Have you ever been traveling in a Spanish-speaking country and suddenly needed to explain that you weren't feeling well? Or perhaps you're preparing for a trip and want to make sure you can communicate effectively if you experience any health issues? Today, we're going to explore the various ways to express pain and discomfort in Spanish, from physical ailments to emotional distress.
Before we explore how to describe pain intensity and discuss medical treatments in Spanish, let's learn how to express immediate pain reactions. In English, we often say 'ouch!' when we feel sudden pain, but what do Spanish speakers say?
The most common pain exclamation in Spanish is "¡Ay!" (pronounced like the English word "eye"). This versatile expression is used throughout the Spanish-speaking world when someone experiences sudden pain:
¿Estás bien ahí? -Sí. Ay, ay... Acá.
Are you OK there? -Yes. Ouch, ouch... Here.
Captions 23-24, Yago 12 Fianza - Part 4
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The intensity of pain is often reflected by repeating "ay" multiple times or extending it:
Mild pain: "¡Ay!"
Moderate pain: "¡Ay, ay!"
Severe pain: "¡Ayyyyy!" (elongated)
Apart from the above expressions, some people may use the interjection "ayayay," to express pain. This common exclamation perfectly captures the experience of pain in Spanish-speaking cultures:
¡Ay, ayayay, ayayay, Flor! ¡Ouch!
Ay, ayayay, ayayay, Flor! Ouch!
Caption 13, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 2 - Part 1
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While "¡Ay!" is universal across Spanish-speaking countries, you might also hear these regional variations:
"¡Ouch!" (pronounced like English "ouch") - Used especially in Mexico and parts of Central America
"¡Uy!" - Used for both pain and surprise
"¡Ay Dios!" or "¡Ay Dios mío!" (Oh God! or Oh my God!) - Used for more intense pain
Ouch. Me quemé.
Ouch. I burned myself.
Caption 73, Recetas de cocina Arepas colombianas
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These exclamations are often followed by descriptions of the pain using the structures we've learned (me duele or tengo dolor de).
In Spanish, there are two main structures used to express physical pain:
This is the most common way to express pain in Spanish. The verb doler (to hurt) is used with the following structure:
Me duele + [singular body part]
Me duelen + [plural body part]
Let's see some examples from our video clips:
Me duele la cabeza.
My head hurts.
Caption 13, Raquel Expresiones para un festival de música.
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Y cuando me duelen las piernas de tanto jugar, mi abuelito me hace masajes con aceite de coco.
And when my legs hurt from playing for so long, my grandpa gives me massages with coconut oil.
Captions 48-49, Guillermina y Candelario Experimentos en la cocina
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Notice that the verb doler agrees with the body part (the thing that hurts), not with the person experiencing the pain. This is because grammatically, the body part is the subject of the sentence.
Another common structure is using the phrase tengo dolor de followed by the body part:
Tengo dolor de cabeza, ¿sí? -¡Ay, Fabiolita!
I have a headache, OK? -Oh, Fabiolita!
Caption 20, La Sucursal del Cielo Capítulo 1 - Part 11
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Aún tengo dolor y uso de vez en cuando
I still have pain, and I wear, once in a while,
Caption 43, Aprendiendo con Silvia Vacaciones y urgencias - Part 2
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Being able to describe the type and intensity of pain you're experiencing can help others understand your situation better:
La salud, muy mal. Me duele mucho la cabeza
My health, very badly. My head hurts a lot
Captions 34-35, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y condicional
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"¿Por qué no llevas tú la moto? Me duele mucho la mano".
"Why don't you drive the motorcycle? My hand really hurts."
Caption 16, Fermín y Manuel El verbo "llevar" - Part 3
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From our video with Raquel and the doctor, we can learn important phrases for a medical consultation:
Usted dirá: ¿Qué le ocurre? Verá, no me encuentro muy bien. He dormido mal porque he estado toda la noche tosiendo. Y me puse el termómetro y marcaba treinta y ocho grados. Tengo fiebre. ¿Y desde cuándo tiene usted estos síntomas? Mal, mal, desde el lunes. Pero el domingo por la noche, ya me dolía la cabeza. ¿Tiene usted tos fuerte? ¿Le rasca la garganta? Sí, me pica. Sobre todo cuando toso fuerte.
Will you tell me: What's going on with you? You see, I don't feel very well. I have slept badly because I was coughing all night. And I used the thermometer and it read thirty-eight degrees [Celsius]. I have a fever. And since when have you had these symptoms? Badly, badly, since Monday. But on Sunday night, my head was already hurting. Do you have a strong cough? Is your throat scratchy? Yes, it itches me. Especially when I cough strongly.
