Medical

Enough to describe a problem, understand basic questions, and buy something at a pharmacy. Not a clinical vocabulary.

Grammar

1. The three ways to report pain

Construction	Example	Notes
`estar com dor`	`Estou com dor de cabeça`	easiest — no odd verb
`doer`	`Minha cabeça dói`	conjugates with the body part (ch. 13)
`estar doendo`	`Está doendo aqui`	continuous, right now

estar com dor de + body part is the safest default. It uses only grammar you already have.

2. `doer` — the two forms

Only dói (singular) and doem (plural) exist for your purposes. The body part is the subject:

A cabeça **dói** — one head
Os pés [+] **doem** — two feet
**Dói** aqui — it hurts here (no subject at all)

3. `estar com` for physical states

Same pattern as chapter 04:

Portuguese	Literally	English
`Estou com dor`	I'm with pain	I'm in pain
`Estou com febre` [+]	I'm with fever	I have a fever
`Estou com tosse` [+]	I'm with cough	I have a cough
`Estou com náusea` [+]	I'm with nausea	I feel sick

4. `sentir-se` — feeling

Reflexive (ch. 13):

Não me sinto bem — I don't feel well
Me sinto melhor — I feel better
Me sinto pior — I feel worse

The non-reflexive estar version is easier and equally correct: Não estou bem.

5. Duration — `desde` and `faz`

Portuguese	English
`desde ontem`	since yesterday
`desde segunda`	since Monday
`faz dois dias`	for two days / two days ago
`faz uma semana`	for a week
`começou [+] ontem`	it started yesterday

Estou com dor **desde** ontem or Faz dois dias que estou com dor. Both work.

6. Allergies

Sou alérgico a (masculine) / Sou alérgica a (feminine)

The a contracts with the article: alérgico **a** penicilina or alérgico **à** penicilina. Either is understood.

Examples

Body parts — core set

Portuguese	Respelling	English
a cabeça	ah kah-BEH-sah	head
a barriga	ah bah-HEE-gah	stomach, belly
o estômago [+]	oo es-TOH-mah-goo	stomach (organ)
as costas [+]	ahs KOS-tahs	back
o braço [+]	oo BRAH-soo	arm
a perna [+]	ah PEHR-nah	leg
o pé [+]	oo peh	foot
a mão [+]	ah mowng	hand
o peito [+]	oo PAY-too	chest
a garganta [+]	ah gar-GAHN-tah	throat
o dente [+]	oo DEN-chee	tooth
o ouvido [+]	oo oh-VEE-doo	ear
o olho [+]	oo OH-lyoo	eye

Reporting a problem

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Não estou bem	nowng toh beng	I'm not well
Não me sinto bem	nowng mee SEEN-too beng	I don't feel well
Estou doente	toh doh-EN-chee	I'm sick
Estou com dor	toh kong dor	I'm in pain
Estou com dor de cabeça	… jee kah-BEH-sah	I have a headache
Estou com dor de barriga	… jee bah-HEE-gah	I have a stomach ache
Estou com dor de garganta [+]	… jee gar-GAHN-tah	I have a sore throat
Estou com dor nas costas [+]	… nahs KOS-tahs	My back hurts
Dói aqui	doy ah-KEE	It hurts here
Está doendo muito	tah doh-EN-doo MWEEN-too	It hurts a lot
Estou com febre [+]	toh kong FEH-bree	I have a fever
Estou muito cansado	toh MWEEN-too kahn-SAH-doo	I'm very tired

Duration and severity

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Desde ontem	DEHZ-jee OHN-teng	Since yesterday
Faz dois dias	fahs doys JEE-ahs	For two days
Faz uma semana	fahs OO-mah seh-MAH-nah	For a week
Começou [+] hoje	koh-meh-SOH OH-zhee	It started today
Dói muito	doy MWEEN-too	It hurts a lot
Dói um pouco	doy oong POH-koo	It hurts a bit
Está piorando [+]	tah pee-oh-RAHN-doo	It's getting worse
Está melhorando [+]	tah meh-lyoh-RAHN-doo	It's getting better

Allergies and medication

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Sou alérgico a ___	soh ah-LEHR-zhee-koo ah	I'm allergic to ___
Sou alérgica a ___	soh ah-LEHR-zhee-kah ah	I'm allergic to ___ (fem.)
Eu tomo [+] este remédio	eh-oo TOH-moo EHS-chee heh-MEH-jee-oo	I take this medicine
Eu tomo remédio todo dia	… TOH-doo JEE-ah	I take medication every day
Preciso de receita? [+]	preh-SEE-zoo jee heh-SAY-tah	Do I need a prescription?
Tem receita	teng heh-SAY-tah	I have a prescription
Não posso tomar ___	nowng PAW-soo toh-MAR	I can't take ___

