How to say you're ill in Spanish (doctor and pharmacy phrases)

¡Hola aventurero!

You wake up with a sore throat, a heavy head and a meeting at ten 🤒 Before you can call in sick, you need the words.

So here's how to say you're sick in Spanish (or ill, as they'd say in the UK), the way people in Spain actually say it. We'll go from "I'm a bit under the weather" all the way to the doctor's surgery.

Ojalá you never need it.

1Saying you're ill: estar malo

In textbooks you'll find Estoy enfermo. It's correct, but in everyday Spain you'll hear Estoy malo much more. Here's the whole scale, from mild to awful:

Teacher bit 🤓 Why estar? Because being ill is a state, and states use estar. Swap it for ser and the meaning changes completely: Mi hermano es malo means my brother is a bad person (or bad at something). Mi hermano está malo means he's ill. Poor thing.

The same goes for food. La leche está mala means the milk has gone off. More on this in my visual guide to ser and estar.

Two more you'll hear a lot: Me he puesto malo (I've got ill) and Me he resfriado (I've caught a cold).

2Calling in sick and cancelling plans

Usually the first thing you need to do is tell someone. These work for a boss, a teacher or a friend:

Estar de baja means you're officially off work, with a note from the doctor. You'll hear it all the time in Spain: Marta está de baja esta semana.

And here's what people will probably say back to you 💛

You estás malo when you're ill, and people tell you ponte bueno to get better. Simple.

3Saying what hurts: me duele and tengo

For pain, Spanish uses doler. It works like gustar: the thing that hurts is the subject. So one thing duele, and more than one thing duelen. If gustar still feels backwards, read how gustar works in Spanish.

La tripa is the everyday word for your tummy in Spain. And Me duele todo is perfect for that achy, flu-ish feeling 🥴

For most other symptoms, use tengo:

4At the pharmacy

For a cold or an upset stomach, lots of people in Spain go to the pharmacy before the doctor. Pharmacists will suggest something, or tell you to see a doctor.

That last one is very Spanish. Lots of medicines here come as sobres, little sachets of powder you mix with water.

5At the doctor's

The doctor will probably ask you these:

Some doctors will use usted with you instead: ¿Qué le pasa? Same question, more formal.

For ¿Desde cuándo?, answer with desde + a day (desde ayer, desde el domingo) or desde hace + an amount of time (desde hace dos días).

6Practise it this week

1. 1

   Answer ¿Qué tal estás? honestly

   Every day this week, ask yourself ¿Qué tal estás? and answer with something from the scale at the top: Hoy estoy un poco pachucha or, much better, ¡Hoy estoy genial!

2. 2

   Point and choose: duele or duelen

   Touch five parts of your body and say a sentence for each: Me duele la espalda, Me duelen los pies. Each time, decide whether it's one thing (duele) or more than one (duelen).

3. 3

   Write a sick message

   Write a message to a friend cancelling a plan: Hola, Marta. Lo siento, pero estoy mala y hoy no puedo ir. ¿Lo dejamos para la semana que viene? Then write the reply you'd hope to get: ¡Ponte buena!

If you're planning a move to Spain, the Spanish phrases you'll use every day living in Spain covers the rest of daily life. And if you need to book an appointment by phone, have a look at Spanish phone call phrases.

If you'd like everyday topics like this one ready before you need them, with games, speaking prompts and cheat sheets, take a look at my Roadmaps 🗺️

Now tell me 👀 What's the Spanish word you'd need most if you got ill tomorrow? Cuéntame in the comments!

Lucía · Linguist, translator, Spanish teacher and author of the Visual Spanish Grammar Book.
Come and learn Spanish with me and other aventureros like yourself at skool.com/learnspanish 🎉