Spanish for Nurses: 30 Essential Phrases (Free PDF Cheat Sheet)

Nurses spend more bedside time with Spanish-speaking patients than any other role in a hospital, but most nursing programs do not teach medical Spanish for nurses. The phrases below are the highest-leverage ones to learn first — organized in the order you actually use them during a shift.

Each phrase is grouped by workflow stage and written with a plain-English phonetic guide (stressed syllable in capitals). Practice the section that matches your unit (ED, med-surg, peds, L&D, clinic), then follow the step-by-step plan at the end for how to learn Spanish for nursing over the next 30 days.

One thing to be clear about up front: these phrases make routine bedside care smoother and more humane. They do not replace a qualified medical interpreter for consent, diagnosis, complex education, or any high-stakes conversation. Use them alongside your interpreter service, not instead of it.

Want the full structured path with CME credit? Our AAFP-accredited Medical Spanish course is accepted by many nursing boards and employers toward continuing education, and most clinicians pay with their employer CME allowance. Explore the course at https://medicalspanishcme.com/medical-spanish-course or try a sample lesson free at https://medicalspanishcme.com/test-drive — no sign-up needed.

Five minutes on pronunciation before you start

Spanish pronunciation is far more consistent than English — once you know the rules, you can read almost any word correctly. Learn these six and your patients will understand you immediately, even if your grammar is imperfect.

Vowels never change: a = "ah", e = "eh", i = "ee", o = "oh", u = "oo". They sound the same in every word, every time.
The letter "h" is always silent — "hospital" is "os-pee-TAL".
"J" and "g" (before e/i) are a throaty "h" — "hijo" (son) is "EE-ho", "alergia" is "ah-LEHR-hee-ah".
"LL" and "y" sound like the English "y" — "llame" (call) is "YAH-meh".
"Ñ" is "ny" as in canyon — "mañana" is "mah-NYAH-nah".
Rolled "rr" matters less than you think. If you cannot roll it, a single tapped r is understood fine.
Hear these rules spoken by a native voice and test your own pronunciation in one click — free, no sign-up: https://medicalspanishcme.com/test-drive?tool=pronunciation

Triage and intake (5 phrases)

"¿Cómo se llama?" (KOH-moh seh YAH-mah) — What is your name?
"¿Qué le pasa hoy?" (keh leh PAH-sah oy) — What is going on today?
"¿Tiene dolor? ¿Dónde?" (TYEH-neh doh-LOR / DON-deh) — Are you in pain? Where?
"En una escala del uno al diez, ¿cuánto le duele?" (kWAN-toh leh DWEH-leh) — On a scale of 1 to 10, how much does it hurt?
"¿Es alérgico a algún medicamento?" (ess ah-LEHR-hee-koh) — Are you allergic to any medication?

Assessment and vitals (6 phrases)

"Voy a tomarle la presión." (boy ah toh-MAR-leh lah preh-SYON) — I am going to take your blood pressure.
"Respire profundo, por favor." (rehs-PEE-reh proh-FOON-doh) — Breathe deeply, please.
"Abra la boca y saque la lengua." (AH-brah lah BOH-kah) — Open your mouth and stick out your tongue.
"¿Puede mover los dedos del pie?" (PWEH-deh moh-BEHR) — Can you move your toes?
"¿Cuándo comió por última vez?" (KWAN-doh koh-MYOH) — When did you last eat?
"¿Está embarazada o podría estarlo?" (ehs-TAH em-bah-rah-SAH-dah) — Are you or could you be pregnant?

Medication and IV (6 phrases)

"Le voy a poner una inyección." (oo-nah een-yek-SYON) — I am going to give you a shot.
"Esto puede arder un poco." (PWEH-deh ar-DEHR) — This may sting a little.
"Necesito ponerle un suero." (oon SWEH-roh) — I need to start an IV.
"Tome esta pastilla con agua." (TOH-meh EHS-tah pahs-TEE-yah) — Take this pill with water.
"Esta medicina es para el dolor." (meh-dee-SEE-nah) — This medicine is for pain.
"Avíseme si siente algo raro." (ah-BEE-seh-meh) — Let me know if you feel anything strange.

