Spanish · Urgencias / hospital
You wait in the emergency department and ask how much longer: what to say in Spanish
You wait at emergency and ask how much longer.
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How it's done. Waiting at urgencias can be long; ask politely: ¿Falta mucho? or ¿Sabe cuánto tardarán?; if you get worse, tell the staff.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
The first phrase is open: tap ▶ to listen, or “Show” to show it to the other person. The rest of the dialogue is in the course in the app.
1
YOU START
Disculpe, ¿falta mucho para que me atiendan?
Dees-KOOL-peh, FAHL-tuh MOO-choh PAH-ruh keh meh uh-TYAYN-dahn?
Excuse me, is it much longer until I'm seen?
THEY SAY
Hay dos personas antes que usted. Unos veinte minutos.Igh dos pehr-SOH-nuhs AHN-tes keh oos-TED. OO-nos BAYN-teh mee-NOO-tos.
There are two people before you. About twenty minutes.
They might also say:
Dos pacientes van antes. Calcule veinte minutos.
Dos puh-SYAYN-tes bahn AHN-tes. Kuhl-KOO-leh BAYN-teh mee-NOO-tos.
Two patients are ahead. Allow twenty minutes.
2
YOU REPLY
Vale. Y si me siento peor, ¿se lo digo a alguien?
BAH-leh. Ee see meh SYAYN-toh peh-OR, seh loh DEE-goh uh AHL-gyayn?
OK. And if I feel worse, who do I tell?
THEY SAY
A cualquiera de nosotros. Estamos aquí.Uh koo-uhl-KYEH-ruh deh noh-SOH-tros. Es-TAH-mos uh-KEE.
Any one of us. We're here.
3
YOU FINISH
Gracias.
GRAH-syuhs.
Thank you.
THEY SAY
De nada. Enseguida le atienden.Deh NAH-duh. Ayn-seh-GEE-duh leh uh-TYAYN-dayn.
You're welcome. They'll see you shortly.
The course is in the app
This dialogue is part of the course “Spanish for life in Spain”: 416 situations with audio, a pronunciation guide and spaced review.
On the website the first dialogue, the 112 category, the rescue phrases and the “Basics” are fully open.
Words worth knowing
Disculpe
Dees-KOOL-peh
verb
excuse me
mucho
MOO-choh
adverb
a lot
atiendan
uh-TYAYN-dahn
verb
attend to
Hay
Igh
verb
there is, there are
personas
pehr-SOH-nuhs
noun
people, persons
antes
AHN-tes
adverb
before
27 more 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?
¿Qué significa esto?
Keh seeg-nee-FEE-kuh ES-toh?
What does this mean?
Similar situations
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