Captions 8-19, Raquel Visitar al Médico
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Similarly, in Cleer's consultation, we see how to describe symptoms:
Cleer, cuénteme, ¿qué puedo hacer por usted? Doctora, hace cuatro días tengo mucha tos y dolor en todo el cuerpo.
Cleer, tell me, what can I do for you? Doctor, for four days now I've had a bad cough and pain in my whole body.
Captions 6-7, Cita médica La cita médica de Cleer - Part 2
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In both doctor consultations, we see vocabulary related to medications:
From Cleer's visit:
Le voy a recetar Paracetamol. Esto le ayudará para el dolor en el cuerpo y por si le sube fiebre. También le recetaré un jarabe. El Paracetamol se lo toma cada seis horas durante siete días y el jarabe se lo toma tres veces al día hasta que lo termine. Intente beber agua por favor.
I'm going to prescribe Paracetamol. This will help for your body pain and in case you get a fever. I will also prescribe you a syrup. You take the Paracetamol every six hours for seven days and you take the syrup three times a day until you finish it. Try to drink water, please.
Captions 24-29, Cita médica La cita médica de Cleer - Part 2
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From Raquel's visit:
Se va a tomar usted este antibiótico. Durante siete días. Si usted ve que al tercer o cuarto día se encuentra mejor, no suspenda el tratamiento.
You are going to take this antibiotic. For seven days. If you see that by the third or fourth day you feel better, don't stop the treatment.
Captions 28-31, Raquel Visitar al Médico
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Once you have a prescription, you'll need to find a pharmacy. Here are some useful phrases:
"¿Dónde queda la farmacia más cercana?"
"Where's the nearest pharmacy?"
Caption 48, Aprendiendo con Silvia Significados, usos y expresiones con "quedar" - Part 1
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o, "Disculpe, ¿hay una farmacia por aquí?"
or, "Excuse me, is there a pharmacy around here?"
Caption 11, Curso de español Direcciones en la ciudad
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When communicating about pain or discomfort in Spanish, having a rich vocabulary can help you explain your symptoms more precisely. Here's a comprehensive list of terms to help you describe different types of pain and related medical conditions:
Dolor agudo - Acute/sharp pain
Dolor crónico - Chronic pain
Dolor punzante - Stabbing pain
Dolor palpitante - Throbbing pain
Dolor sordo - Dull pain
Dolor ardiente - Burning pain
Calambres - Cramps
Hormigueo - Tingling
Entumecimiento - Numbness
Picazón - Itching
Dolor de muelas - Toothache
Dolor de oídos - Earache
Fiebre - Fever
Náuseas - Nausea
Mareos - Dizziness
Vómitos - Vomiting
Diarrea - Diarrhea
Estreñimiento - Constipation
Tos - Cough
Congestión - Congestion
Fatiga - Fatigue
Erupciones - Rashes
Inflamación - Inflammation
Hinchazón - Swelling
Estornudar - To sneeze
Toser - To cough
Vomitar - To vomit
Sentirse mareado/a - To feel dizzy
Tener escalofríos - To have chills
Me siento débil - I feel weak
No puedo dormir - I can't sleep
Estoy resfriado/a - I have a cold
Tengo gripe - I have the flu
Estoy enfermo/a - I'm sick
Necesito descansar - I need to rest
¿Es contagioso? - Is it contagious?
In most Spanish-speaking countries, you'll find pharmacies (farmacias) quite easily in urban areas. They often have a green cross sign that may be illuminated at night. Some medications that require prescriptions in countries like the United States are available over the counter in many Spanish-speaking countries, though this varies by country and medication. When visiting a doctor, you might encounter terms like:
médico de cabecera (primary care physician)
consulta (doctor's appointment or office)
urgencias (emergency room)
seguro médico (health insurance)
Being able to express pain in Spanish is an essential skill, especially when traveling. Remember the two main structures: "Me duele/duelen + body part" and "Tengo dolor de + body part." With these structures and the vocabulary we've covered, you'll be well-prepared to communicate any discomfort you might experience and seek appropriate medical help.
Do you have any experiences with expressing pain in Spanish? Have you ever needed to visit a doctor or pharmacy while traveling in a Spanish-speaking country? Let us know and don't forget to send us your comments and questions.
Like in English, wedding vows in Spanish mention loving a person en la salud y en la enfermedad (literally "in health and in sickness"), both of which it would behoove us to learn to converse about.
In order to ask someone how he or she feels, you might use the verb sentirse (to feel). Let's take a look:
¿Cómo te sientes, mi amor?
