Spanish Vocabulary for the Coronavirus Pandemic

Our day-to-day life has been upended with COVID-19. While it would be nice to just ignore it and have it all go away, that is not our current reality. Many of us, including myself, have felt helpless in this situation. It recently dawned on me that while I am not a medical provider, I am a Spanish teacher that can compile a list of Spanish vocabulary for those providing care to Coronavirus/COVID-19 patients in order to help bridge the communication gap. Please print out this list to share with others who may need it. If I missed any that you need, please leave me a message below and I will be sure to add it right away! If you would like a structured course to improve your Spanish, click here to learn about our self-paced or instructor-led online Medical Spanish courses.

The Noun "Coronavirus"

The word coronavirus, just like the Spanish word virus, is the same in singular or plural forms in Spanish. For example:

el coronavirus, el virus
los coronavirus, los virus

Coronavirus is a masculine noun made up of two words: corona, meaning crown, and virus, meaning virus. There is no need for spaces or hyphens as it is just one word.

General Nouns

Let’s start out with some common nouns when talking about Coronavirus or COVID-19. All of the following vocabulary lists will be organize by first in English, followed by Spanish, and then a phonetic pronunciation of the Spanish word. ¡Vamos!

coronavirus	el coronavirus	koh-roh-nah-BEE-roos
COVID-19	COVID-19	KOH-beed dee-ay-see-NWAY-bay
outbreak	el brote	el BROH-tay
pandemic	la pandemia	la pahn-DAY-mee-ah
quarantine	la cuarentena	la kwah-rane-TANE-ah
social distance	la distancia social	la dee-STAHN-see-ah soh-see-AHL
test	la prueba	la proo-AY-bah

crisis	la crisis	la KREE-sees
disinfectant	el desinfectante	el day-seen-fake-TAHN-tay
hand sanitizer	el desinfectante para manos	el day-seen-fake-TAHN-tay PAH-rah MAH-nohs
emergency	la emergencia	la ay-mare-HANE-see-ah
hotspot (site with multiple cases of infection)	el foco de contagios	el FOH-koh day cone-TAH-gee-ohs
infection	la infección	la een-fake-see-OWN
isolation	el aislamiento	el eye-slah-mee-ANE-toh
mask	la mascarilla	la mah-skah-REE-yah
negative test	la prueba negativa	la proo-AY-bah nay-gah-TEE-bah
people who have no symptoms (asymptomatic)	las personas asintomáticas	las pare-SOH-nahs ah-seen-toh-MAH-tee-kahs
person-to-person transmission	la transmisión secundaria	la trahns-mee-see-OWN say-kunh-DAR-ee-ah
positive test	la prueba positiva	la proo-AY-bah poh-see-TEE-bah
preventative isolation	el aislamiento preventivo	el eye-slah-mee-ANE-toh pray-bane-TEE-boh
risk of infection	el riesgo de infección	el ree-AY-skoh
self-isolation	el aislamiento en su domicilio	el eye-slah-mee-ANE-toh e soo doh-mee-SEE-lee-oh
sickness/disease	la enfermedad	la ane-fare-may-DAHD
soap	el jabón	el hah-BONE
transmission	la transmisión	la trahns-mee-see-OWN

General Verbs

The following verbs are in the “infinitive” form – meaning that they haven’t yet been changed according to the subject.

to breathe	respirar	ray-speer-AR
to clean	limpiar	leem-pee-AR
to cough	toser	toh-SARE
to cover	cubrir	koo-BREER
to have	tener	tay-NARE
to isolate	aislarse	eyes-LAR-say
to need	necesitar	nay-say-see-TAR
to separate yourself	mantener alejado	mahn-tane-AIR ahl-ay-HAH-doh
to sneeze	estornudar	ay-storn-oo-DAR
to maintain a social distance (of 6 feet)	mantener un distanciamiento físico (de seis pies)	mahn-tane-ARE oon dee-stahn-see-ahm-mee-ANE-toh FEE-see-koh day sase pee-AYS
to wash	lavar	lah-BAR

Hygiene

Using some of the verbs above, these phrases have been conjugated so that you are able to use them for your patients and their families.

