Doctor Visit
Describe symptoms, share your history, and understand the diagnosis — calmly, in formal Spanish, out loud.
Use usted — clinics across Latin America expect the formal register with doctors and front-desk staff. Anchor every symptom in time with desde hace: tengo un dolor en el pecho desde hace tres días (I've had chest pain for three days). Say me duele, not yo duelo — doler works like gustar, so the body part is the subject: me duele la cabeza. And know your region's word for booking: sacar cita in Mexico, pedir un turno in Argentina, pedir hora in Spain.
Below: the phrases that carry a consultation, the symptom vocabulary doctors actually respond to, the mistakes that trip learners up — and a way to rehearse the whole visit out loud before you're in the room.
Say this
Regional Spanish
Textbooks teach one word. Locals use several — pick your region's and stay consistent.
| English | Mexico | Argentina |
|---|---|---|
| book an appointment | sacar cita | pedir un turno |
| ID document | la credencial (el INE) | el DNI |
| medical tests | los estudios | los análisis |
| pick up a prescription | surtir la receta | retirar el remedio |
| follow-up visit | la revisión | el control |
Watch out
The part no phrase list can do
Isabella
Your conversation teacher for this pack
In the Doctor Visit pack, the final lesson puts you in a small consultation room on a Thursday afternoon — the last appointment of the day. Isabella plays your doctor: patient, methodical, all usted, jotting notes on paper even with a computer right in front of her. She won't rush you, but she keeps asking ¿desde cuándo? until the picture is clear. You describe what's wrong, give your history honestly, and ask what happens next. Out loud. And she asks follow-ups:
Blank mid-sentence and nothing bad happens — she waits. That's the practice, without unnecessary judgement.
Finish the 6 lessons and Doctor Visit is yours — earned, not given.
First 10 lessons free · 10-minute spoken lessons · your AI coaching team remembers you
Quick answers
Usted. Medical settings in Latin America expect the formal register with both the doctor and the front desk. Pair it with polite forms like quisiera and ¿me podría...? — you can be formal and still get exactly what you need.
Give the doctor timing, place, and what makes it worse. Use desde hace for duration (desde hace tres días), cuando for triggers (se me hincha el tobillo cuando camino mucho), and sobre todo to pinpoint when it's worst (siento una presión aquí, sobre todo de noche).
Use doler like gustar — the body part is the subject: me duele la cabeza (my head hurts), not yo duelo la cabeza. For a specific sensation use siento: siento como una presión aquí.
Be direct and specific: soy alérgico a la penicilina, pero no a otros antibióticos (I'm allergic to penicillin, but not to other antibiotics), and tomo una pastilla para la presión todas las mañanas (I take one blood pressure pill every morning). Mention family history too: mi madre es diabética.
Ask plainly: ¿entonces qué cree usted que puede ser, doctor? (so what do you think it might be?) and ¿es algo grave o se resuelve con reposo? (is it serious or does rest fix it?). Then confirm the plan: ¿cuándo debería volver para revisión? and voy a seguir sus indicaciones al pie de la letra.
