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.
The warm-up pack
The phrases that carry a real consultation — booking, describing what hurts, and understanding what happens next — all in the formal usted a clinic expects.
01 · Booking the appointment
Quisiera agendar una cita con el doctor Ramírez.
I'd like to schedule an appointment with Dr. Ramírez. In Argentina you'd say pedir un turno; in Spain, pedir hora.
Quisiera is the polite conditional that opens almost every formal ask in this badge — softer than quiero without sounding stiff.
02 · Checking in
Buenas tardes, tengo cita a las tres con la doctora López.
Good afternoon, I have a three o'clock appointment with Dr. López.
Name the time and the doctor up front — it's the fastest way through the front desk.
03 · Handing over your papers
Aquí está mi identificación y mi tarjeta del seguro.
Here's my ID and my insurance card.
Aquí está does the work of a full sentence at every counter in Spanish — you're offering something without asking a question.
04 · Naming the problem with a timeframe
Tengo un dolor en el pecho desde hace tres días.
I've had chest pain for three days.
Desde hace + duration is the pattern doctors are listening for — swap in any timeframe and any pain.
05 · Naming what makes it worse
Se me hincha el tobillo cuando camino mucho.
My ankle swells up when I walk a lot.
Cuando + condition tells the doctor what triggers it — as useful to a diagnosis as the symptom itself.
06 · When it's not sharp pain
Siento como una presión aquí, sobre todo de noche.
I feel a sort of pressure here, especially at night.
Siento como is the hedge for a sensation you can't fully pin down — you don't need the exact medical word.
07 · Sharing your history honestly
Soy alérgico a la penicilina, pero no a otros antibióticos.
I'm allergic to penicillin, but not to other antibiotics.
Specific and honest beats vague — allergies, medications, and family history are what actually change the diagnosis.
08 · The question you're allowed to ask
¿Entonces qué cree usted que puede ser, doctor?
So what do you think it might be, doctor?
Asking directly isn't rude here — usted register is built exactly for this, formal and completely normal.
09 · Checking how serious it is
¿Es algo grave o se resuelve con reposo?
Is it something serious or does it resolve with rest?
One direct question that gets you the single thing you actually want to know.
10 · Confirming you understood
Voy a seguir sus indicaciones al pie de la letra.
I'll follow your instructions to the letter.
Repeating the plan back, even loosely, is what closes a consultation well — it shows the doctor you actually understood.
11 · Closing at the desk
¿Me pueden dar una factura para el seguro?
Can you give me a receipt for the insurance?
The visit isn't over until the paperwork is — ask before you leave, not after.
FLUENT
Finally, someone to talk to in Spanish.
Ten-minute spoken lessons. A teacher who answers back — and gently fixes what you got wrong.
First 10 lessons freeandbefluent.com/spanish/doctor-visitRegional 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.
