Cough in Spanish

What it means

Coughing is a reflex that keeps the throat and airways clear. Although it can be annoying, coughing helps the body heal or protect itself, but too much coughing may mean a disease or disorder. Some coughs are dry and others are productive; a productive cough is one that brings up mucus, which is also called phlegm or sputum. Coughs can be acute or chronic. In the MedlinePlus encyclopedia, acute coughs usually begin rapidly and are often due to a cold, flu, or sinus infection, subacute coughs last 3 to 8 weeks, and chronic coughs last longer than 8 weeks. Common causes include allergies, asthma, viral infections, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. MedlinePlus says to call 911 or the local emergency number for shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

Cough in Spanish

Spanish term: Tos
Gender and article: feminine: la tos
Pronunciation: TOHS

Tos is the word used by MedlinePlus en español and the Real Academia Española dictionary, which marks it as a feminine noun (la tos) and defines it as a convulsive, noisy movement of the respiratory apparatus. The MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia prints the plural toses. The adjectives follow the feminine noun: tos seca (dry cough), tos productiva (productive cough), tos aguda, tos subaguda and tos crónica.

For what a productive cough brings up, MedlinePlus en español writes moco and says it is also called flema or esputo. The dictionary also records set expressions built on the word: tos perruna, a harsh cough with a characteristic noise produced by spasms of the larynx; tos convulsa or tos convulsiva, a cough that comes in violent, intermittent fits; and tos ferina, which it refers to the one-word entry tosferina. Other words on the Spanish pages are resfriado (cold), gripe (flu), pastillas para la tos (cough drops) and estridor, a high-pitched sound when breathing in.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I have had a cough for three weeks that will not go away.	Llevo tres semanas con una tos que no se me quita.
Clinician	Is it a dry cough, or do you cough up phlegm?	¿Es una tos seca, o tose con flema?
Patient	I cough up thick yellow phlegm.	Toso con flema espesa y amarilla.
Clinician	What makes the cough better or worse?	¿Qué mejora o empeora la tos?
Patient	It gets worse when I lie down at night.	Empeora cuando me acuesto por la noche.
Clinician	Have you coughed up blood or had a fever?	¿Ha tosido con sangre o ha tenido fiebre?
Clinician	I am going to examine your chest and order a chest x-ray.	Voy a examinarle el tórax y a pedirle una radiografía de tórax.
Patient	Can my five-year-old son take cough medicine?	¿Mi hijo de cinco años puede tomar un medicamento para la tos?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Cough
Spanish (Español)	Tos
Chinese (中文)	咳嗽
Korean (한국어)	기침
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Ho
Filipino (Tagalog)	Ubo
Portuguese (Português)	Tosse
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	ไอ
Japanese (日本語)	咳

Where you'll see it

chartintake formtriage notemedical record

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: R05 → Cough

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Lungs and breathing

All terms in this area: Lungs and breathing — Pulmones y respiración

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.