Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| alcohólico | /alkoˈoliko/ /alˈkoliko/ |
masculine |
| escabiador | /eskabjaˈdoɾ/ | Latin America, masculine, slang |
The term is used to describe a person who is addicted to alcohol. It can also be used as an adjective to mean 'pertaining to alcohol' or to indicate that a substance contains more than a trace amount of alcohol.
Which one should you use?
alcohólico is used in a clinical or serious sense to describe someone with a medical addiction. In contrast, borracho is a more common and often derogatory term for someone who is currently drunk or is a heavy drinker.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For more formal communication, you can use persona con problemas de alcohol or adicto al alcohol. In informal settings, you might hear the expression empinador/a de codos, which literally means 'elbow tipper'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Latin America, the slang term escabiador is used colloquially to refer to a heavy drinker or boozer.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine form is alcohólico and the feminine form is alcohólica.
How do you pronounce it?
/alkoˈoliko/
Did you know?
- The word escabiador traces its lineage back to Italian dialects such as Ligurian and Lombard, where the roots scabbio or scabi originally meant 'wine'.
- While alcohólico is understood everywhere, the slang term escabiador is primarily used in the Southern Cone and may be misunderstood in Spain.
- The suffix -ico in alcohólico is a common pattern in Spanish for turning a noun into a specialized adjective, similar to the English -ic in 'metallic'.
Examples in context
- Me llamo Tom y soy alcohólico.My name is Tom and I'm an alcoholic.This sentence is useful for an introduction.Tatoeba #7740171 by ecorralest101, translation #2754363 by CK
- El padre de Fadil era alcohólico.Fadil's father was alcoholic.This sentence is useful for describing a family member.Tatoeba #7021426 by hayastan, translation #5839148 by OsoHombre
- Es mejor ser un borracho famoso que un alcohólico anónimo.It's better to be a well-known boozer than an anonymous alcoholic.This sentence compares two different ways to describe a drinker.Tatoeba #1371289 by hayastan, translation #3412138 by Plusquamperfekt
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are discussing a family member's health.
- LucíaMateo, ¿sabes por qué tu tío no bebe?Mateo, do you know why your uncle doesn't drink?
- MateoSí, él es alcohólico y está en recuperación.Yes, he is an alcoholic and is in recovery.
- LucíaSiento mucho que pase por eso.I am very sorry he is going through that.
- MateoGracias, Lucía. Ahora está mucho mejor.Thank you, Lucía. He is much better now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “alcoholic” translations and entries alcohólico, escabiador, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries alcohólico, escabiador, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
