Me preocupa mi salud.

I am worried about my health.

Breakdown of Me preocupa mi salud.

• yo: I
• mi: my
• me: me
• la salud: the health
• preocupar: to worry

Questions & Answers about Me preocupa mi salud.

Why is it me preocupa and not something that looks more like “I worry”?

In Spanish, preocupar often works “backwards” compared to English.

• English: I am worried about my health.
• Literal Spanish structure: My health worries me. → Me preocupa mi salud.

So:

• mi salud = the thing causing the worry (the “subject”)
• preocupa = worries (3rd person singular)
• me = to me / me (indirect object)

You are not saying “I worry my health,” but rather “My health worries me.” That’s why it’s me preocupa instead of yo preocupo.

Is me preocupa a reflexive form?

No. It looks a bit like a reflexive, but it isn’t.

• Reflexive would be something like me lavo (I wash myself).
• In me preocupa, me is an indirect object pronoun, meaning “to me.”

So the structure is:

• [Something]
  • preocupa
    • [a alguien]
      
      • Mi salud preocupa a Juan. → My health worries Juan.
      • Mi salud me preocupa. → My health worries me.

When you move the pronoun in front of the verb, you get Me preocupa mi salud.

What tense and person is preocupa here?

Preocupa is:

• present indicative
• third person singular (he/she/it)

You could plug in a subject:

• (Mi salud) preocupa (a mí). → Mi salud me preocupa.
• (Su trabajo) preocupa (a Ana). → Su trabajo le preocupa a Ana.

So it’s the same form as él/ella preocupa, but the real “doer” is the thing that causes worry (here: mi salud).

Can I also say Estoy preocupado por mi salud? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, and it’s very common. The difference is nuance:

• Me preocupa mi salud.

  • Focus on the cause of your worry.
  • Literally: My health worries me.
  • Slightly more objective: you’re pointing to the issue.

• Estoy preocupado por mi salud.

  • Focus on your emotional state.
  • Literally: I am worried about my health.
  • Sounds a bit more like talking about how you feel.

In everyday speech in Spain, both are natural. You’d choose based on whether you want to highlight the situation (me preocupa…) or your state (estoy preocupado…).

Why is it mi salud and not la salud?

Mi salud means my health specifically.

• Me preocupa mi salud. → I’m worried about my own health.

If you say:

• Me preocupa la salud.

you’re talking about health in general (public health, people’s health, etc.), not clearly your own.

So the possessive mi is used to be explicit that it’s your health that worries you.

Could I say Me preocupa la salud to mean “I care about health in general”?

Yes.

• Me preocupa la salud.
  → I’m concerned about health (as an issue / in general).

Context will decide whether people think you mean public health or health in general rather than your personal situation. To avoid confusion when you mean yourself, mi salud is safer.

Why me preocupa mi salud and not me preocupa de mi salud?

With preocupar, you don’t add a preposition like de before the thing that causes the worry.

Correct patterns:

• Me preocupa mi salud.
• Nos preocupa el futuro.
• Les preocupa el dinero.

Incorrect:

• ✗ Me preocupa de mi salud.

If you use preocupado, then you use por (sometimes de, but por is more standard):

• Estoy preocupado por mi salud.

How does this sentence change in the plural, e.g. if I’m worried about several things?

The verb preocupar agrees with the thing(s) that cause the worry:

• Singular:
  
  • Me preocupa mi salud. → My health worries me.
• Plural:
  
  • Me preocupan mis problemas de salud. → My health problems worry me.

More examples:

• Me preocupa el examen.
• Me preocupan los exámenes.

Can I change the word order to Mi salud me preocupa?

Yes, that’s grammatically correct:

• Me preocupa mi salud. (more common, neutral)
• Mi salud me preocupa. (a bit more emphatic on mi salud)

In Spanish, changing the order often changes emphasis, not correctness. At a basic level, you can treat them as equivalent, but natives more often say Me preocupa mi salud in everyday speech.

How would I say “Are you worried about your health?” using this structure?

Using the same preocupar pattern, you’d say:

• ¿Te preocupa tu salud? (informal singular “you”)
• ¿Os preocupa vuestra salud? (informal plural “you” in Spain)
• ¿Le preocupa su salud? (formal singular “you” – usted)
• ¿Les preocupa su salud? (formal plural ustedes; also common in Latin America for “you all”)

All keep the same logic:

• tu/vuestra/su salud = subject
• preocupa = worries
• te/os/le/les = to you

How would I make this sentence negative?

You just add no before the pronoun:

• No me preocupa mi salud.
  → I’m not worried about my health.

Pattern:

• No
  • pronoun + verb + rest of the sentence
    
    • No me preocupa el dinero.
    • No nos preocupan los vecinos.

Is there a difference in politeness or intensity between Me preocupa mi salud and stronger versions?

You can adjust intensity with adverbs:

• Me preocupa un poco mi salud. → I’m a bit worried about my health.
• Me preocupa mucho mi salud. → I’m very worried about my health.
• Me preocupa bastante mi salud. → I’m quite/pretty worried about my health.

Or you can sound more dramatic with estar preocupado:

• Estoy muy preocupado por mi salud.

All are polite; you’re just changing how strong the concern sounds.

How would I say “My health doesn’t worry me, but my job does”?

You can combine both ideas like this:

• No me preocupa mi salud, pero sí me preocupa mi trabajo.

Notes:

• no me preocupa… → doesn’t worry me
• pero sí me preocupa… → but does worry me (the sí emphasizes the contrast).