Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| peligroso | /peliˈɡɾoso/ |
| brígido | /ˈbɾixido/ |
| fortunal | /foɾtunal/ (from spelling rules) |
The word is used to describe something that causes danger or is ready to cause harm or injury.
Which one should you use?
While peligroso is the standard term, you might encounter brígido in casual settings to mean something is dangerous, intense or heavy. In more formal situations, you may use riesgoso/a to describe a hazardous situation or the phrase de alto riesgo to literally mean 'high risk'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a more formal tone when describing a hazardous situation, use riesgoso/a or de alto riesgo. Conversely, brígido is a colloquial term.
Is it said differently in some regions?
brígido is a colloquial term used in certain Latin American contexts, such as Chile, to describe something that is dangerous, intense or difficult.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it modifies. Use peligroso for masculine singular nouns, peligrosa for feminine singular nouns, peligrosos for masculine plural nouns and peligrosas for feminine plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
/peliˈɡɾoso/
Did you know?
- The word peligroso originated from the Old Spanish perigloso before the letters shifted positions.
- While peligroso is universal, using brígido to mean 'dangerous' is a regionalism that could confuse speakers from Spain or Mexico.
- The word riesgoso is often a more appropriate choice than peligroso when discussing mathematical or financial probability.
Examples in context
- El río es peligroso.The river is dangerous.This sentence is useful for describing a river using peligroso.Tatoeba #1517050 by marcelostockle, translation #45760 by CK
- Su plan es peligroso.His plan is dangerous!This sentence is useful for describing a plan using peligroso.Tatoeba #989554 by hayastan, translation #403301 by CK
- Tom es muy peligroso.Tom is very dangerous.This sentence is useful for describing a person using peligroso.Tatoeba #1520834 by marcelostockle, translation #1520822 by Spamster
- La situación en la montaña es peligrosaThe situation in the mountain is dangerous
- No es aconsejable tomar rutas riesgosas por la nocheIt is not advisable to take risky routes at night
- El trabajo en estas condiciones es de alto riesgoWorking under these conditions is high risk
- Esta situación es de mucho peligroThis situation is very dangerous
- Escalar esa montaña es muy peligrosoClimbing that mountain is very dangerous
- Tienes que tener cuidado, la ciudad puede ser peligrosa de nocheYou have to be careful, the city can be dangerous at night
- La situación es demasiado riesgosa como para continuarThe situation is too risky to proceed
- Esta situación es de mucho peligro, necesitamos ayudaThis situation is very dangerous, we need help
- 250 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are walking in a park near a forest.
- LucíaDaniel, ¿es peligroso este bosque?Daniel, is this forest dangerous?
- DanielNo, no es peligroso para nosotros.No, it is not dangerous for us.
- LucíaPero veo un animal peligroso allí.But I see a dangerous animal there.
- DanielNo te preocupes, Lucía, todo está bien.Don't worry, Lucía, everything is fine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “dangerous” translations and entries peligroso, brígido, fortunal, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries brígido, peligroso, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
