OBJECTIVE: To study interpreters' experiences of problems in cross-cultural communication with special regard to the general practitioner (GP)-patient encounter. DESIGN: A focus-group interview with authorized interpreters was carried out. A phenomenographic method was used in the analysis. SETTING: Primary health care. RESULTS: The interpreters displayed a number of problems mainly related to the difficulty in balancing the triad relation (GP-patient-interpreter), the role of the interpreter in relation to other healthcare staff, the time aspects of the translation procedure, and the problems of diverse health beliefs and cultural inequalities. CONCLUSION: The interpreters notice a set of difficulties that need to be highlighted in order to improve consultations with cross-cultural GP-patient encounters.