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June 22, 2021 by Luis F. Dominguez Spanish Vocabulary 0 comments

Coronavirus Vocabulary in Spanish

Are you traveling to a Spanish-speaking country and you feel the need to learn some coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish? 

If so, this is the right post for you as today I’m discussing how to talk about the covid-19 pandemic in Spanish-speaking countries and providing you with the ultimate coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish. You’re also learning coronavirus-related nouns and verbs, symptoms and treatment words, as well as covid-19 phrases, and a coronavirus in Spanish worksheet.

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Coronavirus in Spanish

In 2020, the world and our lives changed in a way that nobody expected or was prepared for. The covid-19 pandemic affected every area of human life and modified, maybe forever, the way we interact with each other. 

We all learned new words or at least started using them much more. Suddenly, we became fluent in lockdown vocabulary, pandemic and coronavirus technical terms. For obvious reasons, most people learned this in their own native language, although some of us also had to do it in a second or third language. For you, that would be coronavirus in Spanish. 

Why You Should Learn Coronavirus Vocabulary in Spanish

A topic as serious as this one deserves all our effort and attention. If you’re studying Spanish, learning coronavirus topic vocabulary is not about just mastering another area of life like you’ve done with golf and music, for example. In this case, it can save lives.

Besides, now that lockdowns are easing down and people are starting to live their normal lives again, traveling is making a comeback. If you visit a Spanish-speaking country you need to learn your coronavirus pandemic essential, as you don’t know when you might need to speak about the coronavirus in Spanish. 

Coronavirus Vocabulary in Spanish

I’ve divided the following covid glossary list into 6 different categories to facilitate its reading and highlight the diversity of terms we all have learned to manage with this new reality.

Without further ado, here’s the essential guide for coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish: 

coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish

Nouns

Let’s start with the most common nouns that you need as part of your coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish. 

Spanish English
el coronaviruscoronavirus
el virusvirus
el covid-19* covid-19
la enfermedaddisease
la pandemiapandemic
el broteoutbreak
la cuarentenaquarantine
el foco de contagioshotspot
la crisiscrisis
la infección infection
la emergenciaemergency
el desinfectantehand sanitizer
el gel de alcoholalcohol gel
el jabónsoap
la mascarilla, el cubrebocasmask
los guantesgloves
la distancia socialsocial distance
el aislamientoisolation
el confinamientolockdown
el toque de quedacurfew
el pánicopanic
las compras de pánicopanic shopping
el acaparamientohoarding
el desabastecimientoshortage
el hospitalhospital
la ambulanciaambulance
el doctordoctor
el médicomedic
la enfermeranurse
el gobiernogovernment
las indicacionesguidelines
el teletrabajohomeworking

*(in Spain you may hear this noun as feminine, as they consider it an enfermedad or “disease” which is feminine, instead of a virus which is masculine)

Verbs

Now, let’s focus on a few of the most commonly used verbs in relation to covid-19 and the global pandemic. 

Spanish English
toserto cough
enfermarseto get sick
respirarto breathe
estornudarto sneeze
cubrirseto cover (oneself)
tenerto have
necesitarto need
aislarseto isolate (oneself)
lavarto wash
limpiarto clean
desinfectarto disinfect
contagiarto contagiate
propagarto propagate
viajarto travel
hospitalizarto hospitalize
cuidarto look after
vacunarto vaccinate

Symptoms

coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish

What about the symptoms felt by millions of people all over the world? It’s crucial that you know how to communicate these symptoms, in case you experience them and you need to communicate them to Spanish-speaking doctors or nurses. 

Spanish English
la toscough
la tos secadry cough
las flemasproductive cough
el cansancio, la fatigafatigue
la fiebrefever
la temperaturatemperature
el dolor de cabezaheadache
la náuseanausea
la secreción nasal, el moqueorunny nose
la nariz tapadastuffy nose
la diarreadiarrhea
los escalofríoschills
el resfriado, el catarrocold
la gripeflu
la dificultad para respirardifficulty breathing
la falta de aireshortness of breath
los síntomas leveslight symptoms
el dolor de gargantasore throat
el vómitovomiting
la neumoníapneumonia
la pérdida del gustoloss of taste
la pérdida del olfatoloss of smell 
el dolor de pechochest pain

Treatment

Another important category of your coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish is the one that has to do with every term related to the treatment of the virus and its accompanying disease. 

Spanish English
la medicina, el medicamentomedicine
el antiviralantiviral
el antibióticoantibiotics
el tratamientotreatment
el oxígenooxygen
el tanque de oxígenooxygen tank
la ventilación mecánicamechanical ventilation
el respiradorrespirator
los cuidados paliativospalliative care
la cuidados intensivosintensive care
la vacunavaccine
la prueba de coronaviruscoronavirus test
la prueba de antígenosantigen test
la prueba PCRPCR test
los anticuerposantibodies
la prueba de diagnóstico rápidorapid diagnostic test
la dosisdose
la primera dosisfirst dose
la segunda dosissecond dose
la inyeccióninjection
la jeringasyringe
el oxímetrooximeter

Statistics

This category refers to the vocabulary used by the authorities to talk about the situation of the pandemic. 

Spanish English
los contagiados, los infectadosinfected people
los afectadosaffected people
los hospitalizados, los ingresadoshospitalized patients, admitted to the hospital
los recuperadosrecovered patients
los muertos, los fallecidosdead
los pacientes gravesserious condition patients
los pacientes en estado críticocritical state patients
los vacunadosvaccinated people
la curva de contagioscovid curve
aplanar la curvato flatten the curve

Phrases

Finally, let’s learn a few coronavirus-related phrases. Practice them at home or with a native Spanish speaker in order to improve your coronavirus pronunciation in Spanish. 

Quédate en casa. 
Stay at home. 

¿Tiene seguro médico?
Do you have health insurance? 

Quiero hacer la prueba del coronavirus. 
I want to take the coronavirus test. 

Ya estoy vacunado. 
I’ve been vaccinated. 

Lávate las manos y usa cubrebocas. 
Wash your hands and wear a mask. 

coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish

Take Care and Learn Spanish

Although in some countries the pandemic seems to be starting to get under control, in others the situation is still delicate and the coronavirus curve is still growing. The best thing you can do is to take care of yourself and your family as you’ve been doing for the past few months. Wash your hands frequently, always have a sanitizer at hand, and use your mask as much as possible. 

If you visit a Spanish-speaking country, now you’re prepared to express your doubts and questions related to covid-19, but you may also use this new coronavirus vocabulary in Spanish in the US where there are now over 50 million people who speak Spanish. So, make sure to practice at home to be ready in case you ever need it.

Sign up for a free Spanish class to practice your conversational skills with one of our certified, native Spanish-speaking teachers from Guatemala. They teach over 24,000 actively enrolled students every month with flexible scheduling and tailored Spanish packages. Don’t miss this opportunity to improve your vocabulary and start speaking in Spanish today!

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Luis F. Dominguez
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Luis F. Dominguez
Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
Luis F. Domínguez is a freelance writer and independent journalist interested in travel, languages, art, books, history, philosophy, politics and sports. He has written for Fodor’s, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, Telemundo, and Villa Experience, among other brands of print and digital media in Europe and North America.
Luis F. Dominguez
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