Quick answer
¿Tiene algo para el dolor de garganta?
Do you have something for a sore throat? This one question opens almost every pharmacy conversation.
The words
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| la farmacia | the pharmacy |
| el jarabe | the syrup |
| la pomada | the ointment |
| el ibuprofeno | the ibuprofen |
| el paracetamol | the paracetamol |
| la tirita | the plaster |
| la venda | the bandage |
| el prospecto | the leaflet |
| la dosis | the dose |
| el farmacéutico | the pharmacist |
| la crema solar | the sun cream |
| el termómetro | the thermometer |
| la guardia | the on-duty shift |
| el medicamento | the medicine |
| la alergia | the allergy |
The phrases you will actually say
Worth knowing
In Spain you cannot buy painkillers in a supermarket or a corner shop. Even paracetamol and ibuprofen are sold only in a pharmacy, marked by the green cross, and they sit behind the counter rather than on a shelf, so you have to ask for them out loud. That also means the farmacéutico is trained to advise you: describing a rash, a stomach bug or a child’s fever at the counter is completely normal and costs nothing. Outside normal hours, one pharmacy per district stays open on rotation, the farmacia de guardia. The rota is printed on a sheet taped to the door of every closed pharmacy, so if you find one shut at midnight, read the door before you start walking.
Practice
Practise your pharmacy words
0/8 matched — tap a Spanish word, then its translation
Check yourself
Where can you buy ibuprofen in Spain?