192 Must Know Spanish Verbs for Healthcare

192 Must Know Spanish Verbs for Healthcare

192 Must know Spanish verbs for healthcare

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:

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192 Must Know Spanish Verbs for Healthcare Notes TODAY

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

Credits: Image by AnnasPhotography

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)

Credits: Photo by Dana Marin

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

Learn Medical Spanish on 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

*Haber is the infinitive verb for Hay (there is, there are), Había (there was, there were) and the following helping verbs for forming perfect tenses: he, has, ha, hemos, han (present perfect) & había, habías, había, habíamos, habían (past perfect)

192 Must Know Spanish Verbs for Healthcare Notes TODAY

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

  1. Review the notes & vocabulary
  2. Identify additional points and topics to discuss with patients
    • Let me know if you need help 🙂
  3. Remember to keep it simple if you need to
  4. Ask for help in the comments below
  5. 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!

192 Must Know Spanish Verbs for Healthcare Notes 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

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