To say where it hurts in Spanish, use me duele with the part of the body: me duele la cabeza. For several parts the verb becomes duelen: me duelen las piernas. A symptom you have takes tengo, as in tengo fiebre or tengo tos, and desde says since when: tengo fiebre desde ayer. A doctor or a pharmacist will ask with usted: ¿qué le duele? In La Paz, the safe way is to describe and ask: say what you have, and let the doctor or the pharmacist decide.
Every phrase comes from the lessons. Press play to hear it.
Me duele la cabeza.My head hurts.
Me duele la garganta desde ayer.My throat has hurt since yesterday.
Tengo fiebre desde ayer.I have had a fever since yesterday.
Tengo tos desde el lunes.I have had a cough since Monday.
Explico mis síntomas con calma.I explain my symptoms calmly.
¿Me puede ayudar?Can you help me?
Buenos días. ¿Qué le duele?Good morning. What hurts?
¿Desde cuándo tiene tos?Since when have you had the cough?
¿Tiene fiebre?Do you have a fever?
¿Hay turno para hoy?Is there a slot for today?
How it works
What hurts,and what you have
Me duele la cabeza
My head hurts: one part of the body, so duele. Spanish says la cabeza, the head, not my head.
Me duelen las piernas
My legs hurt: several parts, so the verb becomes duelen.
Tengo fiebre
I have a fever: a symptom you carry takes tengo, with no article. So does tengo tos, I have a cough.
dolor de cabeza
A headache: the pain, then de, then the part of the body. Tengo dolor de cabeza says the same as me duele la cabeza.
desde ayer
Since yesterday: desde marks when it started, and the verb stays in the present because it is still going on.
The questions you will hear
¿Qué le duele?
What hurts? Le is the usted form a doctor uses with you.
¿Desde cuándo le duele?
Since when has it hurt? Answer with desde and a day.
¿Tiene fiebre?
Do you have a fever? Tiene is the usted form of tener.
¿Tiene algo para la tos?
Do you have something for the cough? You describe, and the pharmacist chooses.
The rule card of lesson 14
Spanish has states that other languages are
tener carries cold, hunger, thirst, sleepiness, age and being right: tengo frío, tengo veinte años, tienes razón.
hacer carries the weather and elapsed time: hace calor, hace dos años que vivo acá.
gustar, faltar and quedar run backwards: the thing is the subject and you are the one it happens to.
Tengo frío.Word for word I have cold. Estoy frío would say your skin is cold to the touch.
Me gusta este barrio.The neighbourhood pleases me, so the verb agrees with the neighbourhood, not with me.
In Bolivia
What the lessons tell you about doing it here.
La Paz · Lesson 13
Up high,say what you feel
La Paz sits far higher than Santa Cruz, and many travellers arriving straight from the lowlands first feel it as a headache. Saying plainly what you feel, me duele la cabeza, is exactly right: you describe a feeling, you do not decide what it is.
La Paz · Lesson 14
Describe,then ask
Up in La Paz, the safe way is to describe and ask. Hiding how you feel with estoy bien delays help, and choosing your own remedy skips the professional: say what you have, and let the doctor or the pharmacist decide.
La Paz · Lesson 3
The day's turnos go early
At many public health centres in Bolivia, the day's consultation slots, the turnos, fill up early in the morning, so people often queue before opening to get a ficha for that day. Asking ¿hay turno para hoy? is an everyday question, not a complaint.
Short dialogues
The chat that closes each lesson: what you hear, and the reply the lesson teaches.
DDoctora Vargas, doctorLesson 13
Buenos días. ¿Qué le duele?Good morning. What hurts?
YouMe duele la cabeza.
¿Y las piernas?And your legs?
YouSí, me duelen las piernas.
Bien. Un momento, por favor.All right. One moment, please.
SSeñor Mario, pharmacistLesson 14
Buenas tardes. ¿Qué necesita?Good afternoon. What do you need?
YouTengo tos. ¿Tiene algo para la tos?
¿Desde cuándo tiene tos?Since when have you had the cough?
YouDesde el lunes.
¿Tiene fiebre?Do you have a fever?
YouNo, no tengo fiebre.
Muy bien. Un momento, por favor.All right. One moment, please.
Practise it in a free lesson
Lessons 13 and 14 of Mi español teach exactly this, with short exercises and these dialogues.
Lesson 13 · {min} to {max} min Free account
Saying where it hurts
Tell a doctor or a nurse where it hurts: me duele for one part of the body, me duelen for several, and since when.