Clean all “high-touch” surfaces every day.	Limpie todos los días todas las superficies de contacto frecuente.	LEEM-pee-ay TOH-dohs los DEE-ahs las soo-pare-FEE-see-ays day cone-TAHK-toh fray-KWANE-tay
Cover your coughs and sneezes.	Cúbrase la nariz y la boca al toser y estornudar.	KOO-brah-say la nah-REESE ee la BOH-kah ahl toh-SARE ee ay-storn-oo-DAR
Separate yourself from other people in your home.	Manténgase alejado de otras personas en su casa.	mahn-TANE-gah-say ahl-ay-HAH-doh day OH-trahs pare-SOHN-ahs en soo KAH-sah
Wash your hands often.	Lávese las manos con frecuencia.	LAH-bay-say las MAH-nohs cone fray-KWANE-see-ah
Wear a mask.	Use una mascarilla.	OO-say OO-nah mah-skar-EE-yah

Symptoms

Now it is time to ask our patients about their symptoms. Here are some of the more common phrases that you may see patients come in with.

Do you have…	¿Tiene…?	tee-AY-nay
a cold	un catarro, un resfrío	oon kah-TAR-oh, oon ray-SFREE-oh
body aches	dolores de cuerpo	doh-LORE-ays day KWARE-poh
chills	escalofríos	ay-skahl-oh-FREE-ohs
cough	tos	tohs
diarrhea	diarrea	dee-are-AY-ah
difficulty breathing	dificultad para respirar	dee-fee-kool-TAHD PAH-rah ray-speer-AR
dry cough	tos seca	tohs SAY-kah
fatigue	cansancio	kahn-SAHN-see-oh
fever	fiebre	fee-AY-bray
flu-like symptoms	síntomas similares a los de la gripe	SEEN-toh-mahs see-mee-LAR-ays ah los day la GREE-pay
headache	dolor de cabeza	doh-LORE day kah-BAY-sah
light symptoms	sintomas leves	SEEN-toh-mahs LAY-bays
nausea	náuseas	NOW-see-ahs
productive cough	flemas	FLAY-mahs
runny nose (formal)	secreción nasal	say-kray-see-OWN nah-SAHL
runny nose (informal)	moqueo	moh-KAY-oh
shortness of breath	falta de aire	FAHL-tah day EYE-day
sore throat	dolor de garganta	doh-LORE day gar-GAHN-tah
stuffy nose	nariz tapada	nah-REEZ tah-PAH-dah
vomiting	vómitos	BOH-mee-tohs

Phrases

After you learn of the patient’s symptoms, you may need to say some of the following symptoms when talking about the next steps.

I’m going to perform a test for COVID-19	Voy a hacer una prueba para COVID-19	boy ah ah-SARE OO-nah proo-AY-bah PAH-rah KOH-beed dee-ay-see-NWAY-bay
I’m going to swab your nose/the back of your throat with this cotton bud.	Voy a tomar una muestra de la nariz/garganta con este hisopo de algodón.	boy a toh-MAR OO-nah MWAY-strah day la nah-REEZ/gar-GAHN-tah cone AY-stay ees-POH-doh day ahl-goh-DOHN
The results will be ready in … hours/days.	Los resultados estarán listos en … horas/dias.	los ray-sool-TAH-dohs ay-star-AHN LEE-stohs en … ORE-ahs/DEE-ahs
We have received the test results.	Tenemos los resultados de las pruebas de laboratorio.	tay-NAY-mohs los ray-sool-TAH-dohs day las proo-AY-bahs day lah-bore-ah-TORE-ee-oh
You have tested positive/negative for COVID-19.	La prueba de COVID-19 salió positiva/negativa.	la proo-AY-bah day KOH-beed dee-ay-see-NWAY-bay sah-lee-OH poh-see-TEE-bah/nay-gah-TEE-bah
Your symptoms are not typical of COVID.	Sus síntomas no son típicos del COVID.	soos SEEN-toh-mahs no sohn TEE-peep-kohs dale KOH-beed.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Once the tests have come back, now you can give your patients a diagnosis and treatments options.

