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Pain words your Spanish-speaking patients use (and what they really mean)
Decoding first: what patients actually say when they describe pain, and the questions that turn an answer into reportable information.
The Spanish on this page comes from the Signos phrase library, which has not been checked by a qualified reviewer yet. Vocabulary practice does not qualify you to interpret. When a conversation affects care, use a qualified medical interpreter.
Pain words are the highest stakes words on a shift. A patient describes what they feel. The nurse has to turn that description into location, quality, severity, and change over time, and then report it accurately.
The phrases below come from the free Pain Assessment track. Each one includes the sample patient reply from the track, because the reply is where the decoding happens. The answer rarely sounds like the textbook. It sounds like a person.
Location first
Every pain assessment starts in the same place: where. The patient points, or names a place, and the rest of the assessment hangs on that answer. Ask the question, then give the patient time to answer before moving on.
«¿Dónde le duele?»
Where does it hurt?
Patient reply: «Me duele aquí, en el pecho.» It hurts here, in my chest.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →«Señale dónde le duele.»
Point to where it hurts.
Patient reply: «Aquí, en la espalda.» Here, in my back.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →Quality words carry meaning
Sharp, dull, burning, stabbing, throbbing. These words are not decoration. They narrow what the pain might be, and they are the words patients reach for when they compare pain to something physical, like a stabbing or a needle.
«¿El dolor es agudo o sordo?»
Is the pain sharp or dull?
Patient reply: «Es agudo, como una puñalada.» It is sharp, like a stabbing.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →«¿El dolor es ardiente, punzante o palpitante?»
Is the pain burning, stabbing, or throbbing?
Patient reply: «Es punzante, como una aguja.» It is stabbing, like a needle.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →The number needs the question
A number without the scale is noise. Ask the scale question the same way every time, so the number means the same thing every time, and so a change in the number means something real.
«En una escala de cero a diez, ¿qué tan fuerte es su dolor?»
On a scale of zero to ten, how strong is your pain?
Patient reply: «Un ocho. Me duele mucho.» An eight. It hurts a lot.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →Always ask about a second location
The second location can change the picture. A patient who reports chest pain and then, when asked, reports arm pain has given you two facts, not one. Report both. Do not interpret them. Interpretation belongs to the care team, with a qualified interpreter carrying any conversation that affects care.
«¿Siente dolor en alguna otra parte?»
Do you feel pain anywhere else?
Patient reply: «Sí, también me duele el brazo izquierdo.» Yes, my left arm hurts too.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →Better and worse are clinical information
What makes pain better and what makes it worse is not small talk. It is part of the assessment. Breathing, movement, lying down, time of day: each answer narrows the picture and each one is worth reporting exactly as the patient said it.
«¿Hay algo que mejore o empeore el dolor?»
Does anything make the pain better or worse?
Patient reply: «Me mejora cuando me acuesto. Empeora cuando camino.» It gets better when I lie down. Worse when I walk.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →«¿Qué le mejora el dolor?»
What makes the pain better?
Patient reply: «Nada me lo quita.» Nothing takes it away.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →«¿Qué le empeora el dolor?»
What makes the pain worse?
Patient reply: «Cuando respiro profundo, empeora.» When I breathe deeply, it gets worse.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →Belief is part of assessment
Patients who feel disbelieved stop describing. The last phrase in the track is not a question. It is a statement of belief, and the sample reply shows why it matters. A patient who trusts you will tell you when the pain changes. That is the whole assessment, working.
«El dolor es lo que usted dice que es.»
Pain is what you say it is.
Patient reply: «Gracias. Nadie me cree.» Thank you. Nobody believes me.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →The boundary moment
Some answers change the picture: a new location, a new or worsening symptom, anything about medicines, doses, or allergies. Those answers get reported to the nurse, and any conversation that affects care moves to a qualified medical interpreter. Vocabulary practice does not qualify you to interpret. Knowing where your Spanish stops is part of doing the job well.
«¿Es alérgico a algún medicamento?»
Are you allergic to any medications?
Patient reply: «No, ninguna alergia.» No, no allergies.
Note: Do not rely on partial understanding to confirm a medicine, dose, schedule, or allergy. Pause and contact the nurse; use a qualified medical interpreter.
Drill Pain Assessment →«Avíseme si el dolor empeora.»
Tell me if the pain gets worse.
Patient reply: «Sí, le aviso.» Yes, I will let you know.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →«Avíseme si el dolor cambia de cualquier manera.»
Tell me if the pain changes in any way.
Patient reply: «Le aviso si cambia.» I will tell you if it changes.
Note: Report the patient's answer and any new or worsening symptom to the nurse. Do not infer a diagnosis or urgency from this phrase alone.
Drill Pain Assessment →