The First 10 Questions Every Healthcare Professional Needs in Medical Spanish (With Patient Answers)
You do not need to memorize hundreds of medical terms to start communicating with Spanish-speaking patients.
What you need first is simpler: the right questions — and the ability to understand what comes after them.
Because asking "¿Qué le pasa?" is only half the work. The other half is recognizing what the patient says back.
Below are the 10 most essential questions for clinical interactions in Spanish, each one with the real answers patients give — not textbook vocabulary, but everyday language you will actually hear.
1. ¿Qué le pasa? — What's going on?
This is how most clinical interactions begin. It gives the patient space to explain the problem in their own words, before you narrow down with more specific questions.
The key words are qué and pasa. The pronoun le makes it more natural and respectful, but even without it, the patient will understand your intention.
Patients may say:
Me duele mucho la cabeza. — My head hurts a lot.
Tengo fiebre desde ayer. — I've had a fever since yesterday.
Me siento mareado. — I feel dizzy.
No puedo respirar bien. — I can't breathe well.
Tengo dolor en el pecho. — I have chest pain.
Useful follow-ups:
¿Desde cuándo? — Since when?
¿Dónde le duele? — Where does it hurt?
¿Tiene otros síntomas? — Do you have any other symptoms?
2. ¿Qué le duele? — What hurts?
More specific than the first question, this one helps you identify whether pain is part of the problem.
Notice the structure: me duele for singular, me duelen for plural.
Patients may say:
Me duele la espalda. — My back hurts.
Me duele el pecho. — My chest hurts.
Me duelen las piernas. — My legs hurt.
Me duele todo el cuerpo. — My whole body hurts.
No me duele nada, pero tengo náuseas. — Nothing hurts, but I feel nauseous.
That last answer is important. Patients do not always answer the exact question you asked. They answer with what they feel. Staying connected to that is part of the skill.
3. ¿Dónde le duele? — Where does it hurt?
Once the patient confirms pain, you need to locate it. Not every patient will use anatomical terms — many will point, gesture, or use everyday language.
Patients may say:
Acá. / Aquí. — Here.
En el pecho. — In my chest.
Del lado derecho. — On the right side.
En la parte baja de la espalda. — In my lower back.
Más abajo. / Más arriba. — Lower. / Higher.
Useful follow-ups:
¿De este lado o de este lado? — On this side or this side?
¿El dolor se mueve a otra parte? — Does the pain move anywhere else?
4. ¿Desde cuándo? — Since when? / How long has this been going on?
One of the shortest and most useful questions in Medical Spanish. Four words that can tell you a great deal about the timeline of a problem.
Patients may say:
Desde ayer. — Since yesterday.
Desde esta mañana. — Since this morning.
Desde hace dos días. — For two days.
Hace una semana. — A week ago / For a week.
Hace más o menos un mes. — About a month ago.
The time words here — ayer, hoy, anoche, desde, hace — are simple but clinically critical. Missing them means missing the timeline of the problem.
5. ¿El dolor es fuerte o leve? — Is the pain strong or mild?
After locating the pain, ask about intensity. This question offers two options, which makes it easier for patients with limited English to respond.
Patients may say:
Es muy fuerte. — It is very strong.
Es insoportable. — It is unbearable.
Es leve. — It is mild.
Va y viene. — It comes and goes.
Es como presión. — It feels like pressure.
Es punzante. — It is sharp / stabbing.
Alternative:
Del uno al diez, ¿qué tan fuerte es el dolor? — From one to ten, how strong is the pain?
Some patients will give a number. Others will describe the sensation. Train both.
6. ¿Tiene fiebre? — Do you have a fever?
A yes-or-no question — but the answer rarely stops there.
Patients may say:
Creo que sí. — I think so.
Tuve fiebre anoche. — I had a fever last night.
Me siento caliente. — I feel hot.
Tengo escalofríos. — I have chills.
No sé, no me tomé la temperatura. — I don't know, I didn't take my temperature.
This is where Medical Spanish becomes practical: you start connecting words that belong to the same clinical context — fever, chills, temperature, since last night. Not as a list, but as a conversation.
7. ¿Tiene otros síntomas? — Do you have any other symptoms?
This question keeps the conversation open without making it complicated. Many patients begin with the symptom that worries them most — but other important details often follow.
Patients may say:
También tengo tos. — I also have a cough.
Estoy mareado. — I feel dizzy.
Me cuesta respirar. — It is hard for me to breathe.
Me siento débil. — I feel weak.
No, solo eso. — No, just that.
Notice that nausea can appear in different forms: Tengo náuseas, me siento con náuseas, tengo ganas de vomitar. Learning a word is not the same as learning how patients use it.
8. ¿Tiene alguna alergia? — Do you have any allergies?
Essential before medication, treatment, or procedures. The answer may go beyond a simple yes or no.
Patients may say:
Sí, a la penicilina. — Yes, to penicillin.
Soy alérgico/alérgica a la aspirina. — I am allergic to aspirin.
Me salió sarpullido. — I got a rash.
Se me hinchó la cara. — My face swelled.
Me pica todo el cuerpo. — My whole body itches.
No estoy seguro/a. — I am not sure.
Words like sarpullido (rash), hincharse (to swell), and picar (to itch) are not on most vocabulary lists — but they are exactly what patients say when describing an allergic reaction.
9. ¿Toma algún medicamento? — Do you take any medication?
Patients often do not remember the name of what they take. They describe it by what it does.
Patients may say:
Tomo pastillas para la presión. — I take pills for blood pressure.
Tomo algo para el dolor. — I take something for pain.
Tomo medicamento para el azúcar. — I take medication for blood sugar / diabetes.
Lo tomo una vez al día. — I take it once a day.
No recuerdo el nombre. — I don't remember the name.
Learning para la presión, para el azúcar, para dormir, para el corazón is more practically useful than memorizing medication names.
10. ¿Tiene alguna enfermedad o condición médica? — Do you have any illness or medical condition?
This question can sound abstract. When needed, make it concrete by giving examples:
¿Tiene diabetes, presión alta, asma u otra enfermedad importante? Do you have diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, or another important illness?
Patients may say:
Tengo diabetes. — I have diabetes.
Tengo presión alta. — I have high blood pressure.
Tuve una cirugía. — I had surgery.
Tengo ansiedad. — I have anxiety.
No, que yo sepa. — No, as far as I know.
The goal is not to produce the perfect sentence. It is to communicate clearly enough that the patient can answer — and you can understand.
These questions are only the beginning
The real skill in Medical Spanish is not memorizing questions. It is learning what comes after them: the answers, the follow-ups, the everyday language patients use when they are trying to explain what they feel.
A question opens a conversation. What you do with the answer is what makes the difference.
If you are a healthcare professional looking to communicate more effectively with Spanish-speaking patients, this is exactly what the Medical Spanish program at dSpanish is designed for — real clinical interactions, guided from the first session.
Book a free 30-minute meeting to talk about where you are now and what would help you move forward.