How to Go to the Veterinarian in Spanish: Essential Phrases and Vocabulary

Key takeaways

• The phrase you will hear first from the vet: ¿Qué le pasa? (What’s wrong with him/her?). Have a prepared description of the main symptom ready before you walk in.
• To describe how long symptoms have been present: desde hace + time period. Desde hace tres días no come bien (For the past three days he hasn’t been eating well).
• Pet gender in Spanish follows grammatical gender, not biology: el perro (male dog), la perra (female dog), el gato (male cat), la gata (female cat). Adjectives describing the animal must agree with this gender.
• The checkout question you are most likely to need: ¿Cuándo le doy la medicación? (When do I give the medication?).

Going to a vet in a Spanish-speaking country with a sick pet is one of those situations where vocabulary failure has real consequences.

You cannot point at a symptom, you cannot wait to look things up, and a vague answer when the vet asks about symptom duration or previous conditions can lead to a misdiagnosis. The gap between classroom Spanish and what this moment requires is wider than almost any other practical context.

This guide covers every stage of a Spanish vet appointment: how to book and check in, how to describe your pet’s age, breed, and medical history, how to name symptoms, vocabulary for body parts and common conditions and treatments, how to understand the vet’s discharge instructions, checkout vocabulary, and the key differences between Spain and Latin American Spanish that come up in clinic settings.

One preparation that actually works for high-stakes vocabulary is running through the whole appointment as a role play before you need it in real life. Book time with a private Spanish tutor on italki, which has connected over 10 million learners with qualified teachers since 2007, and practice every stage from the phone call to the checkout under normal conversational pressure.

Booking and arrival phrases

Spanish	English
Quisiera pedir una cita para mi perro/gato.	I’d like to make an appointment for my dog/cat.
Es urgente, ¿pueden recibirme hoy?	It’s urgent, can you see me today?
Tengo cita a las tres.	I have an appointment at three.
He traído a mi perro/gato/conejo.	I’ve brought my dog/cat/rabbit.
¿Cuánto tiempo tendré que esperar?	How long will I have to wait?
¿Cuánto cuesta la consulta?	How much does the consultation cost?
No hablo español muy bien, ¿habla inglés?	I don’t speak Spanish very well, do you speak English?

Describing your pet

Spanish	English
el perro / la perra	dog (male/female)
el gato / la gata	cat (male/female)
el conejo	rabbit
el pájaro	bird
la tortuga	tortoise/turtle
el hámster	hamster
el cobaya / el conejillo de Indias	guinea pig
Tiene X años.	He/she is X years old.
Está castrado/a.	He/she is neutered/spayed.
Está vacunado/a.	He/she is vaccinated.
No está vacunado/a.	He/she is not vaccinated.
Tiene microchip.	He/she is microchipped.
Es de raza labrador / es mestizo/a.	He/she is a labrador / a mixed breed.

Describing symptoms

The most useful sentence frame for describing symptoms:

Desde hace [tiempo], mi [animal] [síntoma]. (For the past [time], my [animal] [symptom].)

• Desde hace dos días, mi gato no come. (For the past two days, my cat hasn’t been eating.)
• Esta mañana empezó a vomitar. (This morning he started vomiting.)
• Cojea de la pata delantera derecha. (She is limping on the front right leg.)

Symptom	Spanish
not eating	no come
not drinking	no bebe
vomiting	vomita
has diarrhea	tiene diarrea
coughing	tose
sneezing	estornuda
limping	cojea
scratching a lot	se rasca mucho
has a wound	tiene una herida
lethargic	está letárgico/a
difficulty breathing	le cuesta respirar
has a fever	tiene fiebre
has lost weight	ha perdido peso
drinking excessively	bebe demasiado
urinating frequently	orina con mucha frecuencia

A Spanish teacher online can drill these symptom descriptions with you until they come out automatically under pressure, which is the only way to make sure you can communicate clearly when your pet actually needs care. italki has 30,000+ teachers across 150+ languages, including qualified Spanish teachers who use healthcare role plays to build exactly this kind of practical vocabulary.

