At the Doctor in Spain 🩺 Essential Spanish for Expats · A1–A2

🩺 EXPAT SURVIVAL SPANISH · A1–A2

At the Doctor in Spain

You don't feel well. You're sitting in a doctor's consulting room. And suddenly even the Spanish you know seems to disappear.

You don't need sophisticated medical vocabulary.

You need to communicate a few essential things: what hurts, what you feel, when it started, how long you've felt like this and whether you understand the doctor.

That's today's survival mission. 🇪🇸

👀 First, enter the consulting room

Your original infographic gives us the situation. Now we're going to turn that dialogue into Spanish you can retrieve and use.

🎯 Your mission isn't to speak perfect Spanish

By the end of this lesson, try to be able to:

🤒
Say what's wrong

📍
Say what hurts

⏰
Say how long

🗣️
Repair communication

Four abilities are more useful than forty isolated words.

🤒 Step 1 · What's wrong?

No me encuentro bien. I don't feel well.

Me encuentro mal. I feel unwell.

Tengo fiebre. I have a fever.

Tengo tos. I have a cough.

Tengo mareos. I feel dizzy / I have dizziness.

Tengo náuseas. I feel nauseous / I have nausea.

👨‍🏫 Manuel's Tip: TENGO is your emergency building block

You don't need to construct a complicated sentence every time.

TENGO + symptom / problem

tengo fiebre tengo tos tengo frío tengo náuseas tengo mareos tengo dolor

Learn the whole chunks. They are easier to retrieve when you're nervous.

📍 Step 2 · Where does it hurt?

Spanish commonly uses doler.

ME DUELE + singular body part
ME DUELEN + plural body part

Me duele la cabeza. My head hurts / I have a headache.

Me duele la garganta. My throat hurts.

Me duele el estómago. My stomach hurts.

Me duele la espalda. My back hurts.

Me duele el brazo. My arm hurts.

Me duelen las piernas. My legs hurt.

🧍 Point + speak

If you forget everything else, knowing a few body parts can still help.

cabeza — head garganta — throat pecho — chest espalda — back estómago — stomach brazo — arm mano — hand pierna — leg rodilla — knee pie — foot

Combine them with:

Me duele...

⏰ Step 3 · Since when?

The doctor will often need to know when the problem began or how long it has lasted.

Desde ayer. Since yesterday.

Desde esta mañana. Since this morning.

Desde hace dos días. For two days.

Empezó anoche. It started last night.

👩‍⚕️ What might the doctor ask?

Understanding the question is half the conversation.

¿Qué le pasa? What's wrong?

¿Desde cuándo? Since when?

¿Dónde le duele? Where does it hurt?

¿Tiene fiebre? Do you have a fever?

¿Toma algún medicamento? Are you taking any medication?

¿Tiene alguna alergia? Do you have any allergies?

🛟 Step 4 · The most important skill: repair the conversation

You do not need to pretend you understand.

No entiendo. I don't understand.

¿Puede repetirlo, por favor? Can you repeat that, please?

¿Puede hablar más despacio? Can you speak more slowly?

¿Qué significa...? What does ... mean?

In a medical conversation, asking for clarification is a communication skill, not a failure.

🎭 Now put the pieces together

DOCTOR:
Buenos días. ¿Qué le pasa?

PATIENT:
No me encuentro bien. Tengo fiebre y tos.

DOCTOR:
¿Desde cuándo?

PATIENT:
Desde ayer. También me duele la garganta.

DOCTOR:
¿Toma algún medicamento?

PATIENT:
Perdone. ¿Puede repetirlo más despacio?

DOCTOR:
Sí, claro. ¿Toma algún medicamento?

PATIENT:
Sí. Tomo este medicamento.

👨‍🏫 Manuel's 4-line emergency strategy

If your mind goes blank, build your explanation with four short pieces.

1️⃣ Tengo...
2️⃣ Me duele...
3️⃣ Desde...
4️⃣ También...

For example:

Tengo fiebre.
Me duele la garganta.
Desde ayer.
También tengo tos.

Short, clear sentences can be much more useful than attempting one complicated sentence under pressure.

🧠 NeuroTip: practise the pattern, change the symptom

Say this aloud:

Tengo + ________.

Now substitute:

fiebre tos mareos náuseas

Then:

Me duele + ________.

la cabeza la garganta la espalda el estómago

The structure stays stable while one element changes. That reduces the amount you need to retrieve.

🎮 Consulting Room Challenge

1. You have a fever.

2. Your head hurts.

3. The problem started yesterday.

4. You didn't understand the doctor.

5. Both legs hurt.

🩺 XP: 0   ·   🔥 Streak: 0

🎙️ Your 30-second doctor mission

Without looking back, imagine the doctor asks:

¿Qué le pasa?

Give a short answer containing:

🤒 one symptom

📍 one pain

⏰ when it started

🗣️ one repair phrase

For example:

Tengo tos.
Me duele la garganta.
Desde esta mañana.
¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?

🏆 CONSULTING ROOM SURVIVED

⚕️ Language lesson, not medical advice

This lesson teaches Spanish expressions that may help you communicate with healthcare professionals.

It does not diagnose symptoms, recommend medication or replace professional medical care.

For urgent or serious health concerns, seek appropriate professional or emergency assistance rather than relying on a language-learning resource.

🗺️ Expat Survival Spain

This lesson belongs to the practical side of Neuro-Spanish for You!: Spanish for situations in which communication really matters.

💊
PHARMACY

🩺
DOCTOR

🏨
HOTEL

🛒
SUPERMARKET

Connect these cards to the existing public lessons when their final URLs are available. Do not create new posts merely to complete the series.

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🩺 Explain · 🔊 Listen · 🧠 Retrieve · 🇪🇸 Communicate

👨‍🏫 Created & taught by Manuel Molina

Neuro-Spanish for You!

Practical Spanish through context, visual learning, retrieval and real communication.

A1–A2 · Spanish at the Doctor · Expat Survival Spanish