Pain in Spanish: How to Assess Pain with Patients

    Pain is the most common reason patients seek care. This page gives you the exact Spanish phrases to assess pain — where it is, how strong it is, what it feels like, and what makes it better or worse — so you can move quickly from vocabulary to confident patient communication.

    EnglishSpanishAudio
    painel dolor
    Are you in pain?¿Tiene dolor?
    Where does it hurt?¿Dónde le duele?
    Does it hurt here?¿Le duele aquí?
    It hurts a lot.Me duele mucho.
    It does not hurt.No me duele.
    How bad is the pain?¿Qué tan fuerte es el dolor?
    Rate your pain from 1 to 10.Califique su dolor del 1 al 10.
    pain scalela escala de dolor
    no painsin dolor
    mild paindolor leve
    moderate paindolor moderado
    severe paindolor severo / dolor fuerte
    the worst pain everel peor dolor que ha tenido
    sharp paindolor agudo / dolor punzante
    dull paindolor sordo
    burning paindolor ardiente / dolor quemante
    throbbing paindolor pulsante
    cramping paindolor tipo cólico
    constant paindolor constante
    intermittent paindolor intermitente
    pain that comes and goesdolor que va y viene
    When did it start?¿Cuándo empezó?
    How long does it last?¿Cuánto tiempo dura?
    Does the pain radiate?¿El dolor se mueve a otra parte?
    Does it move anywhere?¿Se mueve a otro lado?
    What makes it worse?¿Qué lo empeora?
    What makes it better?¿Qué lo mejora?
    chest paindolor de pecho
    abdominal paindolor abdominal / dolor de barriga
    headachedolor de cabeza
    back paindolor de espalda
    sore throatdolor de garganta

    Using these terms with patients

    • Start with location before intensity: "¿Dónde le duele?" primes the patient to point, which makes the follow-up "¿Le duele aquí?" much more natural.
    • Use "duele" for one body part and "duelen" for two: "Me duele la rodilla" (one knee) vs. "Me duelen las rodillas" (both knees).
    • Anchor the 1-10 scale every time: "Cero es nada de dolor y diez es el peor dolor posible." Otherwise a patient may call a mild ache a 10.
    • After quality and timing, ask "¿Qué lo calma?" and "¿Qué lo empeora?" — these two questions often reveal the diagnosis faster than the rest of the history.

    Essential for family medicine and emergency clinicians

    Pain assessment is the backbone of both family practice and emergency care. Our Complete Bundle turns these phrases into fluent, spoken dialogues — with audio practice, pronunciation feedback, and 38.25 AAFP Prescribed CME credits.

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    Go beyond vocabulary

    Build clinical fluency with structured dialogues, audio practice, and 38.25 AAFP CME credits.

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