Patient education (6 phrases)

"El doctor viene en unos minutos." (BYEH-neh) — The doctor is coming in a few minutes.
"Tiene que quedarse en la cama." (keh-DAR-seh) — You need to stay in bed.
"No coma ni beba nada por ahora." (KOH-mah nee BEH-bah) — Do not eat or drink anything for now.
"Vamos a hacerle unos exámenes." (ah-SEHR-leh) — We are going to do some tests on you.
"Es importante terminar todo el medicamento." (tehr-mee-NAR) — It is important to finish all the medication.
"¿Tiene alguna pregunta?" (preh-GOON-tah) — Do you have any questions?

Discharge and follow-up (7 phrases)

"Ya puede irse a casa." (yah PWEH-deh EER-seh) — You can go home now.
"Tome esta medicina dos veces al día." (dohs BEH-sehs al DEE-ah) — Take this medicine twice a day.
"Si tiene fiebre o sangrado, regrese al hospital." (FYEH-breh oh san-GRAH-doh) — If you have a fever or bleeding, come back to the hospital.
"Tiene una cita de seguimiento la próxima semana." (SEE-tah deh seh-gee-MYEN-toh) — You have a follow-up appointment next week.
"Aquí está el número para llamar si tiene preguntas." (NOO-meh-roh) — Here is the number to call if you have questions.
"Descanse y tome mucha agua." (dehs-KAN-seh) — Rest and drink lots of water.
"Cuídese mucho." (KWEE-deh-seh MOO-choh) — Take good care of yourself.

Understanding the answers you get back

Asking the question is the easy half. The harder half is recognising the reply at native speed. These are the answers you will hear most often on a nursing shift — learn to recognise them by sound, not by spelling.

"Sí" / "No" / "No sé" (noh seh) — Yes / No / I do not know.
"Me duele aquí." (meh DWEH-leh ah-KEE) — It hurts here.
"Mucho" / "Poquito" (MOO-choh / poh-KEE-toh) — A lot / just a little.
"Desde ayer" / "Desde hace días" (DEHS-deh ah-YEHR) — Since yesterday / for several days.
"Tengo náuseas." (TEN-goh NOW-seh-ahs) — I feel nauseous.
"No puedo respirar." (noh PWEH-doh rehs-pee-RAR) — I cannot breathe. Treat this as urgent.
"Más despacio, por favor." (mahs dehs-PAH-syoh) — Slower, please. Expect to hear this — it is a good sign, not a failure.
"No entiendo." (noh en-TYEN-doh) — I do not understand. Your cue to call the interpreter.

Numbers, times, and the pain scale

Nursing runs on numbers — doses, frequencies, pain scores, times. These are worth memorising cold because you use them a dozen times per shift.

One to ten: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez (OO-noh, dohs, trehs, KWAH-troh, SEEN-koh, sase, SYEH-teh, OH-choh, NWEH-beh, dyess).
"una vez al día" — once a day; "dos veces al día" — twice a day; "cada ocho horas" — every eight hours.
"con comida" / "con el estómago vacío" — with food / on an empty stomach.
"por la mañana" / "por la noche" — in the morning / at night.
"antes de acostarse" (AHN-tehs deh ah-kohs-TAR-seh) — before bed.
For the pain scale, point to a 0–10 visual chart while you ask. Numbers spoken under stress are frequently misheard in any language.

Phrases by unit: ED, peds, L&D, and med-surg

Beyond the core thirty, each unit has a handful of phrases that come up constantly. Learn the block that matches where you work.

