Medical Spanish phrases for nurses

The fifty Spanish phrases your shift actually uses.

Skip the 800-word vocabulary list. These forty-plus phrases are the load-bearing core of an ED or urgent-care shift in Spanish — the ones a US RN, EMT, or PA will use this week, written down once so you don't have to remember them under pressure. MD- and RN-reviewed, two pages, print-friendly, free.

The PDF. Two pages. Forty-plus phrases organized by encounter type (intake, pain, allergies, exam, discharge, telephone). Each phrase comes with the formal usted register first because that's what you'll use most often in clinical settings, with peer-register notes where the dialect actually changes the wording. Download it directly — no email wall.

Get the PDF. Two pages. Free. No email required. Print it, fold it, drop it in your scrub pocket.

Download the PDF PDF · ~50 KB · MD/RN-reviewed

Why these specific phrases (and not others)

Every phrase on the PDF earned its spot one of two ways. Either it shows up in five or more of our 29 voiced scenarios — meaning a working US clinician will hit it inside the first week — or it is the one phrase that closes out a high-stakes encounter where the wrong substitute is dangerous. Examples of the second category:

"Tóqueme con un dedo el lugar donde más le duele." Touch the place with one finger — resolves four flavors of regional ambiguity in one move and costs nothing to learn.
"Lo natural también tiene química." Said gently, this opens the door to reconciling herbal supplements without insulting the comadre who prepared them.
"La bolsa salva." The brown paper bag saves lives. Said to a Mexican-American patient, it makes the medication review request feel collaborative rather than accusatory.
"Presión, no dolor." "Pressure, not pain." Used to pre-describe sensation in lumbar puncture, central-line placement, NG-tube insertion, and Foley placement. One phrase, four consents.
"Es cosa de mecánica, no de fuerza, no de vergüenza." "It's about mechanics, not about strength, not about shame." The dignity reframe for an elder Mexican-American man with BPH urinary retention.

What's in each section

Section 1 — Intake (~10 phrases)

The opener you say in the same order on every shift. "Buenas tardes, soy [name], soy su enfermero/enfermera. ¿Cómo se llama? ¿Qué le trajo hoy? ¿Cuándo comenzó?" The register is set with the first sentence; the questions land cleanly because the patient knows what to expect.

Section 2 — Pain assessment (~6 phrases)

The triple that resolves location, quality, and severity in fifteen seconds. The "tóqueme con un dedo" move. The 0–10 scale phrased as "¿en una escala del cero al diez, dónde lo pondría?" — interrogative, not declarative, because the declarative form lands as a demand and patients minimize.

Section 3 — Allergies and medications (~8 phrases)

The brown-paper-bag ask. The herbal supplement reconciliation. The honest "this herb has chemistry too, just like the pill does." The cross-border-pharmacy question phrased so the patient doesn't feel accused. "¿Hay alguna pastilla, té, o gota que toma todos los días que aún no me haya dicho?"

Section 4 — Exam narration (~8 phrases)

What you're about to do, before you do it. "Voy a escucharle el corazón. Respire normal." "Voy a tocarle la barriga. Avíseme si le duele." "Voy a revisarle los oídos." Patients tolerate exam ten times better when they know what's coming.

Section 5 — Discharge instructions (~10 phrases)

The teach-back format in Spanish. "Para asegurarme que le expliqué bien, ¿me puede decir qué va a hacer cuando llegue a casa?" The four-rule sick-day plan for new diabetes diagnoses. The return-precautions phrasing. "Si pasa A, B, o C, regrese de inmediato — no espere."

Section 6 — Telephone triage (~4 phrases)

The phone-only sense-by-asking discipline — you can't see the patient, so the questions have to do extra work. The 911-Spanish-interpreter beat: "Voy a marcar al nueve uno uno y voy a pedir un intérprete de español. No cuelgue. Estoy con usted."

Section 7 — Working with a qualified interpreter (~4 phrases)

What you say to the patient when the language line connects. "I need a Spanish interpreter, please." in English first, then to the patient: "Voy a llamar a un intérprete de español. No cuelgue. Vamos a hablar los tres." Models the support-not-substitute frame for any family member at the bedside.

What the PDF doesn't try to do

It is not a textbook. It is not a substitute for a qualified medical interpreter. It is not the path to ANCC continuing-education credit. It is forty-plus phrases on two pages, designed for the locker-room minute before report. Every phrase is also voiced inside the free 29-scenario practice page — same words, same register, with the audio so you can hear how a Mexican-American patient actually says "con permiso."

Past the PDF, the next floor up

Once the forty-plus phrases are in your pocket, the work that closes the gap is scenario practice — running the same phrases inside an encounter, with a voiced patient who interrupts, hesitates, asks back, and brings their abuela. That's what the 29 free scenarios are for. The Pro tier ($19/mo) adds the AI roleplay loop: you say your line out loud, the patient responds in character. Closes the production gap that listening alone never closes.

Walk the phrases inside a real encounter. 29 voiced scenarios, free to read and listen to in the browser, no login.

Open the practice page Free · runs in any browser · ~5 min per scenario

FAQs we get about the phrases PDF

Are these phrases enough to do triage in Spanish?

They are enough to keep a Spanish-speaking patient oriented and safe while a qualified interpreter is being called. They are not a substitute for the interpreter when the conversation drives a clinical decision — Joint Commission and Title VI require a qualified interpreter for that. The PDF teaches the bedside language; the language line teaches the rest.

Why only fifty phrases?

Because forty-plus is the size of the load-bearing core. Past that, returns drop fast: another fifty phrases adds maybe two new encounters you can hold together. The PDF is the floor; the 29-scenario practice page is the next floor up.

Can I use this on my phone?

Yes. The PDF is print-friendly at two pages but renders fine on a phone. The audio versions of every phrase live in the free practice page in any browser — no app to install.

What dialect is this in?

The PDF defaults to Mexican Spanish because it's the dominant Spanish-speaking population in US emergency departments. Where the wording materially diverges between Mexican, Caribbean, and Central-American Spanish, the PDF marks the alternate phrasing. The voiced scenarios on the practice page do the same.

Who reviewed it?

Every phrase was reviewed by a clinician fluent in clinical Spanish before it went on the PDF. We're recruiting a named MD/RN advisor for the masthead this quarter; until that lands, the page reads "Reviewed by clinical staff." We're not going to fake a name on a credentials line.