atención médica
/atenθjon medika/from spelling rulesfeminine
The English phrase "health care" is translated into Spanish as atención médica.
Atención médica refers to the prevention, treatment and management of illnesses. It can be translated into English as "medical care."
Meaning: prevention, treatment, and management of illnesses (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of atención (attention/care) and médica (medical).
Which one should you use?
While atención médica refers specifically to medical care, asistencia sanitaria is a broader and more formal term often used in official or governmental contexts to refer to healthcare services or the healthcare system. You can also use servicios de salud when referring to the institutional or systemic aspect of health care.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, asistencia sanitaria is used to express "health care".
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun atención is feminine, so the adjective médica must also be in its feminine form.
Did you know?
- The word atención shares the same Latin root as the English word 'attention', which originally meant 'to stretch toward'.
- In Spain, the phrase sanidad is a single word used to represent the entire concept of the public health care system.
- If you talk about the right to health care in a legal sense, you should use derecho a la salud rather than the more clinical atención médica.
Examples in context
- Negar una educación de calidad a los hijos de las familias trabajadoras es tan malo como negarles atención médica o cuidado infantil a las familias trabajadoras.Denying a quality education to the children of working families is as wrong as denying health care or child care to working families.This sentence shows how to use atención médica when discussing the denial of essential services to families.Tatoeba #8303530 by GuidoW, translation #3924476 by BHO
- Necesito encontrar un proveedor de atención médica cerca de mí.I need to find a health care provider near me.
- Ella trabaja en la industria del cuidado de la salud.She works in the health care industry.
- Deberíamos mejorar el acceso a la atención médica en esta comunidad.We should improve access to health care in this community.
- La atención médica es esencial en esta región.Health care is essential in this region.
- Necesitamos mejorar la atención médica para los ancianos.We need to improve health care for the elderly.
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are discussing their company benefits.
- JavierLucía, ¿el seguro incluye la atención médica?Lucía, does the insurance include health care?
- LucíaSí, Javier, cubre casi todo.Yes, Javier, it covers almost everything.
- JavierEso es una gran ventaja.That is a great advantage.
- LucíaAsí es, la atención médica es fundamental.It is, health care is fundamental.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “health care” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries atención, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
