ย ๐ค How Do You Say โI Am Sickโ in Spanish?
The most direct way to say โI am sickโ is:
Estoy enfermo.
I am sick.
If you are female, you would say:
Estoy enferma.
I am sick.
The difference is simply the ending:
enfermo โ masculine
enferma โ feminine
For example:
Estoy enfermo hoy.
I am sick today.
Estoy enferma hoy.
I am sick today.
Notice something important here: enfermo/enferma describes the person who is sick, so the ending changes according to the speaker.
๐ฃ๏ธ Want to Sound More Natural? Try โMe Siento Malโ
Sometimes you don’t necessarily want to say that you’re โsick.โ
Maybe you simply feel terrible, weak, uncomfortable, or not quite yourself.
In that situation, a very useful phrase is:
Me siento mal.
I feel bad. / I feel unwell.
This is incredibly handy because it doesn’t require you to explain your exact illness.
For example:
Hoy me siento mal.
I feel unwell today.
Me siento un poco mal.
I feel a little unwell.
No me siento bien.
I don’t feel well.
That last phrase is especially useful:
No me siento bien.
I don’t feel well.
So if you’re chatting with someone and don’t feel like giving a full medical report, this one sentence can do the job.
๐ก๏ธ โI Have a Feverโ Is Not โEstoy Fiebreโ
Here’s where Spanish becomes interesting.
In English, we say:
I have a fever.
Spanish also uses tener (โto haveโ) for this idea:
Tengo fiebre.
I have a fever.
Not:
โ Estoy fiebre
Instead:
โ Tengo fiebre.
You can also say:
Tengo mucha fiebre.
I have a high fever.
Creo que tengo fiebre.
I think I have a fever.
That little verb difference is worth remembering because Spanish often expresses physical conditions with tener.
๐คง How to Say Common Symptoms in Spanish
Knowing โEstoy enfermo/enfermaโ is useful, but sometimes the other person will naturally ask:
ยฟQuรฉ te pasa?
What’s wrong?
Or:
ยฟQuรฉ tienes?
What’s wrong with you? / What do you have?
That’s when specific symptoms become useful.
Here are some everyday phrases you can keep in your mental Spanish first-aid kit.
๐ค โI Have a Headacheโ
Me duele la cabeza.
My head hurts. / I have a headache.
This is one of the most useful health-related Spanish sentences to remember.
You might notice that Spanish says:
Me duele la cabeza.
rather than literally saying โmy head hurtsโ with a possessive.
You’ll see this pattern again and again when talking about pain.
For example:
Me duele el estรณmago.
My stomach hurts.
Me duele la garganta.
My throat hurts.
Me duele el cuello.
My neck hurts.
This is also a perfect reason to learn Spanish body-part vocabulary.
๐ Learn Spanish Body Parts: Learn the Most Useful Parts in Spanish
Once you know words such as la cabeza, la garganta, el cuello, la nariz, la boca, los ojos and las manos, describing how you feel becomes much easier.
๐ท โI Have a Coughโ
To say:
Tengo tos.
I have a cough.
You can make it more specific:
Tengo mucha tos.
I have a bad cough.
Tengo un poco de tos.
I have a little cough.
Simple, practical, and much more useful than memorizing a complicated medical sentence.
๐คง โI Have a Runny Noseโ
If your nose won’t stop running, you can say:
Tengo la nariz congestionada.
I have a congested nose.
You may also hear descriptions involving goteo nasal for a runny nose.
And if your nose itself hurts:
Me duele la nariz.
My nose hurts.
Now you can already describe several different situations without repeatedly saying โEstoy enfermo.โ
๐ฃ โI Have a Sore Throatโ
Try:
Me duele la garganta.
My throat hurts.
This sentence is particularly useful because la garganta means โthe throat.โ
You can build another sentence around it:
Estoy enfermo y me duele la garganta.
I am sick and my throat hurts.
Now you’re not just translating one phraseโyou are combining ideas.
๐คข What If You Feel Nauseous?
If you feel like you’re going to be sick, you can say:
Tengo nรกuseas.
I feel nauseous. / I have nausea.
For a simpler everyday statement:
Me siento mal.
I feel unwell.
This is useful when you don’t want to explain exactly what is happening.