You have…	Tiene…	tee-AY-nay
coronavirus	el/los coronavirus	el/los core-oh-nah-BEE-doos
pneumonia	neumonía	nay-oo-moh-NEE-ah
an infection in the lungs	una infección en los pulmones	OO-nah een-fake-see-OWN en los pool-MOAN-ays
a respiratory virus	un virus respiratorio	oon BEE-doos ray-spee-rah-TORE-ee-oh
the flu	el gripe (la gripa-Mexico)	el GREE-pay
a cold	un catarro/un resfrío	oon kah-TAR-oh/oon ray-SFREE-oh

You need…	Necesita…	nay-say-SEE-tah
antiviral treatment	un tratamiento antiviral	oon trah-tah-mee-ANE-toh ahn-tee-bee-DAHL
supportive care/palliative care	cuidados paliativos	kwee-DAH-dohs pah-lee-ah-TEE-bohs
intensive care unit	una unidad de cuidados intensivos	OO-nah oo-nee-DAHD day kwee-DAH-dohs een-tane-SEE-bohs

You have to remain isolated at home … days.	Es necesario que se quede en casa, en aislación … días.	es nay-see-SAR-ee-oh kay say KAY-day en KAH-sah en eye-slah-see-OWN … DEE-ahs
Do not leave your house.	No salga de su casa.	no SAHL-gah day soo KAH-sah
If your symptoms worsen, seek medical attention immediately.	Si los síntomas se agraven, busque ayuda médica de inmediato.	see los SEEN-toh-mahs say ah-GRAH-bane,
Drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated.	Tome mucho líquido para permanecer hidratado.	TOH-may MOO-choh LEE-kee-doh PAH-rah pare-mah-nay-SARE ee-drah-TAH-doh
You need to look out for any difficulty with breathing. If this happens, seek medical attention.	Hay que estar alerta si siente una dificultad para respirar. En este caso, busque ayuda médica de inmediato.	eye kay ay-STAR ah-LARE-tah see see-ANE-tay OO-nah dee-fee-kool-TAHD PAH-rah ray-speer-AR. en AY-stay KAH-saoh, BOO-skay ah-YOO-dah MAY-dee-kah day een-may-dee-AH-toh

Statistics and Conditions

You see the numbers and statistics daily. Let’s see how to express those in Spanish.

number of infected	suma de infectados	SOO-mah day een-fake-TAH-dohs
those affected	los afectados	los ah-fake-TAH-dohs
those admitted to the hospital	los ingresados	los een-gray-SAH-dohs
recovered	los recuperados	los ray-koo-pare-AH-dohs
dead	muerto, fallecido	MWARE-toh, fah-yay-SEE-doh
serious condition	situación clínica grave	see-too-ah-see-OWN KLEEN-ee-kah GRAH-bay
critical state	estado crítico	ay-STAH-doh KREE-tee-koh

Miscellaneous Phrases

Finally, I have some other questions and phrases that you may find useful.

Have you been in close contact with someone who is known to have COVID-19?	¿Ha estado en contacto cercano con una persona que se sepa que tiene el COVID-19?	ah ay-STAH-doh en cone-TAHK-toh sare-KAH-noh cone OO-nah pare-SOH-nah kay say SAY-pah kay tee-AY-nay el KOH-beed dee-ay-see-NWAY-bay
Do you have health insurance?	¿Tiene seguro médico?	tee-AY-nay say-GOO-roh MAY-dee-koh
Do you need us to contact your family?	¿Necesita que contactemos con su familia?	nay-say-SEE-tah kay cone-tahk-TAME-oh cone soo fah-MEE-lee-ah
There was a possible exposure.	Había una posible exposición.	ah-BEE-ah OO-nah poh-SEE-blay ake-spoh-see-OWN
There is no vaccine for COVID.	No hay vacuna contra el COVID.	no eye bah-KOO-nah CONE-trah el KOH-beed
Stay home.	Quédese en casa	KAY-day-say en KAH-sah

Last but not least...

I hope you found these Spanish vocabulary words and phrases helpful as you continue to help your Spanish-speaking patients. Thank you for all that you are doing!