Spanish at the doctor's with children
When your child gets a temperature on holiday, there is no time for a dictionary. Here are the phrases for the children's doctor, the pharmacy and A&E in Spain: describing symptoms, giving weight and allergies, asking about the dose. Every phrase comes with an English-friendly pronunciation.
Pronunciation in six rules
Spanish is pronounced the way it is written. With these six rules you can even read out the leaflet in the medicine box.
Five pure vowels
a, e, i, o, u are always short and clear, like ah, eh, ee, oh, oo. They never glide as in English ‘day’ or ‘go’: mesa = ‘MEH-sah’, todo = ‘TOH-doh’.
z and c
z, and c before e and i, sound like the th in ‘think’ in most of Spain: cerveza = ‘thehr-BEH-thah’. In Andalusia and the Canary Islands people often say ‘s’, and both are understood.
j and g
j, and g before e and i, sound like the ch in Scottish ‘loch’: jamón = ‘khah-MOHN’, gente (people) = ‘KHEHN-teh’.
ll, y and ñ
ll and y sound like the y in ‘yes’: paella = ‘pah-EH-yah’, calle (street) = ‘KAH-yeh’. ñ is the ny in ‘canyon’: España = ‘ehs-PAH-nyah’.
h, qu, b and v
h is silent: hola = ‘OH-lah’. qu is a plain ‘k’: queso = ‘KEH-soh’. b and v sound the same, like a soft b: vino = ‘BEE-noh’.
Stress
An accent marks the stressed syllable: café, autobús. Without an accent, words ending in a vowel, n or s stress the second-to-last syllable (tomate = ‘toh-MAH-teh’), all others the last (hotel = ‘oh-TEHL’).
In the transcriptions below the stressed syllable is in CAPITALS, syllables are joined with hyphens, words are separated by spaces and ‘·’ separates sentences. ‘th’ is the th in ‘think’, ‘kh’ the ch in Scottish ‘loch’, ‘r’ a single quick tap of the tongue and ‘rr’ a strongly rolled r. Read ‘ah, eh, ee, oh, oo’ as short, pure vowels.
Finding a doctor
- Necesito un pediatra.neh-theh-SEE-toh oon peh-DYAH-trahI need a paediatrician (children's doctor).
- ¿Hay un centro de salud cerca?eye oon THEHN-troh deh sah-LOOD THEHR-kahIs there a health centre nearby?
- Mi hija tiene seis años.mee EE-khah TYEH-neh SAYS AH-nyohsMy daughter is six. (Son: mi hijo)
- Tenemos la tarjeta sanitaria del Reino Unido.teh-NEH-mohs lah tar-KHEH-tah sah-nee-TAH-ryah dehl RAY-noh oo-NEE-dohWe have the UK health card (GHIC). (With an EHIC: la tarjeta sanitaria europea)
Describing symptoms
- Le duele el oído.leh DWEH-leh ehl oh-EE-dohShe / He has earache.
- Le duele la garganta.leh DWEH-leh lah gar-GAHN-tahShe / He has a sore throat.
- Tiene tos desde hace tres días.TYEH-neh TOHS DEHS-deh AH-theh TREHS DEE-ahsShe / He has had a cough for three days.
- Tiene una erupción en la piel.TYEH-neh OO-nah eh-roop-THYOHN ehn lah PYEHLShe / He has a rash.
- Le ha picado una medusa.leh ah pee-KAH-doh OO-nah meh-DOO-sahShe / He has been stung by a jellyfish.
- Se ha caído y le duele el brazo.seh ah kah-EE-doh ee leh DWEH-leh ehl BRAH-thohShe / He fell over and her / his arm hurts.
Fever and stomach
- Tiene fiebre desde ayer.TYEH-neh FYEH-breh DEHS-deh ah-YEHRShe / He has had a temperature since yesterday.
- Tiene treinta y nueve de fiebre.TYEH-neh TRAYN-tah ee NWEH-beh deh FYEH-brehShe / He has a temperature of 39 °C.
- Ha vomitado dos veces.ah boh-mee-TAH-doh dohs BEH-thehsShe / He has been sick twice.
- Tiene diarrea.TYEH-neh dyah-RREH-ahShe / He has diarrhoea.
- No quiere beber.noh KYEH-reh beh-BEHRShe / He won't drink anything.
Medicines and allergies
- Pesa veinte kilos.PEH-sah BAYN-teh KEE-lohsShe / He weighs twenty kilos. (Children's doses depend on weight, and doctors in Spain work in kilos.)
- Es alérgica a la penicilina.ehs ah-LEHR-khee-kah ah lah peh-nee-thee-LEE-nahShe is allergic to penicillin. (He: alérgico)
- Toma este medicamento.TOH-mah EHS-teh meh-dee-kah-MEHN-tohShe / He takes this medicine.
- ¿Cuántas veces al día?KWAHN-tahs BEH-thehs ahl DEE-ahHow many times a day?
- ¿Antes o después de comer?AHN-tehs oh dehs-PWEHS deh koh-MEHRBefore or after meals?
At the pharmacy
- ¿Tiene algo para la fiebre para niños?TYEH-neh AHL-goh PAH-rah lah FYEH-breh PAH-rah NEE-nyohsDo you have something for fever for children?
- ¿Lo necesito con receta?loh neh-theh-SEE-toh kohn reh-THEH-tahDo I need a prescription for it?
- ¿Dónde está la farmacia de guardia?DOHN-deh ehs-TAH lah far-MAH-thyah deh GWAR-dyahWhere is the duty pharmacy (open out of hours)?
A&E
- ¿Dónde están las urgencias?DOHN-deh ehs-TAHN lahs oor-KHEHN-thyahsWhere is A&E?
- ¿Es grave?ehs GRAH-behIs it serious?
- ¿Me puede dar un informe para el seguro?meh PWEH-deh dar oon een-FOR-meh PAH-rah ehl seh-GOO-rohCould you give me a report for my insurance?
Emergency number throughout Spain: 112, also in English. A&E is called urgencias.
Good to know
Centro de salud or urgencias
For everyday complaints you go to the centro de salud, the local health centre, which often has a paediatrician. For emergencies and at night you go to the urgencias of a hospital.
Public care with the GHIC
UK residents can use the GHIC (or an EHIC that is still valid) at public health centres and hospitals in Spain. Private clinics in holiday resorts usually charge, so take out travel insurance, which covers those costs.
Duty pharmacy
Every pharmacy displays a list showing the nearest farmacia de guardia, which is open at night and at weekends.
Bring the packaging
Children's fever syrup is sold in every pharmacy. If you have brought medicines for your child, take the box or the leaflet with you so the doctor can see the active ingredient. Brand names often differ from those in the UK.
A course for exactly your family holiday
A phrasebook can only guess what you're planning. In LingoTrip you tell it: two weeks in Andalusia with two children, a daughter who often gets earache, a son with a nut allergy. LingoTrip builds a course around exactly those conversations, with audio, speech recognition and spaced review until you leave.
Coming soon to the App Store and Google PlayFAQ
Does this page replace medical advice?
No. The phrases help you describe symptoms and ask questions. If your child has a high temperature, has trouble breathing or gets worse quickly, call 112.
Will the doctor speak English?
In holiday resorts and hospitals often, at a health centre in the countryside not always. If you can say the key phrases in Spanish, you get help faster.
How do I prepare before the trip?
Pack a GHIC for every family member, your travel insurance details and your child's red book or vaccination record. Write down your child's weight in kilos and practise the phrases on this page out loud a few times.
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