Body parts and anatomy

Spanish	English
la pata	leg/paw (animals)
la pata delantera / trasera	front/back leg
la cola	tail
la oreja	ear
el hocico	snout, muzzle
el abdomen / la barriga	abdomen/belly
el pelo / la piel	fur/coat/skin
los ojos	eyes
los dientes / las muelas	teeth/molars
las garras / las uñas	claws/nails
el lomo	back
la cadera	hip

Common conditions and treatments

Spanish	English
la infección	infection
la alergia	allergy
las pulgas	fleas
las garrapatas	ticks
los parásitos intestinales / los gusanos	intestinal parasites/worms
la fractura	fracture
el tumor / el bulto	tumor/lump
la operación / la cirugía	operation/surgery
la anestesia	anesthesia
el antibiótico	antibiotic
el antiinflamatorio	anti-inflammatory
la vacuna	vaccine/shot
el antiparasitario	antiparasitic treatment
la radiografía	X-ray
el análisis de sangre	blood test

For other practical Spanish vocabulary covering food, quantities, and navigating everyday situations, the guide to grocery shopping in Spanish covers the phrases and vocabulary that appear in markets and supermarkets across Spain and Latin America.

Understanding the vet’s instructions

These are the phrases you are most likely to hear as the appointment ends:

Spanish	English
Dele este medicamento dos veces al día.	Give this medication twice a day.
Con comida. / En ayunas.	With food. / On an empty stomach.
Vuelva en X días/semanas.	Come back in X days/weeks.
Necesita reposo absoluto.	He/she needs complete rest.
No deje que se lama la herida.	Don’t let him/her lick the wound.
Vamos a hacer un análisis de sangre.	We’re going to run a blood test.
Hay que operarlo/a.	He/she needs surgery.
Está en buen estado general.	He/she is in good general health.
Puede comer con normalidad.	He/she can eat normally.
Tráigalo en ayunas la próxima vez.	Bring him/her on an empty stomach next time.

At the checkout

Spanish	English
¿Cuánto es en total?	How much is the total?
¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta?	Can I pay by card?
¿Me da un recibo?	Can you give me a receipt?
¿Cuándo le doy la medicación?	When do I give the medication?
¿Cuántas veces al día?	How many times a day?
¿Cuándo tenemos que volver?	When do we need to come back?
¿Están incluidos los medicamentos?	Is the medication included in the price?
Hay que volver para quitar los puntos.	You need to come back to remove the stitches.

Spain vs. Latin America: key vocabulary differences

Item	Spain	Latin America
Vet clinic	la clínica veterinaria	la veterinaria, el veterinario
Guinea pig	el cobaya	el cuy (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia), el conejillo de Indias
Shot/injection	la inyección	la inyección, el pinchazo (Spain also)
Appointment	la cita	la cita, el turno (Argentina)
To neuter/spay	castrar / esterilizar	castrar / esterilizar (both universal)

Most vet terminology is shared across Spanish-speaking countries, as it derives from Latin and Greek. The regional differences appear mainly in informal terms and some administrative vocabulary.

Practicing before you need it

Vet vocabulary gaps are harder to fill in the moment than almost any other type of practical Spanish. The appointment moves fast, the vocabulary is specialist, and the stakes involve your pet’s health. Preparing this vocabulary in a role-play before you need it is the difference between communicating clearly and guessing.

Practical vocabulary sticks faster when the practice session includes the time pressure of a real conversation. Book a trial lesson today and run the full appointment: arrival, symptom description, understanding the vet’s instructions, checkout.

With 30,000+ tutors trusted by over 10 million learners worldwide, italki has Spanish teachers who build exactly this kind of high-pressure practical vocabulary through scenario work.

FAQ

How do you say “my dog is sick” in Spanish?

Mi perro está enfermo. (male dog) or Mi perra está enferma. (female dog). Estar is used for temporary states like illness, not ser.

How do you describe a recurring or intermittent symptom?

Use suele + infinitive for habitual symptoms: Suele toser por las noches (She usually coughs at night). For “whenever it happens”: Siempre que come, vomita (Whenever she eats, she vomits).

What do you say if you don’t understand the vet’s instructions?

¿Puede repetirlo más despacio, por favor? (Can you repeat that more slowly, please?) or ¿Puede escribírmelo? (Can you write it down for me?). Vets in tourist areas and cities often have some English; asking directly with ¿Habla inglés? is never rude.

Is the vet term the same in Spain and Latin America?

El/la veterinario/a (the vet) and la clínica veterinaria (the vet clinic) are used everywhere. In Latin America, people often say la veterinaria informally to refer to both the vet and the clinic.