Why do you say “tengo fiebre” instead of “I am” in Spanish?

For many feelings and symptoms, Spanish uses tener (“to have”), not “to be.” So you say tengo fiebre (“I have a fever”), tengo tos (“I have a cough”), and tengo dolor de cabeza (“I have a headache”). English mixes “have” and “be,” but Spanish keeps “have” for the body. A beginner who learns this avoids the common mistake of saying estoy fiebre.

The same tener covers more than illness: tengo hambre (“I’m hungry,” literally “I have hunger”), tengo sed (“I’m thirsty”), tengo frío (“I’m cold”). For pain you build it as tengo dolor de + body part: tengo dolor de garganta (“I have a sore throat”), straight from the clip.