Spanish: Describe Symptoms and Severity at the Doctor's Office
Learn to say what hurts, how long it has lasted, and how bad it is in Latin American Spanish, with intensity words and clear follow-up answers.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
A basic allergy sentence like "Soy alérgico al polen" tells someone what is wrong, but it does not tell a doctor how bad it is or when it started. In this lesson you will learn to describe symptoms in detail: where the pain is, how intense it is, how long you have had it, and what makes it worse. You will use the verb doler, which works differently from English "to hurt," and you will add severity words such as leve, fuerte, and insoportable. These phrases are useful in clinics, pharmacies, and urgent care throughout Latin America.
By the end, you can…
- say which part of my body hurts using me duele and me duelen.
- rate symptom severity with words like leve, moderado, fuerte, and insoportable.
- say how long a symptom has lasted using hace plus a time expression.
- answer follow-up questions about what makes a symptom better or worse.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Me duele mucho la cabeza.
I have a bad headache.
meh DWEH-leh MOO-choh lah kah-BEH-sah
Use me duele with one body part or symptom. Mucho makes it stronger than just me duele la cabeza.
Me duelen los oídos desde ayer.
My ears have been hurting since yesterday.
meh DWEH-lehn lohs oh-EE-dohs DEHS-deh ah-YEHR
Use me duelen with plural body parts. Desde ayer means the pain started yesterday and continues.
El dolor es leve, pero constante.
The pain is mild, but constant.
el doh-LOHR ehs LEH-beh PEH-roh kohns-TAHN-teh
Leve means mild. Constante is useful when the pain is not strong but does not go away.
Tengo fiebre y me siento muy mal.
I have a fever and I feel very bad.
TEHN-goh FYEH-breh ee meh SYEHN-toh MOO-ee MAHL
Tengo fiebre is the standard way to say "I have a fever." Me siento muy mal describes your general state.
Me duele el pecho cuando respiro hondo.
My chest hurts when I breathe deeply.
meh DWEH-leh el PEH-choh KWAHN-doh rehs-PEE-roh OHN-doh
This adds a trigger with cuando. It helps a doctor understand when the symptom appears.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The verb doler works like gustar: the body part is the subject, and you use an indirect object pronoun. Say me duele la cabeza for one thing, and me duelen los ojos for plural things. To add severity, place an adverb after the verb: me duele mucho, me duele un poco, me duele bastante. You can also name the pain as a noun: tengo un dolor fuerte en la espalda. Do not say yo duele; the pronoun me, te, le, nos, les shows who feels the pain.
When to use it
Use me duele when you are speaking about your own body in a clinic or pharmacy. Use le duele if you are describing someone else, for example le duele el estómago. For duration, use desde hace plus a time period: me duele desde hace tres días means it has hurt for three days. Desde ayer means since yesterday. For severity, leve is mild, moderado is moderate, fuerte is strong, and insoportable means unbearable. In an emergency, say es urgente or necesito ayuda ahora.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Buenos días, ¿qué síntomas tiene?
Good morning, what symptoms do you have?BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs keh SEEN-toh-mahs TYEH-nehMe duele mucho la garganta y tengo fiebre desde hace dos días.
My throat hurts a lot and I have had a fever for two days.meh DWEH-leh MOO-choh lah gahr-GAHN-tah ee TEHN-goh FYEH-breh DEHS-deh AH-seh dohs DEE-ahs¿El dolor es leve o fuerte? ¿Puede tragar?
Is the pain mild or strong? Can you swallow?el doh-LOHR ehs LEH-beh oh FWEHR-teh PWEH-deh trah-GAHREs fuerte, pero puedo tragar. También me duele la cabeza un poco.
It is strong, but I can swallow. My head also hurts a little.ehs FWEHR-teh PEH-roh PWEH-doh trah-GAHR tahm-BYEHN meh DWEH-leh lah kah-BEH-sah oon POH-kohA little context goes a long way
In many Latin American clinics, patients describe symptoms directly and briefly, and doctors ask follow-up questions. Using claro and direct severity words is normal and helpful; it is not considered rude. However, in more formal settings or with older speakers, add usted forms such as ¿le duele aquí? and disculpe. Regional vocabulary varies: in Mexico and Central America you may hear gripa for a cold, while in parts of South America gripe is common. For stomach pain, dolor de estómago is widely understood, but dolor de barriga is common in Mexico and Central America.
One thing to watch for
Saying yo duele la cabeza or mi cabeza duele to mean "my head hurts."
Try this instead: Use me duele la cabeza. Doler follows the gustar pattern, so the person is expressed with an indirect object pronoun, not a subject pronoun. For plural body parts, use me duelen: me duelen los pies. If you want to avoid doler altogether, say tengo dolor de cabeza, which is also correct.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How would you say "My knees hurt a lot" in Spanish?
Show a sample answer
Me duelen mucho las rodillas.
Rodillas is plural, so use me duelen. Mucho adds severity. Me duele mucho las rodillas is a common error because the verb should agree with the plural body part.
2A doctor asks "¿Desde cuándo le duele?" You have had the pain for three days. What can you answer?
Show a sample answer
Me duele desde hace tres días.
Desde hace plus a time period expresses duration up to now. You could also say Hace tres días que me duele, which is equally correct.
3How would you describe pain that is mild but constant?
Show a sample answer
El dolor es leve, pero constante.
Leve means mild and constante means constant. You could also say Tengo un dolor leve y constante, which is also natural.
Use me duele or me duelen for pain, add severity words like leve, fuerte, or insoportable, and use desde hace for duration. These three pieces turn a basic symptom statement into a clear, useful medical description.
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