lupus
/ˈlupus/
In Spanish, lupus disease is said as lupus.
The term refers to the chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in various parts of the body.
Which one should you use?
While lupus can be used in formal contexts to refer to the disease, the term Lupus Eritematoso Sistémico is the specific medical name for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
How does it change in a sentence?
Spanish speakers typically use the definite article el before the word when referring to the disease.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈlupus/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the characteristic facial rash associated with lupus is poetically called alas de mariposa, meaning 'butterfly wings'.
- The word lupus is a direct loanword from Latin and functions as a linguistic doublet of the common Spanish word lobo, meaning 'wolf'.
- Before the systemic autoimmune disease was identified, older Spanish medical texts used lupus to describe a variety of different skin erosions.
Examples in context
- Padeces de lupus.You suffer from lupus.
- Tienes lupus.You have lupus.
- El lupus afecta a muchas personas.Lupus affects many people.
- Ella tiene lupus desde hace años.She has had lupus for years.
- El lupus es una enfermedad autoinmune.Lupus is an autoimmune disease.
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are discussing a medical diagnosis.
- SofíaDaniel, el médico dice que tengo lupus.Daniel, the doctor says I have lupus.
- DanielLo siento mucho, Sofía. ¿Es grave?I'm so sorry, Sofía. Is it serious?
- SofíaEs crónico, pero hay tratamiento para el lupus.It's chronic, but there is treatment for lupus.
- DanielCuenta conmigo para lo que necesites.Count on me for whatever you need.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry lupus, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries lupus, CC BY-SA 4.0.
