I don't feel well in Spanish
At the GP's office: symptoms and diagnosis in Spanish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Buenos días. Siéntese, ¿qué le pasa?» — Good morning. Sit down, what is wrong with you?; «Llevo tres días con fiebre alta y escalofríos.» — I've had a high fever and chills for three days. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the gp's office: symptoms and diagnosis. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Buenos días. Siéntese, ¿qué le pasa?Good morning. Sit down, what is wrong with you?
- Llevo tres días con fiebre alta y escalofríos.I've had a high fever and chills for three days.
- ¿Le duele la garganta o tose por la noche?Does your throat hurt or do you cough at night?
- Las dos cosas. Y hoy me ha salido un sarpullido en el brazo.Both. And today a rash appeared on my arm.
- Parece una gripe, pero le voy a mirar la tensión arterial.It looks like the flu, but I'm going to check your blood pressure.
- ¿Es contagioso? Tengo dos niños en casa.Is it contagious? I have two children at home.
- Los primeros días sí. Le doy la baja hasta el lunes.The first days yes. I'm giving you a sick leave until Monday.
- Gracias. ¿Y si no me curo para el lunes?Thank you. And if I have not recovered by Monday?
Lines one by one
| Spanish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Buenos días. Siéntese, ¿qué le pasa? | — | Good morning. Sit down, what is wrong with you? |
| Llevo tres días con fiebre alta y escalofríos. | — | I've had a high fever and chills for three days. |
| ¿Le duele la garganta o tose por la noche? | — | Does your throat hurt or do you cough at night? |
| Las dos cosas. Y hoy me ha salido un sarpullido en el brazo. | — | Both. And today a rash appeared on my arm. |
| Parece una gripe, pero le voy a mirar la tensión arterial. | — | It looks like the flu, but I'm going to check your blood pressure. |
| ¿Es contagioso? Tengo dos niños en casa. | — | Is it contagious? I have two children at home. |
| Los primeros días sí. Le doy la baja hasta el lunes. | — | The first days yes. I'm giving you a sick leave until Monday. |
| Gracias. ¿Y si no me curo para el lunes? | — | Thank you. And if I have not recovered by Monday? |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Spanish in this situation?
“Buenos días. Siéntese, ¿qué le pasa?” — Good morning. Sit down, what is wrong with you?. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.