evacuación intestinal
/ebakwaθjon intestinal/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for bowel movement is evacuación intestinal.
The term refers to the discharge of feces.
Meaning: discharge of feces (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase evacuación intestinal is composed of evacuación (evacuation) and intestinal (intestinal).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
There are several ways to express this depending on the setting. Evacuación intestinal, defecación and eliminación fecal are all formal terms suitable for medical or clinical contexts. For a gentle and child-friendly expression, you can use the informal hacer popó. An informal euphemism is hacer el número dos, while in very casual conversation, people often use the euphemism ir al baño (to go to the bathroom) to avoid clinical terms. A vulgar slang term for this action is cagar.
How do you pronounce it?
/ebakwaθjon intestinal/
Did you know?
- The word cagar is considered highly vulgar in most contexts, but in some regions, it is used in idioms to describe a disaster or a failure.
- The child-friendly term popó is used across almost all Spanish-speaking countries, making it one of the most universally understood informal terms regardless of regional dialect.
- The verb cagar is so blunt that using it in public can be considered highly aggressive or extremely vulgar, far more so than the English 'to crap'.
Examples in context
- El paciente tiene una evacuación intestinal regular.The patient has a regular bowel movement.
- La evacuación intestinal fue normal.The bowel movement was normal.
- Necesito registrar cada evacuación intestinal.I need to record every bowel movement.
- ¿Ha tenido alguna evacuación intestinal hoy?Have you had a bowel movement today?
Example conversation
Lucía is describing her symptoms to Alejandro, who is a doctor.
- LucíaNo he tenido una evacuación intestinal hoy.I haven't had a bowel movement today.
- AlejandroDesde hace cuántos días ocurre esto, Lucía?How many days has this been happening, Lucía?
- LucíaDesde hace tres días, Alejandro.For three days, Alejandro.
- AlejandroVamos a revisar su evacuación intestinal.We are going to check your bowel movement.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
