No, enfermero.
No, a nurse.
Not a doctor, and not embarrassed about it. The enfermero is the one who still comes at two in the morning when you press the call button by your bed.
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "nurse" in Spanish
el enfermero
nounfeminine: la enfermeraplural: los enfermeros
"Nurse" in Spanish is el enfermero for a man and la enfermera for a woman. The word is built on enfermo, sick, plus the job ending -ero. To say what someone does for a living, leave out the article: Mi padre es enfermero.
Hear "enfermero" in real movie scenes
A male nurse and a school nurse. Each video starts and stops on that line.
No, es enfermera de escuela.
No, she's a school nurse.
A man introduces the woman beside him as the person who treats scraped knees at a school. Because she's a woman, the word ends in -a.
From La herencia del Sr. Deeds · Spanish audio
Words you'll hear around a nurse
Six words and phrases for a hospital stay or a nursing job.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| el enfermero, la enfermera | nurse (man, woman) |
| la enfermera de escuela | school nurse |
| la enfermería | nursing, also the sick room at a school or office |
| el paciente, la paciente | patient |
| cuidar a los pacientes | to look after the patients |
| el turno de noche | night shift |
Tip: To say someone studies nursing, use estudiar Enfermería. As a university subject it's often written with a capital E.
Grammar: el enfermero, la enfermera
Four points for talking about nurses and jobs.
Match the person
el enfermero for a man, la enfermera for a woman. A team of men and women is los enfermeros.Jobs skip un
Soy enfermero. Elena es enfermera. English says "a nurse", but Spanish names the job on its own.Describe it, and un comes back
Once you add a description, use the article: Es una enfermera muy paciente.Two soft r's
In en-fer-ME-ro, both r's are a single quick tap. Neither one is rolled.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Mi padre es enfermero.
My father is a nurse.
Oye, ¿tu madre también es enfermera?
Hey, is your mom a nurse too?
Mi hermano es enfermero.
My brother is a nurse.
No, es enfermera de escuela.
No, she's a school nurse.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Ella es enfermero
✓Ella es enfermera
A woman who works as a nurse is an enfermera, with -a.
✗Soy enfermo (meaning I'm a nurse)
✓Soy enfermero
Enfermo means sick. Without -ero you're talking about an illness, and for that Spanish uses estar: Estoy enfermo.
✗en-fehr-MEH-rroh (pronunciation)
✓en-fehr-MEH-roh
One r means one light tap. Save the trill for words written with rr, like perro.
Real conversation: meeting someone at a party
A short dialog in the kitchen at a birthday party.
At a friend's birthday party, a smiling woman named Elena comes over to you in the kitchen.
¡Hola! Soy Elena. Soy enfermera, ¿y tú?
Hi! I'm Elena. I'm a nurse. And you?
Soy estudiante. ¿Dónde trabajas?
I'm a student. Where do you work?
Aquí cerca. ¡Y mi jefa es mi madre!
Near here. And my boss is my mother!
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last line.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
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What do you hear in the video?
The other 29 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Take enfermo, sick, and add -ero, the job ending in panadero (baker) and cartero (mail carrier). An enfermero works with the sick.
Questions about "nurse" in Spanish
How do you say nurse in Spanish?
El enfermero for a man and la enfermera for a woman. Several nurses are los enfermeros or las enfermeras.
How do you say "I'm a nurse" in Spanish?
Soy enfermero, or Soy enfermera if you're a woman. Don't put un or una in front of the job.
What's the difference between enfermero and enfermo?
Enfermo is the adjective for sick: Estoy enfermo. Enfermero is the nurse who takes care of sick people.
How do you say nursing in Spanish?
La enfermería. It names the profession and the degree, and also the room where a school sends a student who feels unwell.
