Spanish Phrase
¿Les cuesta respirar?
Meaning
Literally, ‘Does it cost them to breathe?’ In everyday Spanish it means ‘Do they find it hard to breathe?’ or ‘Is breathing difficult for them?’. It is commonly used when checking on someone’s health, especially in a medical or caregiving context.
When to use
Use this question when you want to ask a patient, an elderly person, or anyone you’re caring for whether they are experiencing breathing difficulty. It’s also appropriate in informal conversation if you notice someone seems short‑of‑breath.
✦Grammar Breakdown
¿Lescuestarespirar?
Indirect object pronoun (les)
‘Les’ replaces ‘a ellos/ellas’ and indicates the people who experience the difficulty.
Costar + infinitive
The verb ‘costar’ is used like ‘to be hard/difficult for someone’, followed by an infinitive.
Third‑person singular form
‘Cuesta’ is the 3rd‑person singular present of ‘costar’; it agrees with the implied subject (the act of breathing).
Question marks
Spanish uses opening (¿) and closing (?) question marks for all questions.
🗨In Conversation
¿Les cuesta respirar?
Is it hard for them to breathe?
Sí, se les acelera el ritmo y se sienten cansados.
Yes, they get short‑of‑breath and feel tired.
✕Common Mistakes
¿Le cuesta respirar?
Use ‘le’ only for a single person; ‘les’ is required when referring to multiple people.
¿Les a cuesta respirar?
Do not add an extra ‘a’ after ‘les’; the indirect object pronoun already replaces ‘a ellos/ellas’.
¿Les cuestan respirar?
The verb must stay in third‑person singular; ‘cuestan’ would be wrong because the subject is the infinitive ‘respirar’, not the people.
↔Alternatives
¿Les resulta difícil respirar?
Do they find it difficult to breathe?
¿Tienen problemas para respirar?
Do they have trouble breathing?
¿Les está costando respirar?
Are they having trouble breathing?
Cultural Tip
In many Spanish‑speaking countries, health‑related questions are asked politely and often with indirect object pronouns like ‘les’ to show respect and empathy. Avoid sounding abrupt; a gentle tone and, if appropriate, a follow‑up like ‘¿Cómo se siente?’ (How do they feel?) makes the conversation more caring.