piel fría y pegajosa
/pjel fɾia i peɡaxosa/from spelling rules
The English phrase "clammy skin" is translated into Spanish as piel fría y pegajosa.
This phrase describes skin that feels both cold and damp or sticky to the touch.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is a literal translation where piel means skin, fría means cold and pegajosa means sticky.
Which one should you use?
In a medical context, it is common to use piel sudorosa y fría to describe the sensation of sweaty and cold skin.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because piel is a feminine noun, the adjectives fría and pegajosa must also be in the feminine form.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the word pegajosa comes from the verb pegar, which can mean both 'to stick' and 'to hit'.
- If you use the word pegajosa to describe a person's behavior rather than their skin, it can imply they are being overly 'clingy' or emotionally demanding.
- The Spanish word piel is a direct descendant of the Latin pellis, which also gave English the word 'pelt' to describe an animal's skin.
Examples in context
- El paciente presenta la piel pegajosa y sudoración excesiva.The patient has clammy skin and excessive sweating.
- Tiene la piel fría y pegajosa por la fiebre.He has clammy skin because of the fever.
- Me asusta sentir mi piel fría y pegajosa.It scares me to feel my clammy skin.
- El paciente presenta la piel fría y pegajosa.The patient has clammy skin.
Example conversation
Lucía is checking on Daniel, who feels unwell.
- Lucía¿Cómo te sientes, Daniel?How are you feeling, Daniel?
- DanielMe siento mal y tengo escalofríos.I feel bad and I have chills.
- LucíaTienes la piel fría y pegajosa.You have clammy skin.
- DanielCreo que necesito descansar.I think I need to rest.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries piel, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