How are you feeling, my love?
Caption 18, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 3 - Part 6
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While this is the version with tú (the informal "you"), the one with usted (the formal "you") would be: ¿Cómo se siente? Some different ways of asking how someone is/how they are feeling with both tú and usted include:
¿Cómo te encuentras/se encuentra? (How are you feeling?/How do you feel?)
¿Cómo estás/está? (How are you?)
If you feel "fine" or "good" or "well," you might answer with Estoy bien (I'm well/fine), Me siento bien (I feel well/fine), or Me encuentro bien (I feel/am well/fine). But, what if you don't feel well? You might start with the negative versions of these utterances, such as No estoy bien (I'm not well), etc. Let's take a look:
porque no me encuentro bien.
because I don't feel well.
Caption 10, Ariana Cita médica
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No me siento muy bien, estoy un poco enferma.
I'm not feeling too well, I'm a bit sick.
Caption 14, Disputas La Extraña Dama - Part 12
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If someone says they aren't feeling well, you might ask that person: ¿Qué te pasa (a ti)? or ¿Qué le pasa (a usted )? (which might be translated as "What's wrong (with you)?" or "What's going on (with you)?) or the similar-meaning ¿Qué tiene(s)? (literally "What do you have?").
One way to answer this question might be to say what "hurts" (you), which is expressed with the verb doler (to hurt) plus an indirect object pronoun. Note that this verb falls into the category of verbs like gustar (to like), where there is a reversal in the traditional roles of the subject and object. Let's see a couple of examples:
Me duele la garganta,
My throat hurts,
Caption 11, Ariana Cita médica
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y ahora me duele mucho la cabeza.
and now my head hurts a lot.
Caption 31, Clara explica El cuerpo
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Another way to talk about pain in your head or some other body part (if you need to review the parts of the body in Spanish, check out this lesson on Body Parts in Spanish from Head to Toe or the video Clara explica- El cuerpo) would be with the noun el dolor (the ache/pain), as in the following caption:
y otro tipo de dolor de cabeza que es el que explicábamos como migraña,
and another kind of headache which is the one that we were explaining as a migraine,
Caption 16, Los médicos explican Las migrañas
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And, if you want to talk about injuring those body parts in a more specific way, the following reflexive verbs might come in handy:
lastimarse: to hurt get hurt/injured or hurt/ injure oneself
romperse: to break
torcerse: to twist/sprain
esguinzarse: to sprain
hacerse un esguince: to sprain
lesionarse: to get wounded/injured
Let's take a look at some examples in context:
Es... también me lastimé una rodilla, este... desgraciadamente.
The thing is that I also hurt my knee, um... unfortunately.
Captions 29-30, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Manuel Orozco Sánchez - Part 1
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y me caí y me rompí la pierna.
and I fell and broke my leg.
Caption 19, 75 minutos Gangas para ricos - Part 16
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Although the noun la enfermedad can mean "disease" in the sense of a more serious issue, it can also refer to less serious maladies. Let's take a look at the Spanish names for a few of these:
La tos puede ser el resultado de un resfriado, una gripe,
The cough could be the result of a cold, a flu,
Caption 10, Cita médica La cita médica de Cleer - Part 2
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Although one way to say you "have a cold" is Estoy resfriado, the verb tener is typically used to say you "have" such sicknesses, as in the following captions:
Tengo un resfriado.
I have a cold.
Caption 24, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 2: Sam va de compras - Part 1
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Tengo fiebre.
I have a fever.
Caption 12, Raquel Visitar al Médico
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cuando te duele la cabeza, tenés unas náuseas que te da asco todo.
when your head hurts, you have nausea that makes everything disgusting to you.
Caption 73, Muñeca Brava 43 La reunión - Part 5
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Additional things that you might "have" would be vómitos (vomiting), mareos (dizziness), or diarrea (diarrhea).
In order to help you sentirte mejor (feel better), the doctor might prescribe you some medicine. The verb for "to prescribe" is recetar, while the noun la receta means "the prescription" (it also means "recipe").
De mi parte, le voy a recetar Complejo B
As for me, I'm going to prescribe to you Complex B
Caption 77, Los médicos explican Diagnóstico: nervios y estrés
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Now, let's look at a few different ways to talk about "medicine":
te tomás tu remedio y te espero abajo.
take your medicine and I'll wait for you downstairs.
Caption 44, Muñeca Brava 48 - Soluciones - Part 1
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La medicina puede ayudar, puede colaborar,
Medicine can help, can contribute,
Caption 51, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 9
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Adrián, deberías tomar las pastillas que te di.
