Verbs are the glue that stick all of your Spanish vocabulary together and allow you to string together complete thoughts in Spanish. In this lesson you will learn 192 essential verbs for Spanish communication in clinical settings.
Here is the 192 Must-Know Spanish Verbs for Healthcare lesson that I taught to the Facebook group:
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to see all of our lessons and get the latest videos right away!
In this free medical lesson you will learn:
- 103 most common verbs in Spanish: verbos generales pero súper comunes. You probably learned the majority of them in your high school or college Spanish class, so today we are focusing on the meaning of these verbs (not necesarily in their conjugation)
- 90 Clinical Verbs in Spanish: or verbos para la clínica. These verbs are super useful for the clinic because you will be able to express specifics ideas and actions. You don’t usually learn these verbs in your general Spanish class so you will boost your medical vocabulary and I am sure your patients will appreciate it! 🙂
How to Study and Effectively Learn Spanish Verbs
Regardless of where you work in the clinical setting, you always have to pick up some verbs and learn some verb tenses to communicate better with your patients. That’s the reason why we have selected 192 common Spanish verbs for healthcare so that you will be able to learn them and use them right away.
Steps to Learn these 192 Spanish Verbs
There is a lot of information to learn so you need to break it down into steps.
Step 1: Learn Verbs Spanish > English: This is usually the easiest way to study as you recognize similar words and cognates.
Step 2: Learn Verbs English > Spanish: When you go from English to Spanish, you are working on your ability to express yourself and conversely when you go from Spanish to English, you are working on your ability to listen to someone saying something and comprehend it. This is because English is your reference point.
Three Learning Techniques
1. Old School Technique: Fichas

Just create some fichas or flashcards and put the Spanish verb on one side and the English meaning on the other side.
2. Cheapskate Technique: Papel (de renglón angosto)

You just want to steal a college-ruled page from a notebook, fold it in half and then add the Spanish verbs in one half and their English equivalent in the other.
The objective is not to see both the English and the Spanish verbs at the same time because you will not test your knowledge if you are able to see the words.
3. Siglo 21 Technique: Quizlet

Quizlet is an online learning platform where we have uploaded several study sets. You just have to go to Quizlet and start studying the Spanish verbs there 🙂
The good thing about Quizlet is that you can study using different features such as Learn, Write, Spell, Flashcards, Test, Match, and Gravity. You can try each of these features until you find the one that fits your learning needs.
The Rule of 30 – La Regla de 30
The rule of 30 or Regla de 30 is so simple:
- Select 30 verbs.
- Study them for 30 minutes 3 times a week.
You probably nail this set of verbs just after two sessions of 30 minutes or even in just one session. The idea is dividing the verbs into groups of 30 verbs each, learn them from Spanish to English and vice-versa and then go on for the next group.
Next Steps After Learning Spanish Verbs
Once you learn all these 192 Spanish verbs, there are some steps to take in order to incorporate them on your conversations with your patients:
1. Focus on the fast conjugation for the most important verbal tenses:
The most important verbal tenses for you to learn are:
- Presente: once you learn the present tense, you are able to learn two other useful tenses for the clinic setting:
- Imperativo: this is the command tense.
- Futuro: this is the future tense or at least the most common one that the majority of Spanish speakers use. It is built using a combination of the verb “Ir” (to go), the conjunction “a” and an unconjugated verb, you that you obtain: Yo voy a comer, usted va a hablar, él/ella va a salir, etc.
 
