50 Medical Spanish Phrases Every Nurse Should Know (With Pronunciation)

You do not need to be fluent to make a Spanish-speaking patient feel safer. A few dozen clear, polite phrases cover a surprising share of a nursing shift: introductions, pain, allergies, vital signs and discharge teaching. Below are 50 medical Spanish phrases nurses use every day, grouped by task, with a simple pronunciation guide you can read out loud without any Spanish background.

One rule before we start: these phrases help you connect and handle routine moments. For consent, a new diagnosis, medication teaching that has to be exactly right, or any conversation where a misunderstanding could cause harm, use a qualified medical interpreter. That is good care, and in most U.S. hospitals and clinics it is also required.

How to read the pronunciation guide

• The syllable in CAPITALS gets the stress.
• Spanish vowels are short and clean: a = "ah", e = "eh", i = "ee", o = "oh", u = "oo".
• "H" is silent. "LL" sounds like the English "y". A single "r" is a quick tap, like the "dd" in "ladder"; "rr" is rolled.
• We use usted, the formal "you". It is the respectful default with adult patients in most of Latin America.
• Where a word changes for a man or a woman, we show both (alérgico / alérgica).

Introductions and getting help (1 to 7)

Pain (8 to 14)

For a deeper look at pain questions, including words patients use to describe pain, see our guide to the medical Spanish pain scale.

History, medicines and allergies (15 to 23)

Symptoms (24 to 30)

Vital signs and the exam (31 to 42)

A regional note: in Mexico you will often hear "piquete" (pee-KEH-teh) for a needle stick, and "tomar" is the everyday verb for drinking across most of Latin America.

Discharge and teaching (43 to 50)

Tips that make these phrases work

• Skip "¿Entiende?" Many patients will say "sí" to be polite. Phrase 47, the teach-back question, tells you what they actually understood.
• Ask yes/no questions when you are on your own. Open questions invite long answers you may not follow. Save those for when the interpreter is on the line.
• Point and show. Pair phrase 10 with a body diagram or the 0 to 10 scale on a card.
• Learn ten, not fifty. Pick the phrases for your unit and practice them out loud for a week. Spaced-repetition flashcards help them stick.
• Be honest about your level. "Hablo un poco de español" (AH-bloh oon POH-koh deh ehs-pah-NYOL), "I speak a little Spanish", sets expectations and patients appreciate the effort.

Keep the phrases on you

A list on your phone is hard to use with gloves on. Most nurses do better with something on the badge reel or in a scrub pocket. Start with our free 3-card medical Spanish badge sample (0 to 10 pain scale, pain questions and a BE-FAST stroke check). If you want more, the Medical Spanish Pocket Guide ($12) has 300+ phrases with easy pronunciation, organized by encounter, and the Medical Spanish Kit ($19) adds 18 badge cards and 399 flashcards that import into Anki® or Quizlet® (not affiliated).

Next, practice the encounters in order: ER triage in Spanish, discharge instructions in Spanish and Spanish for EMTs. Everything else is in the medical Spanish collection.

Medical Spanish Desk

General education, not medical advice. Ask your own clinician about your situation. In an emergency, call 911.