Adrian, you should take the pills that I gave you.
Caption 40, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: Subjuntivo y condicional
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También le recetaré un jarabe.
I will also prescribe you a syrup.
Caption 26, Cita médica La cita médica de Cleer - Part 2
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However, the best medicine of all might be good old-fashioned rest:
Adicional, lo que yo le voy a recomendar es a descansar.
Additionally, what I am going to recommend to you is to rest.
Caption 73, Los médicos explican Diagnóstico: nervios y estrés
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We hope that this lesson has provided a good introduction to talking about how you feel, some various ailments, and some remedies for them, and we urge you to check out our supplemental materials such as the videos Visitar al médico (Visiting the Doctor) and La cita médica de Cleer (Cleer's Medical Appointment) as well as our series Los médicos explican (The Doctors Explain). And don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
The coronavirus is one of the greatest challenges humankind has ever faced. Because of that, we are being bombarded with words such as "virus," "disease," "quarantine," and "pandemic." But, do you know how to say all those words in Spanish? In this lesson, we will review some of the most important nouns associated with the current coronavirus. But first, let's take a closer look at the word coronavirus in Spanish.
In Spanish, the word coronavirus is a masculine noun made of two words: corona (crown) and virus (virus). However, keep in mind that coronavirus is just one word so there's no need for spaces or hyphens between the words that make up this noun.
Apart from that, it is worth mentioning that the word coronavirus in Spanish is the same in both the singular and the plural. Let's take a look:
El coronavirus es un virus contagioso
Coronavirus is a contagious virus
Los coronavirus son virus contagiosos
Coronaviruses are contagious viruses
From the example above, you can also see that the word virus in Spanish is the same in the singular and plural. In fact, this word belongs to a group of nouns ending in 'S' or 'X' that are the same in the singular and plural in Spanish.
With that being said, let's take a look at some of the words that you need to keep in mind in the context of the coronavirus.
For talking about coronavirus, here are some of the most common nouns. Let's take a look.
Brote (outbreak)
Crisis (crisis)
Vivimos en tiempos de crisis.
We live in times of crisis.
Caption 3, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 2
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Cuarentena (quarantine)
Desinfectante (disinfectant)
Mirá, ni siquiera uso el alcohol como desinfectante.
Look, I don't even use alcohol as a disinfectant.
Caption 81, Muñeca Brava - 18 - La Apuesta
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In this caption, we also highlighted another very used word nowadays: alcohol (alcohol).
Enfermedad (illness, disease)
Por una enfermedad o por un trastorno.
Due to an illness or due to an imbalance.
Caption 50, Raquel - Visitar al Médico
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Se controla que no tienen ninguna enfermedad.
They check [to make sure] that they don't have any disease.
Caption 60, Rosa - Laguna Fuente de Piedra
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Jabón (soap)
Aquí está nuestro mejor amigo: el jabón.
Here's our best friend: soap.
Caption 18, Ana Carolina - Artículos de aseo personal
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Mascarilla (mask)
Another term commonly used when talking about the masks people use to protect their mouths and noses is "tapaboca" or "tapabocas".
Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS)
This is the Spanish name for the World Health Organization (WHO)
Pandemia (pandemic)
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The Spanish term for pandemic is pandemia. Keep in mind that there is a difference between epidemia (epidemic) and pandemia (pandemic). While the former relates to the spread of a disease in a country, the latter refers to the spread of a disease throughout the world.
El mundo se enfrenta ahora a una pandemia sin precedentes.
The world is now facing an unprecedented pandemic.
Caption 12, El Coronavirus - Introducción y vocabulario
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Prueba (test)
The word "prueba" is probably the best one for the test that people take in order to find out if they have coronavirus. However, some people prefer to use similar terms such as "test" or "muestra".
Recesión (recession)
According to several experts, even in the most optimistic of scenarios, many economies will be heading to a recession after the coronavirus crisis is over.
...que fue cuando en España entró la recesión en el sector de la construcción.
...which was when in Spain the recession in the construction sector began.
Caption 5, Leif - El Arquitecto Español y su Arte
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Teletrabajo (remote working)
Transmisión (transmission)
Virus (virus)
"El coronavirus es un virus contagioso".
"The coronavirus is a contagious virus."
Caption 27, El Coronavirus - Introducción y vocabulario
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There are many more words that are used in the context of the coronavirus disease. However, if you want to follow the news in Spanish, there is a good chance of coming across some of the terms we just reviewed. Please, take the necessary protection during this difficult time and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.
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