๐ฅฑ โIโm Tiredโ vs. โIโm Sickโ
Here’s another important distinction.
Being tired doesn’t automatically mean you’re sick.
Estoy cansado.
I am tired. โ masculine
Estoy cansada.
I am tired. โ feminine
So imagine this conversation:
ยฟQuรฉ te pasa?
What’s wrong?
No me siento bien. Estoy cansado.
I don’t feel well. I’m tired.
That sounds very different from:
Estoy enfermo.
I’m sick.
Learning these little distinctions makes your Spanish sound much more natural.
๐ โIโm Sick, So Iโm Staying Homeโ
Now let’s turn vocabulary into a complete sentence.
Estoy enfermo, asรญ que me voy a casa.
I’m sick, so I’m going home.
If you’re female:
Estoy enferma, asรญ que me voy a casa.
Another useful sentence:
Hoy no puedo salir porque estoy enfermo.
I can’t go out today because I’m sick.
Or:
No puedo ir a trabajar porque estoy enferma.
I can’t go to work because I’m sick.
These are the kinds of sentences that are much easier to remember because they connect Spanish vocabulary with a real situation.
๐ฌ A Mini Spanish Conversation
Let’s put everything together.
Imagine your friend notices that you don’t look well.
Friend:
ยฟQuรฉ te pasa?
What’s wrong?
You:
No me siento bien.
I don’t feel well.
Friend:
ยฟQuรฉ tienes?
What’s wrong?
You:
Tengo fiebre y me duele la cabeza.
I have a fever and a headache.
Friend:
ยฟTambiรฉn tienes tos?
Do you also have a cough?
You:
Sรญ, tengo un poco de tos.
Yes, I have a little cough.
That’s already a complete, useful Spanish conversationโand you didn’t need dozens of complicated words.
๐ง Quick Memory Trick: ESTAR, TENER & DOLER
If you’re just starting Spanish, these three patterns are worth remembering.
ESTAR + enfermo/enferma
Estoy enfermo.
I am sick.
TENER + symptom
Tengo fiebre.
I have a fever.
Tengo tos.
I have a cough.
DOLER + body part
Me duele la cabeza.
My head hurts.
Me duele la garganta.
My throat hurts.
This gives you a simple framework instead of one giant list of phrases.
And once you’ve learned your Spanish body parts, you can create many more sentences using the same structure.
For example:
Me duele el cuello.
My neck hurts.
Me duele el estรณmago.
My stomach hurts.
Me duelen los pies.
My feet hurt.
Notice duele is used with a singular body part, while duelen is used with plural body parts.
๐ฏ Your 10-Second Spanish Sick-Day Cheat Sheet
Before you leave, try to remember these:
Estoy enfermo/enferma.
I am sick.
No me siento bien.
I don’t feel well.
Me siento mal.
I feel unwell.
Tengo fiebre.
I have a fever.
Tengo tos.
I have a cough.
Tengo nรกuseas.
I feel nauseous.
Me duele la cabeza.
I have a headache.
Me duele la garganta.
My throat hurts.
Me duele el estรณmago.
My stomach hurts.
ยฟQuรฉ te pasa?
What’s wrong?
๐ One Last Challenge
Imagine you’re traveling somewhere Spanish-speaking and wake up feeling terrible.
Instead of reaching for your phone and translating every single word, try saying:
โNo me siento bien. Tengo fiebre y me duele la cabeza.โ
That’s:
โI don’t feel well. I have a fever and a headache.โ
Congratulationsโyou’ve just gone beyond memorizing โI am sick.โ
You can now explain how you’re feeling.
And that’s the real goal of learning vocabulary: not simply knowing a Spanish word, but being able to use it when the moment actually comes.
If you’re building your Spanish vocabulary step by step, don’t stop with health-related phrases. Your body is full of everyday words that appear in conversations constantly.
๐ Learn Spanish Body Parts: Learn the Most Useful Parts in Spanish
Learn the words, say them out loud, and then turn them into tiny sentences. A few useful phrases that you can actually remember are far more valuable than a huge vocabulary list that disappears when you need it.
ยกCuรญdate y sigue aprendiendo espaรฑol! ๐ช๐ธโค๏ธ