Spanish · Centro de salud / médico de cabecera
You phone the clinic to book a doctor's appointment: what to say in Spanish
You phone the health centre to make an appointment.
💡
How it's done. In Spain you see a doctor by appointment (cita previa): by phone, in your region's app or at the centro de salud desk; the family doctor (médico de cabecera) sees patients by appointment, except for urgent cases.Prepared by the Movko team, November 2026. This is language help, not legal or medical advice: check the rules with the office itself.
Cheat sheet for your visit
Tap ▶ to listen, or “Show” to show the phrase to the other person. The switch at the bottom of the card changes the masculine and feminine form.
1
THEY SPEAK FIRST
THEY SAY
Centro de salud, buenos días.SAYN-troh deh suh-LOOD, boo-EH-nos DEE-uhs.
Health centre, good morning.
They might also say:
Centro de salud, dígame.
SAYN-troh deh suh-LOOD, DEE-guh-meh.
Health centre, go ahead.
YOU REPLY
Buenos días, quisiera pedir una cita con el médico de cabecera.
Boo-EH-nos DEE-uhs, kee-SYEH-ruh peh-DEER OO-nuh SEE-tuh kohn el MEH-dee-koh deh kuh-beh-SEH-ruh.
Good morning, I'd like to make an appointment with the family doctor.
THEY SAY
¿Tiene tarjeta sanitaria?TYEH-neh tuhr-KHEH-tuh suh-nee-TAH-ryuh?
Do you have a health card?
2
YOU REPLY
Sí, la tengo.
See, lah TAYN-goh.
Yes, I have it.
THEY SAY
Pues tiene cita el jueves a las diez.Poo-ES TYEH-neh SEE-tuh el khoo-EH-bes uh lahs dyehs.
Then you have an appointment on Thursday at ten.
3
YOU FINISH
Perfecto, muchas gracias.
Pehr-FEK-toh, MOO-chuhs GRAH-syuhs.
Perfect, thank you very much.
Words worth knowing
Centro
SAYN-troh
noun
centre
salud
suh-LOOD
noun
health
buenos
boo-EH-nos
adjective
good (masc. plural)
días
DEE-uhs
noun
days
quisiera
kee-SYEH-ruh
verb
I would like
pedir
peh-DEER
verb
to ask for, to order
cita
SEE-tuh
noun
appointment
médico
MEH-dee-koh
noun
doctor
cabecera
kuh-beh-SEH-ruh
noun
head
All the words, with explanations, base forms and tap-a-word help, are in the app.
If you did not understand
¿Puede repetirlo, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh reh-peh-TEER-loh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you repeat that, please?
¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh uh-BLAHR mahs des-PAH-syoh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you speak more slowly, please?
Todavía no hablo bien español.
Toh-duh-BEE-uh noh AH-bloh byayn es-puh-NYOL.
I don't speak Spanish well yet.
¿Puede escribírmelo, por favor?
Poo-EH-deh es-kree-BEER-meh-loh, por fuh-BOR?
Can you write it down for me, please?
Similar situations
You arrive for your appointment and give your surname at receptionCentro de salud / médico de cabecera · A2 in the app
→You are at the clinic for the first time and ask to be registeredCentro de salud / médico de cabecera · A2 in the app
→You explain to the doctor what is bothering youCentro de salud / médico de cabecera · A2 in the app
→The doctor asks about allergies and medicinesCentro de salud / médico de cabecera · A2 in the app
→Found a mistake? Write to us and we will fix it. This is language help, not medical or legal advice.Report