Sickness and pain
Enfermedad y dolor
- Express sickness and pain.
- Express your medical condition at the doctor's office.
- Adverbs of manner
Learn essential Spanish health vocabulary like el dolor (pain), la fiebre (fever), and el doctor (doctor), plus useful phrases for describing symptoms and visiting medical professionals.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (12) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Reorder sentences
Instruction: Make correct sentences and translate.
Exercise 2: Match a word
Instruction: Match the translations
Exercise 3: Cluster the words
Instruction: Classify the words into two groups depending on whether they are symptoms or people and objects related to health and pain.
Síntomas y condiciones de salud
Personas y objetos en el entorno médico
Exercise 4: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Toser
To cough
2
Ayudar
To help
3
El medicamento
The medicine
4
Doler
To hurt
5
Los síntomas
The symptoms
Ejercicio 5: Conversation exercise
Instrucción:
- Describe the symptoms of each person. (Describe the symptoms of each person.)
- Play a dialogue at the doctor's office. (Play a dialogue at the doctor's office.)
Teaching guidelines +/- 10 minutes
Example phrases:
|
Tiene dolor en el cuello. He has pain in the neck. |
|
Tienes fiebre. You have a fever. |
|
Me duele la espalda. My back hurts. |
|
¿Dónde te duele? Where does it hurt? |
|
Tengo tos. I have a cough. |
|
Tengo dolor de cabeza. I have a headache. |
|
Tengo dolor de estómago. I have a stomachache. |
|
Me siento mareado. I feel nauseous. |
| ... |
Exercise 6: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 7: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Me ___ mucho la cabeza cuando trabajo muchas horas.
(My head ___ a lot when I work many hours.)2. A veces me ___ la garganta y no puedo hablar bien.
(Sometimes my throat ___ and I can't speak well.)3. Cuando tengo fiebre, el médico siempre me ___ que descanse mucho.
(When I have a fever, the doctor always ___ that I should rest a lot.)4. Si te ___ algo, debes tomar el medicamento rápidamente.
(If something ___ you, you should take the medicine quickly.)Exercise 8: A visit to the doctor for a sore throat
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Doler - To hurt
Presente
- yo duelo
- tú dueles
- él/ella/Ud. duele
- nosotros/nosotras dolemos
- vosotros/vosotras doléis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. duelen
Toser - To cough
Presente
- yo toso
- tú toses
- él/ella/Ud. tose
- nosotros/nosotras tosemos
- vosotros/vosotras toséis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. tosen
Tener - To have
Presente
- yo tengo
- tú tienes
- él/ella/Ud. tiene
- nosotros/nosotras tenemos
- vosotros/vosotras tenéis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. tienen
Ayudar - To help
Presente
- yo ayudo
- tú ayudas
- él/ella/Ud. ayuda
- nosotros/nosotras ayudamos
- vosotros/vosotras ayudáis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. ayudan
Explicar - To explain
Presente
- yo explico
- tú explicas
- él/ella/Ud. explica
- nosotros/nosotras explicamos
- vosotros/vosotras explicáis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. explican
Sentirse - To feel
Presente
- yo me siento
- tú te sientes
- él/ella/Ud. se siente
- nosotros/nosotras nos sentimos
- vosotros/vosotras os sentís
- ellos/ellas/Uds. se sienten
Tratar - To treat
Presente
- yo trato
- tú tratas
- él/ella/Ud. trata
- nosotros/nosotras tratamos
- vosotros/vosotras tratáis
- ellos/ellas/Uds. tratan
Exercise 9: Adverbios de modo
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: Adverbs of manner
Show translation Show answersnecesariamente, rápidamente, con dificultad, mal, con cuidado, bien, fácilmente, lentamente
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
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Sickness and Pain in Spanish: A Beginner's Guide (A1 Level)
This lesson focuses on basic vocabulary, phrases, and expressions related to health, sickness, and pain in Spanish. You will learn how to describe symptoms, communicate with medical professionals, understand common health-related terms, and express discomfort or pain.
Key Vocabulary
- Symptoms and Pains: el dolor (pain), la fiebre (fever), la alergia (allergy), la gripe (flu), la tos (cough)
- Health Places and Professionals: el doctor (doctor), el hospital (hospital), el medicamento (medicine)
Useful Expressions and Phrases
You will practice using important sentences such as:
- "Doctor, me duele la cabeza y tengo fiebre." (Doctor, I have a headache and a fever.)
- "¿Toma usted el medicamento correctamente y descansa bien?" (Do you take the medicine correctly and rest well?)
- "Necesito ayuda porque toso mucho y me siento enfermo." (I need help because I cough a lot and feel sick.)
- "¿Qué síntomas tiene y cómo se siente hoy?" (What symptoms do you have and how do you feel today?)
- "Para prevenir la gripe, es importante vacunarse regularmente." (To prevent the flu, it is important to get vaccinated regularly.)
Grammar and Verbs
The lesson includes key verbs conjugated in the present tense relevant to health: doler (to ache/hurt), tener (to have), ir (to go), llegar (to arrive), estar (to be), examinar (to examine), recetar (to prescribe), deber (should/must), bajar (to go down/reduce), and volver (to return). For example, "Tengo fiebre y me duele la cabeza todo el día." (I have a fever and my head hurts all day.)
Dialogue Practice
Practice realistic conversations for situations such as:
- At the doctor's appointment — expressing symptoms and receiving advice.
- At the pharmacy — asking for medication and explaining your health problem.
- Calling the doctor by phone — requesting an appointment and describing symptoms.
Phrase Structure and Language Notes
Spanish often uses reflexive verbs and pronouns to express health conditions, such as "me duele" (it hurts me). Unlike English, where possession is straightforward (my head hurts), in Spanish the verb structure involves the body part as the subject and the person feeling as an indirect object. Additionally, adverbs of manner like "rápidamente" (quickly) describe how actions happen, important in health contexts.
Useful phrases include:
- "Me duele la cabeza." (My head hurts.)
- "Tengo fiebre." (I have a fever.)
- "Debe descansar y tomar la medicina." (You should rest and take the medicine.)
- "¿Desde cuándo tiene esos síntomas?" (Since when have you had those symptoms?)
Understanding these expressions will help you communicate effectively in health-related situations in Spanish-speaking environments.
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