Emergency: "¿Qué pasó?" (What happened?) · "¿Se golpeó la cabeza?" (Did you hit your head?) · "¿Está tomando algún medicamento para el corazón?" (Are you taking any heart medication?)
Pediatrics: "¿Cuántos años tiene?" (How old is he/she?) · "¿Ha tenido fiebre?" (Has he/she had a fever?) · "¿Está comiendo y tomando líquidos bien?" (Is he/she eating and drinking well?)
Labor and delivery: "¿Cada cuánto le vienen las contracciones?" (How far apart are the contractions?) · "¿Se le rompió la fuente?" (Did your water break?) · "Puje ahora." (Push now.)
Med-surg: "Voy a revisar su herida." (I am going to check your wound.) · "¿Ha podido orinar?" (Have you been able to urinate?) · "Vamos a levantarlo despacio." (We are going to sit you up slowly.)
Peri-op: "No coma nada después de la medianoche." (Nothing to eat after midnight.) · "¿Alguna vez le han puesto anestesia?" (Have you ever had anesthesia?)

Four mistakes nurses make with Spanish (and how to avoid them)

Using "embarazada" to mean embarrassed. It means pregnant. Embarrassed is "avergonzado/a" — this is the classic false friend and it lands badly on an intake.
Asking yes/no questions when you need real information. A nervous patient will say "sí" to almost anything. Ask "¿dónde?" and "¿cuándo?" instead.
Using a family member as the interpreter for anything clinical. Children in particular should never interpret. Use them for comfort, never for consent or education.
Speaking louder instead of slower. Volume does not help comprehension; short sentences, one idea at a time, and pauses do.

Where the phrases end and the interpreter begins

A useful rule of thumb: if getting it wrong could change a clinical decision or a patient's consent, use a qualified interpreter. That covers informed consent, breaking bad news, code status, discharge instructions for a complex regimen, psychiatric assessment, and anything involving legal documentation.

What your Spanish is genuinely for is everything in between — the greeting, the reassurance during a blood draw, the "are you comfortable?", the "the doctor is on the way." That is where the trust is built, and it is a large share of what a patient actually remembers about their stay.

How to learn Spanish for nursing in 30 days

Most nurses do not need conversational fluency — they need reliable, patient-facing phrases they can produce under pressure. That is a much smaller goal, and it is reachable in about a month of short daily practice.

Week 1 — Triage and assessment: drill the first 11 phrases out loud, five minutes a day, until you can say them without reading.
Week 2 — Medication and IV: add the six med/IV phrases and start using them with real patients during routine tasks.
Week 3 — Patient education: practise the six teaching phrases, plus the yes/no follow-up questions that go with them.
Week 4 — Discharge: finish the seven discharge phrases and rehearse a full handoff from greeting to goodbye.
Ongoing — Add pronunciation feedback and a structured medical Spanish for nurses course so new vocabulary keeps building on this base.

How to actually retain them

Reading a list once and putting it down is the fastest way to forget it. The phrases above stick when you (1) hear them spoken at native speed, (2) say them out loud, and (3) use them with a real patient within 24–48 hours of practicing. A self-paced Medical Spanish program with audio drills handles the first two; your next shift handles the third.

If you want a structured path, our Medical Spanish course covers each of these workflow stages in depth, with native-speaker audio, pronunciation feedback, and AAFP-accredited CME credit for nurses who need it for license renewal. AAFP Prescribed credit is widely accepted by nursing boards and employers (including toward ANCC/AANP continuing education requirements — check your state board), and most nurses pay with their employer CME allowance rather than out of pocket. See the course at https://medicalspanishcme.com/medical-spanish-course

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to learn Spanish for nursing? For the working phrase set above, about 30 days of five-minute daily practice. For comfortable unscripted conversation with patients, plan on a year or more of consistent study.

Do nurses get CME or CE credit for medical Spanish? Often, yes. Our medical Spanish course is AAFP Prescribed accredited, which many nursing boards and employers accept toward continuing education — check your state board's rules before you enrol.

Is medical Spanish different from regular Spanish? The grammar is the same, but the vocabulary and register are not. Nursing Spanish is heavy on commands, body parts, symptoms, and time expressions, and light on the small talk a general course spends months on — which is why a clinical course is much faster for this goal.

Can I skip the interpreter if I learn these phrases? No. These phrases improve routine bedside communication; qualified interpreters remain required for consent, diagnosis, and complex education.

What is the best way to practise pronunciation alone? Record yourself saying each phrase, then compare it to native audio. Tools that score your pronunciation against a native model shorten this loop considerably.