Ask how long and how long ago in Spanish - 1-min Medical Spanish
Because this is a very common confusion for clinicians learning Medical Spanish, and it’s one of those things that is much easier to fix now before it becomes a habit.
So, let me ask you two things.
Do you know how to confidently ask your Latino patients how long they’ve had a condition or been experiencing something?
If yes, perfect.
If not, no worries. After this, you will.
Now, second question:
Do you know how to ask how long ago they had a treatment, a procedure, or something happened?
Because those two questions sound pretty similar in English, but in Spanish, they are asking for very different information.
And yes, I’ve heard both phrased in all sorts of creative ways during our Medical Spanish one-to-ones.
So today, we’re clearing them up.
(Your patients will thank us later.)
Ask how long and how long ago in Spanish
Here’s the short version:
¿Desde cuándo...? = How long have...?
¿Hace cuánto...? = How long ago...?
That’s the main difference.
Now let’s make it useful for your actual clinical practice.
When to Use “Desde Cuándo”
Use desde cuándo when you want to know the starting point of something that is still happening now.
For example:
“¿Desde cuándo tiene diabetes?”How long have you had diabetes?
Or:
“¿Desde cuándo tiene la presión alta?”How long have you had high blood pressure?
Your patient could answer:
“Desde 2018.”Since 2018.
You’re basically asking:
“When did this start?”
And you expect something like a date, a year, or another starting point.
When to Use “Hace Cuánto”
Now, let’s say you’re asking about something that already happened.
A treatment.
A procedure.
The beginning of dialysis.
A surgery.
In those cases, hace cuánto will usually be your better option.
For example:
“¿Hace cuánto empezó la diálisis?”How long ago did dialysis start?
Or:
“¿Hace cuánto le hicieron la colostomía?”How long ago did you have the colostomy?
Y
our patient might answer:
“Hace seis meses.”Six months ago.
And there you have the difference.
Desde Cuándo vs. Hace Cuánto: The Easy Way to Remember It
If you expect a date, year, or starting point for something that is still ongoing, use:
¿Desde cuándo...?
If you want to know how long ago something happened, use:
¿Hace cuánto...?
That’s it.
Two very useful questions that can make your Medical Spanish sound much more natural when speaking with Latino patients.
Save this post and come back to it next time you’re preparing for a Spanish-speaking patient.
As promised, that’s your one-minute Medical Spanish value for today, now you know how to ask how long and how long ago in Spanish.
Not sure what your next step in Spanish should be?
Take the Roadmap Medical Spanish Assessment for free.
It’s a short questionnaire designed to learn a little more about your Spanish, your role, your patients, and what you actually need right now. At the end, you’ll get your results and some clear next steps to keep moving forward.
Because your Spanish journey shouldn’t look exactly like everyone else’s. 😉
Take the free Roadmap Medical Spanish Assessment here:
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