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At the doctor

Getting sick abroad is stressful enough without a language gap, so these words let you book an appointment and describe symptoms clearly.

Quick answer

Me duele la garganta desde el lunes.

My throat has hurt since Monday. Spanish says "it hurts me", so the body part is the subject: me duele + singular, me duelen + plural.

The words

SpanishEnglish
la fiebrethe fever
la tosthe cough
el dolorthe pain
la recetathe prescription
la citathe appointment
el médicothe doctor
la enfermerathe nurse
la gargantathe throat
la cabezathe head
el estómagothe stomach
la sangrethe blood
la vacunathe vaccine
el resfriadothe cold
la pastillathe pill
la tarjeta sanitariathe health card

The phrases you will actually say

¿Dónde le duele?Where does it hurt?
Me duele la garganta desde el lunes.My throat has hurt since Monday.
Necesito pedir cita con el médico de cabecera.I need to book an appointment with the GP.
¿Es usted alérgico a algún medicamento?Are you allergic to any medication?
Tengo fiebre y me encuentro muy cansado.I have a fever and I feel very tired.

Worth knowing

Spanish public health care runs through your local centro de salud, and almost everything starts with the médico de cabecera, the assigned family doctor. You cannot simply walk into a specialist: the GP refers you. Appointments are called cita previa and are usually booked by phone or through the regional health app rather than at the desk. For anything urgent you go to urgencias at the hospital, which is open around the clock and free at the point of use for EU visitors with a health card. One small thing that surprises visitors: you will be asked for your tarjeta sanitaria before your name, and the receptionist will often ask for your birth year rather than your full date of birth.

Practice

Practise your doctor words

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Check yourself

How do you ask to book a doctor’s appointment in Spain?

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