At the pharmacy

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Onde fica a farmácia?	OHN-jee FEE-kah ah far-MAH-see-ah	Where's the pharmacy?
Tem farmácia aberta?	teng far-MAH-see-ah ah-BEHR-tah	Is there a pharmacy open?
Tem alguma coisa para dor de cabeça?	teng ahw-GOO-mah KOY-zah PAH-rah…	Do you have anything for a headache?
Tem alguma coisa para dor de barriga?	…	Do you have anything for stomach pain?
Preciso de um remédio para ___	preh-SEE-zoo jee oong heh-MEH-jee-oo	I need medicine for ___
Quantas vezes por dia?	KWAHN-tahs VEH-zees poor JEE-ah	How many times a day?
Quantos dias eu tomo?	KWAHN-toos JEE-ahs eh-oo TOH-moo	How many days do I take it?
Tem sem receita?	teng seng heh-SAY-tah	Is there something without a prescription?
Pode escrever, por favor?	PAW-jee es-kreh-VEHR	Can you write it down, please?

The pharmacist is the first stop for anything minor. Tem alguma coisa para ___? is the frame that does the work.

At a clinic or doctor

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Preciso de um médico	preh-SEE-zoo jee oong MEH-jee-koo	I need a doctor
Eu queria marcar [+] uma consulta [+]	… mar-KAR OO-mah kon-SOOW-tah	I'd like to make an appointment
Tem médico agora?	teng MEH-jee-koo ah-GOH-rah	Is there a doctor now?
Quanto custa a consulta?	KWAHN-too KOOS-tah…	How much is the appointment?
Eu tenho seguro [+]	eh-oo TEH-nyoo seh-GOO-roo	I have insurance
Não sou daqui	nowng soh dah-KEE	I'm not from here
Sou estrangeiro [+]	soh es-trahn-ZHAY-roo	I'm a foreigner
Pode falar devagar? [+]	PAW-jee fah-LAR deh-vah-GAR	Can you speak slowly?

What you'll be asked

Recognition matters most here.

Portuguese	Means
`O que você está sentindo?` [+]	What are you feeling?
`Onde dói?`	Where does it hurt?
`Desde quando?`	Since when?
`Dói muito?`	Does it hurt a lot?
`Você toma [+] algum remédio?`	Are you taking any medication?
`Você é alérgico a alguma coisa?`	Are you allergic to anything?
`Tem febre?` [+]	Do you have a fever?
`Já teve isso antes?`	Have you had this before?
`Você tem plano [+]?`	Do you have health cover?

Emergency

Portuguese	Respelling	English
Socorro! [+]	soh-KOH-hoo	Help! — the emergency shout, not `ajuda`
Preciso de ajuda	preh-SEE-zoo jee ah-ZHOO-dah	I need help
Chama [+] uma ambulância [+]	SHAH-mah OO-mah ahm-boo-LAHN-see-ah	Call an ambulance
Chama um médico	SHAH-mah oong MEH-jee-koo	Call a doctor
É urgente [+]	eh oor-ZHEN-chee	It's urgent
Onde fica o hospital?	OHN-jee FEE-kah oo os-pee-TAW	Where's the hospital?
Ele está passando mal [+]	EH-lee tah pah-SAHN-doo maw	He's not well / he's in trouble

passando mal — literally passing badly — is the standard phrase for someone in acute distress. Worth recognising.

The five sentences

If you learn only five from this chapter:

Portuguese	English
1. `Não estou bem`	I'm not well
2. `Estou com dor de ___`	I have pain in my ___
3. `Dói aqui`	It hurts here
4. `Sou alérgico/a a ___`	I'm allergic to ___
5. `Tem alguma coisa para ___?`	Do you have anything for ___?

What to take from this chapter

Estou com dor de ___ is the easiest way to report pain — no new grammar.
doer has two forms only: dói and doem, agreeing with the body part.
desde + point in time, faz + duration.
Tem alguma coisa para ___? is the pharmacy frame.
Learn the questions you'll be asked — Onde dói?, Desde quando?, É alérgico a alguma coisa?

This chapter is a language reference, not medical guidance. For an actual health problem, see a pharmacist or doctor — and Pode escrever, por favor? (ch. 22) is the phrase that will get you dosage instructions you can actually read.