🤒 Illnesses - Enfermedades
Beginner Spanish · Health and common symptoms
Health and Illness in Spanish
Health vocabulary becomes more useful when you can explain how you feel, name a few common symptoms, say what hurts, and answer simple questions at a doctor's office.
Your next small win: describe common symptoms, use tener and doler, say how long you have felt unwell, and handle a basic medical conversation.
Important: this lesson is for language learning only. It is not medical advice or emergency guidance.
Start with common symptoms
Basic Health Vocabulary
These words cover several common situations without overwhelming you with a large medical vocabulary list.
Sick / ill
Fever
Cough
Headache
Sore throat
Nausea
Dizziness
Stomachache
Name two symptoms
Say “fever and headache” in Spanish.
Fiebre y dolor de cabeza.
More health vocabulary
Cold
Flu
Allergy
Infection
Injury
Pain
Build complete symptom phrases
Using Tener with Symptoms
Spanish commonly uses tener with several symptoms and illnesses.
I have a fever.
I have a cough.
I have a cold.
I have nausea / I feel nauseated.
I have a headache.
I have a stomachache.
Useful pattern: learn symptom expressions as complete chunks. For example, tengo fiebre, tengo tos, and tengo un resfriado.
Talking about symptoms
How do you feel?
I don't feel well. I have a fever and a headache.
Describe two symptoms
Say that you do not feel well and that you have a cough and a headache.
No me siento bien.
Tengo tos y dolor de cabeza.
Say what hurts
Me Duele and Me Duelen
Use me duele when one thing hurts and me duelen with plural body parts.
My head hurts.
My head hurts a lot.
It hurts here.
My legs hurt.
Think about what hurts: one body part uses duele. Plural body parts use duelen.
Choose singular or plural
Say that your legs hurt.
Me duelen las piernas.
Explain the problem clearly
At the Doctor's Office
A few practical phrases help you make an appointment, describe symptoms, and answer a question about how long you have felt unwell.
I need to make an appointment.
I don't feel well.
I have felt unwell for two days.
I need to go to the doctor.
Do I need any medication?
Talking about duration
Since yesterday
For two days
For three days
Useful time pattern: desde hace + period of time can describe something that began in the past and is still continuing now.
How long have you felt unwell?
How long have you been feeling unwell?
For three days.
Explain the situation
Say that you do not feel well, have a fever, and have felt unwell for two days.
No me siento bien.
Tengo fiebre.
Me siento mal desde hace dos días.
Useful medical words
Doctor
Appointment
Medication
Prescription
Pharmacy
Hospital
More health phrases in context
I have a cold and a bad cough.
I have nausea and a stomachache.
I need to rest for a couple of days.
I need to go to the pharmacy.
I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.
Your turn · 8 quick questions
Practice: Health and Symptoms
Choose the answer that fits each situation. Focus on common symptoms, tener, duele / duelen, appointments, and duration.
Practice complete
You can describe basic symptoms and handle a simple doctor conversation.
A few health phrases to revisit
One last step: describe symptoms without choices.
Say that you do not feel well, name two symptoms, say how long you have felt unwell, and say that you need to see a doctor.
No me siento bien.
Tengo fiebre y dolor de cabeza.
Me siento mal desde hace dos días.
Necesito ir al médico.
Someone asks how you feel. You do not feel well and have a fever and a headache. What do you say?
- No me siento bien. Tengo fiebre y dolor de cabeza.
- No me siento bien. Tengo tos y dolor de garganta.
- Me siento mejor. Ya no tengo fiebre.
- Estoy cansado, pero no tengo otros síntomas.
The correct answer states both symptoms from the situation: fever and headache.
No me siento bien. Tengo fiebre y dolor de cabeza.
You have a cough. Which phrase uses the pattern taught in the lesson?
- Tengo tos.
- Tengo fiebre.
- Tengo náuseas.
- Tengo un resfriado.
Tengo tos means “I have a cough.”
Tengo tos.
Your head hurts. Which sentence uses the singular pain pattern?
- Me duele la cabeza.
- Me duelen las piernas.
- Tengo dolor de garganta.
- Tengo mareo.
La cabeza is singular, so the phrase uses me duele.
Me duele la cabeza.
Both of your legs hurt. Which sentence fits?
- Me duelen las piernas.
- Me duele la cabeza.
- Me duele aquí.
- Tengo dolor de estómago.
Las piernas is plural, so use me duelen.
Me duelen las piernas.
You need to make a doctor's appointment. What do you say?
- Necesito pedir una cita.
- Necesito ir a la farmacia.
- Necesito algún medicamento.
- Tengo una cita mañana.
Necesito pedir una cita means “I need to make an appointment.”
Necesito pedir una cita.
You have felt unwell for three days. Which phrase answers how long?
- Desde hace tres días.
- Desde ayer.
- Durante dos días.
- Hasta mañana.
Desde hace tres días expresses a period that began three days ago and continues now.
Desde hace tres días.
You have nausea and a stomachache. Which sentence matches?
- Tengo náuseas y dolor de estómago.
- Tengo fiebre y dolor de cabeza.
- Tengo tos y dolor de garganta.
- Tengo un resfriado y mucha tos.
The correct answer combines náuseas with dolor de estómago.
Tengo náuseas y dolor de estómago.
You need to see a doctor. Which everyday phrase fits?
- Necesito ir al médico.
- Necesito ir a la farmacia.
- Necesito pedir una cita mañana.
- Necesito descansar en casa.
Necesito ir al médico means “I need to go to the doctor.”
Necesito ir al médico.