laringe	larynx
arteria	artery	músculo	muscle
bazo	spleen	páncreas	pancreas
cerebro	brain	pulmón	lung
corazón	heart	riñón	kidney
estómago	stomach	sangre	blood
genitales	genitals	tiroides	thyroid
hígado	liver	tráquea	trachea
hueso	bone	útero	uterus
intestino delgado	small intestine	vejiga	bladder
intestino grueso	large intestine	vena	vein

What Are Your Symptoms?

You can describe your síntomas(symptoms) using the verbs tener(to have), padecer(to suffer from), sentir(to feel), sentirse(to feel), and sufrir(to suffer from).

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
dificultad respiratoria	difficulty breathing	herida	wound
dolor	ache, pain	infección	infection
dolor de cabeza	headache	neumonía	pneumonia
dolor de garganta	sore throat	náusea	nausea
dolor de pecho	chest pain	opresión de pecho	chest tightness
dolor muscular	muscle ache	problema gastrointestinal	gastrointestinal issue
escalofríos	chills	quemadura	burn
falta de aliento	shortness of breath	tos	cough
fiebre	fever	tos seca	dry cough

The words in the following list can help you describe your symptoms in detail.

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
agudo	acute, sharp	intenso	intense
ardiente	burning	leve	mild
caliente	warm	más	more
frío	cold	menos	less
grave	serious	moderado	moderate
inflamado	inflamed	punzante	stinging

examples
Hace cinco días que tengo tos seca. I've had a dry cough for five days.
En estos días sentí un dolor de pecho agudo. I’ve experienced acute chest pain in the past few days.
Mi hija padece migrañas crónicas. My daughter suffers from chronic migraines.
Me siento constantemente cansado y sin energía. I feel constantly tired and low on energy.
Mis síntomas son dolor muscular y un leve dolor de cabeza. My symptoms are muscle ache and a mild headache.
Siento falta de aliento cuando comienzo a hacer ejercicio. I experience shortness of breath when I start exercising.

Health Facilities

Besides doctors' offices, it is possible to get medical assistance in the following centros médicos(health facilities).

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
atención urgente	urgent care	hospital	hospital
clínica	clinic	laboratorio	laboratory
consultorio médico	doctor’s office	quirófano	operating room
cuidado paliativo	hospice care	sala de emergencias	emergency room
habitación de hospital	hospital room	sala de espera	waiting room

examples
El médico me controló la frecuencia cardíaca y la presión en su consultorio. The doctor checked my heart rate and blood pressure in his office.
Llevamos al motociclista accidentado a la sala de emergencias a toda prisa. We rushed the injured motorcyclist to the emergency room.
Llamé al laboratorio para averiguar si mis análisis estaban listos. I called the laboratory to check if my tests were ready.
La secretaria de la médica me pidió que me sentara en la sala de espera. The doctor’s secretary asked me to sit in the waiting room.

Health Professionals

Here's a list of the profesionales de la salud(health professionals) that can help you.

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
cirujano	surgeon	geriatra	geriatrician
dentista	dentist	ginecólogo	gynecologist
dermatólogo	dermatologist	médico	doctor
doctor	doctor	obstetra	obstetrician
enfermero	nurse	oftalmólogo	ophthalmologist
especialista	specialist	pediatra	pediatrician
farmacéutico	pharmacist	psicólogo	psychologist
fisioterapeuta	physical therapist	psicoterapeuta	psychotherapist
gastroenterólogo	gastroenterologist	psiquiatra	psychiatrist

examples
Me gustaría concertar una cita con el doctor Barnes. I’d like to book an appointment with doctor Barnes.
El dermatólogo me quitó las dos verrugas que tenía en el pie. The dermatologist removed the two warts on my foot.
Voy a ver a un oftalmólogo porque tengo los ojos rojos. I’m going to see an ophthalmologist for my red eyes.
El dentista dijo que necesitaré una corona. The dentist said I’ll need a crown.
Estas son las píldoras que me recomendó el gastroenterólogo. These are the pills my gastroenterologist recommended.

More Vocabulary Related to Health

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
analgésico	painkiller	penicilina	penicillin
análisis	test	presión arterial	blood pressure
antibiótico	antibiotic	prueba	test
cura	cure	radiografía	X-ray
examen físico	physical exam	resultados	results
medicación	medication	ritmo cardíaco	heart rate
medicamento	medication	tratamiento	treatment
oxígeno	oxygen	vacuna	vaccine

Learn more vocabulary and useful phrases in Spanish in the following articles:

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• Spanish to Use at a Coffee Shop

• Spanish to Use at a Fast-Food Restaurant

• Spanish to Use at a Hair Salon

• Spanish to Use at a Show

• Spanish to Use at the Airport

• Spanish to Use at the Dentist's Office

• Spanish to Use in a Taxi

• How to Order Food on the Phone in Spanish