How Do You Say Digestion In Spanish? | Say It Right

The Spanish term for the body process of breaking down food is digestión, pronounced dee-heh-stee-OHN.

If you typed “How Do You Say Digestion In Spanish?” because you need the word for a class, menu note, clinic visit, or travel chat, the direct answer is digestión. It’s a feminine noun, so you’ll usually say la digestión.

The accent mark matters. Without it, the word looks wrong in standard Spanish. Say it with the stress on the last syllable: di-ges-TIÓN. The sound is close to “dee-heh-stee-OHN,” with a soft Spanish g before e.

Saying Digestion In Spanish With The Right Accent

Digestión works in plain speech and health writing. You can use it for the process your body uses after eating, or for a general comment about how food sits in your stomach.

Here are the forms you’ll hear most:

• La digestión — digestion.
• Una digestión lenta — slow digestion.
• La mala digestión — poor digestion.
• Hacer la digestión — to digest after eating.

Spanish speakers often talk around the noun. In daily speech, me cayó pesado can mean “it sat heavy with me.” That may sound odd word for word, but it’s a common way to say food felt hard to digest.

Pronunciation That Sounds Natural

The ending -ción is common in Spanish nouns. It has one syllable: syohn or thyohn, depending on the accent of the speaker. In much of Latin America, it sounds like see-OHN. In much of Spain, the ci can sound closer to thee.

Try this slow version: dee-heh-stee-OHN. Then tighten it: digestión. Don’t stress the first part. The accent mark over ó tells you where the voice lands.

Grammar You Need For Clean Spanish

Digestión is feminine, so it pairs with feminine words. Say la digestión, una digestión, buena digestión, and mala digestión. The plural is digestiones, but you won’t need it much unless you’re comparing many cases.

Use the verb digerir when you mean “to digest.” It’s irregular in some forms: yo digiero, tú digieres, él digiere. For plain phrases, you can skip the tricky forms and say me cuesta digerir, meaning “I have trouble digesting.”

Spanish dictionaries treat digestión as a feminine noun; the RAE entry for digestión gives the core language meaning. For health wording, the NCI definition of digestión explains the body process of breaking food into substances the body can use.

Why The Accent Mark Belongs On Ó

Spanish spelling gives you a map for stress. Words that end in a vowel, n, or s usually stress the next-to-last syllable. Digestión ends in n, but the voice lands on the last syllable, so the accent mark is needed.

This is the same pattern you see in words like acción, nutrición, and información. The ending may look familiar, but the first sound can trip up English speakers. Keep the Spanish g soft before e, and avoid turning the ending into the English “shun” sound.

Formal, Casual, And Medical Use

In formal writing, digestión is the clean noun. In a casual chat, a person may say me cayó mal instead, which means something made them feel bad after eating. In medical Spanish, symptom words often give a clearer picture than the noun alone.

If you’re speaking to a doctor, add timing and food details. Tengo mala digestión después de comer lácteos is more useful than tengo problemas con la digestión. It tells the listener what happened and when it tends to happen.

Common Digestive Phrases In Spanish

Use this table when you need more than one word. It gives the clean Spanish choice, plus a sentence you can adapt without sounding stiff.

English Need	Spanish Choice	Natural Sentence
Digestion	La digestión	La digestión empieza en la boca.
Slow digestion	Digestión lenta	Tengo digestión lenta después de cenar.
Poor digestion	Mala digestión	La comida frita me da mala digestión.
Digestive system	Sistema digestivo	El sistema digestivo procesa los alimentos.
Digestive tract	Tracto gastrointestinal	El tracto gastrointestinal incluye el estómago y los intestinos.
To digest	Digerir	Me cuesta digerir comidas pesadas.
Indigestion	Indigestión	Tengo indigestión desde anoche.
Heartburn	Acidez estomacal	El café me da acidez estomacal.
Upset stomach	Malestar estomacal	Tengo malestar estomacal después del viaje.

The plain noun works for schoolwork and medical forms. In conversation, people may choose the symptom instead. If your stomach burns, acidez estomacal is clearer than mala digestión. If food feels heavy, me cayó pesado may sound more local and less textbook.

When To Use Sistema Digestivo

Digestión is the process. Sistema digestivo is the group of organs involved. That difference matters when you’re writing a sentence for class or filling out a health form.

Say la digestión de los alimentos for the act of breaking down food. Say el sistema digestivo for the body parts, such as the stomach, intestines, liver, and pancreas. The NIDDK page on the digestive tract uses Spanish health terms for how food moves and breaks down inside the body.

Choosing The Best Spanish Term For Your Sentence

Match the word to the situation. A neat translation is great, but the sentence has to sound like something a person would say. Here’s how to choose.

For A School Assignment

Use la digestión and define it once. A solid sentence is: La digestión es el proceso por el cual el cuerpo descompone los alimentos. That means the body breaks food down. It’s clear, formal, and safe for science class.

For A Restaurant Or Travel Chat

Use a shorter, more personal phrase. Try esta comida me cae pesada, meaning “this food feels heavy to me.” You can also say tengo mala digestión if you want to name digestion directly.

For A Clinic Visit

Use symptom words and timing. Say when it started, where it hurts, and what food came before it. Tengo indigestión desde anoche is clearer than a vague sentence about feeling off.

Common Error	Better Spanish	Why It Works
El digestión	La digestión	The noun is feminine.
Digestion without accent	Digestión	The written stress falls on ó.
Digestivo for the noun	Digestión	Digestivo is an adjective.
I have digestion	Tengo mala digestión	Spanish names the problem, not the normal process.
My digestion is bad today	Hoy tengo mala digestión	The phrase sounds direct and natural.

Ready Phrases For Daily Use

These short lines give you clean Spanish without overthinking grammar. Pick the sentence that matches the moment, then swap in the food or time.

• La digestión empieza en la boca. Digestion starts in the mouth.
• Tengo digestión lenta. I have slow digestion.
• La comida picante me cae pesada. Spicy food sits heavy with me.
• Me cuesta digerir la leche. I have trouble digesting milk.
• Tengo indigestión desde ayer. I’ve had indigestion since yesterday.
• Quiero algo ligero para cenar. I want something light for dinner.

Small Style Notes That Make Spanish Smoother

Don’t translate every English sentence word by word. English speakers may say “my digestion is acting up.” Spanish speakers often say tengo mala digestión, me cayó mal, or me cayó pesado. Those phrases sound more natural because they describe the result.

For formal writing, stay with digestión, digerir, and sistema digestivo. For daily speech, use the food, feeling, and timing. That gives the listener the detail they need without a clunky sentence.

Final Wording To Copy

The safest one-word answer is digestión. Use la digestión when you need the noun in a sentence, and use digerir when you need the verb. If you’re talking about organs, switch to el sistema digestivo.

Here’s the easiest full sentence to copy: La digestión es el proceso por el cual el cuerpo descompone los alimentos. It’s clear enough for class, travel, and health forms, and it keeps the accent mark where it belongs.