This Medical Spanish lesson focuses on 20 Medical Spanish Word Associations that make it easier to remember and use them with your Spanish speaking patients.
Here is the 20 Medical Spanish Word Associations lesson I taught to the Facebook group:
1. Cintura
Cintura 
is the waistline or lower back – the part of the human body between the ribs and the hips, but what’s the best word association with it?
Answer: Cinturón (belt), so everything that is related to your belt is your cintura.
2. Comenzar
The verb Comenzar means to begin and has an easy connection. Do you know what is it?
Answer: Commence.
3. Costilla
The word Costilla means rib or, according to the dictionary, “one of a series of curved bones connected to the backbone and occurring in pairs on each side of the body”. So you can associate your costilla with:
Answer: Intercostal.
4. Durar
The word Durar means to last and the best word association with durar is:
Answer: Duracell (yes, the battery) 🙂
5. Estornudo
The word Estornudo means sneeze and you can associate an estornudo with an:
Answer: Tornado (Spanish pronunciation: )
6. Fumar
The verb Fumar means to smoke and also has an easy association which is…
Answer: Fumes.
7. Ir
This isn’t a direct association; in fact, the verb Ir is an irregular verb that has tricky conjugations in most of its tenses. This is its conjugation in present tense:
- Yo Voy
- Tú Vas
- Él / Ella / Usted / Eso Va
- Nosotros Vamos
- Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes Van (Did you get it? – they need a “van” to go anywhere 😉 )
8. Lengua
The word Lengua means tongue and you can associate it with a delicious italian plate. Do you know what it is?
Answer: Linguini.
9. Mareo
The word Mareo means dizziness and and it’s also one conjugation of the verb Marearse that means to get dizzy. And the word association with Mareo is:
Answer: Mar (Yes, the sea)
10. Mirar
The verb Mirar means to watch or to look at and you can associate this word with an object you use to look at yourself every morning 😉
Answer: Mirror (In Spanish the word that means Mirror is Espejo ).
11. Muslo
Muslo is another body part, specifically the thigh, but when you see this word you can associate with another body part:
Answer: Big Muscle (Músculo in Spanish).
12. Pantorrilla
The word Pantorrilla means calf and it has an easy association if you know some Spanish. Do you know what it is?
Answer: Pantalones (Pants in English 🙂 ).
Note: in some Latin American countries, people don’t say Pantorrilla but Batata , Canilla or Gemelos .
13. Pene
The word Pene means penis and you can associate with another Italian type of pasta:
Answer: Penne – eewww!
14. Pompis
The word Pompis is a great word for bottom for kids or but for children, although it’s not a good word for adults (in this case the word Glúteos works better). Do you know what is the best word association with Pompis?
Answer: Pompous @$$.
15. Querer
The verb Querer means to want and if you have watched some Taco Bell’s commercials from late 90’s or maybe early 2000’s that said: “Yo quiero Taco Bell” (Yummy 😛 )
16. Riñón
El Riñón is a filter because it filters urea from the blood. Of course you know what I’m talking about: Riñón means kidney and you can associate it with:
Answer: Renal (this word also exists in Spanish with a different pronunciation ).
17. Romper
The verb Romper means to break (it’s also the verb to tear) and you can associate with an action. Do you know what action is?
Answer: Romping around.
18. Sangre
The word Sangre which means blood is usually associated with a delicious drink from Spain.
Answer: Sangría .
Note: If you find it difficult to understand the difference between these two words, please visit our other post “10 Medical Spanish Mistakes”.
19. Talón
The word Talón means heel and you can associate it with a bone. Are you thinking in this bone? You’re right then 🙂
Answer: Talus bone.
20. Triste
The word Triste means sad and you can try to associate it with this phrase:
Answer: Inappropriate Trysts (Haha! 😀 )
Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients! Check out our other books, classes & products to help you !
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Related Lesson: 5 Tips for Learning Medical Spanish Vocabulary
Es triste que estas pensando que querer, ir o romper son términos de la medicina!¡
¿Triste Paul? No creo. Más bien es triste que no veas cómo se aplican estas palabras. Puedo pensar en mil situaciones en las que se usan “querer” e “ir” en conversaciones clínicas con pacientes. Y “romper” es el único verbo para decir “to tear” cuando hablas de heridas a ligamentos, músculos y otros tejidos suaves.
Si buscas terminología médica en español (anatomía, síntomas, dolor, etc), no hay problema. Puedes comentar aquí y te referimos a otros posts. Saludos,