- Pretérito: The preterite past tense.
- Imperfecto: The imperfect past tense.
- Perfecto del Presente: This is the present perfect tense, which is used to talk about past events that are still valid in the present.
- Pretérito Perfecto: This is the past perfect tense.
With these seven tenses, you could do almost anything you need to in the clinical setting in Spanish.
2. Practice the Conjugations:
You can poke around on our blog or in our YouTube videos and you can see how to do all these tenses and get lessons for all these tenses; but for practicing the conjugations, we recommend:
- Get two wooden dice from Hobby Lobby
- On one dice, put all the subjects in Spanish on each side of the wood of it.
- On the other dice, put some common tenses that you want to study
- Roll them both at the same time, go to your list of Spanish verbs and start practicing the conjugations right away!
Let’s start with 103 of the most common verbs in Spanish:
Acabar             to finish
Aceptar           to accept
Andar              to walk
Aprender         to learn
Ayudar             to help
Bailar              to dance
Beber              to drink
Buscar             to look for
Caber               to fit
Caerse             to fall
Cambiar          to change
Caminar          to walk
Cancelar          to cancel
Cantar             to sing
Comer             to eat
Comprar          to buy
Conducir          to drive
Conocer           to know (ppl/place)
Contar (o-ue)  to count
Contestar        to answer
Correr              to run
Cortar              to cut
Creer               to believe
Dañar              to hurt, to harm
Dar                  to give
Deber              to owe
Decir (e-i)        to say
Dejar               to leave
Desear             to wish
Dibujar to draw
Doler(le) (o-ue) to hurt
Dormir (o-ue)  to sleep
Empezar (e-ie) to start
Emerger          to emerge
Encontrar (o-ue) to find
Enseñar           to teach
Escuchar          to listen
Esperar            to wait for
Estar                to be
Estudiar           to study
Explicar           to explain
Guardar           to keep
Gustar             to like
Haber* to have/to be
Hablar             to speak
Hacer              to make
Herir (e-ie)      to injur
Ir                      to go
Jugar (u-ue)     to play
Lavar               to wash
Leer                 to read
Limpiar            to clean
Llamar             to call
Llegar              to arrive
Llenar              to fill
Llevar              to carry, wear
Llorar               to cry
Manejar          to drive, manage
Mirar               to look
Mostrar (o-ue) to show
Necesitar        to need
Oír                   to hear
Olvidar             to forget
Pagar               to pay
Pasar               to pass
Pedir (e-i)        to request
Peinar              to comb
Pensar (e-ie)   to think
Perder (e-ie)   to lose
Poder (o-ue)   to be able to
Poner               to put
Preguntar        to ask
Prestar             to lend, loan
Quedarse        to stay
Quejarse         to complain
Querer (e-ie)   to want
Reparar           to fix, to repair
Romper           to break, tear
Saber               to know
Sacar               to take out
Salir                 to go out
Seguir (e-i)      to follow
Sentirse (e-ie) to feel
Ser                   to be
Soñar (o-ue)    to dream
Surgir               to arise
Tener (e-ie)     to have
Terminar         to finish
Tocar               to touch
Tomar             to take
Toser               to cough
Trabajar          to work
Traer               to bring
Usar                to use
Valer               to be worth
Vender to sell
Venir (e-ie)     to come
Ver                  to see
Vestir (e-i)       to dress
Viajar              to travel
Vivir                 to live
Volar (o-ue)    to fly
Volver (o-ue)   to return
Now let’s look at a few clinical verbs in Spanish:
Abrir                to open
Acordar (o-ue) to remember
Acostar(se) (o-ue) lie down/go to bed
Aguantar         to bear/tolerate
Amamantar     to breastfeed
Apoyar            to support
Asistir              to be present
Atender (e-ie) to assist
Auscultar         to listen stethoscope
Ayunar            to fast
Bajar de peso to lose weight
Bajar(se)         to lower/get down
Bañar(se)        to bathe (oneself)
Blanquear       to bleach
Causar             to cause
Cepillar(se)      to brush
Cerrar (e-ie)    to close
Chequear        to check
Cocinar            to cook
Comenzar (e-ie) to begin
Comprender    to understand
Consumir         to consume
Correr              to run
Cuidar              to care for
Curar               to cure
Decidir             to decide
Depender de   to depend on
Descansar       to rest
Descubrir         to discover
Despertar(se) (e-ie) get up/wake up
Detectar          to detect
Discutir            to discuss
Distinguir        to distinguish
Doblar to bend/fold
Duchar (se)     to shower
Durar               to last
Elegir (g-j) (e-i) to choose
Empeorar        to worsen
Empujar          to push
Entender (e-ie) to understand
Entrar              to enter
Escoger           to choose
Escribir            to write
Estirar              to stretch
Examinar         to examine
Exhalar            to exhale
Extender(e-ie) to extend
Firmar             to sign
Fracturar         to fracture
Frotar              to rub
Fumar              to smoke
Grabar             to record
Hinchar           to swell
Inflamar          to inflame
Inhalar             to inhale
Insistir en        to insist on
Jalar                 to pull
Levantar(se)    to raise/get up
Llamar(se)       to call
Llevar              to take with/carry
Magullar          to bruise
Mejorar           to improve
Morder (o-ue) to bite
Morir(se) (o-ue) to die
Mover(se) (o-ue) to move/oneself
Ordenar           to order
Orinar              to urinate
Palpar              to feel/ palpate
Pesar               to weigh
Picar                to bite/prick/sting
Preparar          to prepare
Prohibir           to prohibit
Quebrar          to break
Quitar(se)        to take away/off
Recetar            to prescribe
Recibir             to receive
Regresar          to return
Resistir            to resist
Respirar           to breath
Responder       to respond
Sangrar            to bleed
Sentar(se) (e-ie) to sit/sit down
Señalar            to point out/show
Subir                to go up,  get up/on
Sudar               to sweat
Sufrir               to suffer
Temer              to fear
Torcer (c-z) (o-ue) to sprain
Tragar              to swallow
Verificar          to verify/check
Visitar              to visit
Su tarea – Your Homework
- Review the notes & vocabulary
- Identify additional points and topics to discuss with patients- Let me know if you need help 🙂
 
- Remember to keep it simple if you need to
- Ask for help in the comments below
- Give it a try with your patients!
I packaged all of these verbs into some flashcards for you to study – study your medical Spanish verbs here!
I packaged all of this into easily downloadable .pdf notes–Get your copy for free today!
Free Medical Spanish Terminology Test
If you want to do a free Medical Spanish terminology test head over to certified Spanish, we are currently building a certification platform where you can practice this test for free. You just have to create a free user account here and start practicing your Español Médico 🙂
Keep up the good work speaking responsible Spanish to your patients! Check out our other books, classes & products to help you learn medical Spanish!
*If the link isn’t working for you, you may need to unblock pop-ups in your browser settings






the link is broken
Sorry about that Cora, just fixed it. Here is the link to the post for the download: https://commongroundinternational.com/medical-spanish/192-must-know-spanish-verbs-for-healthcare/