convulsión
/kombulsjon/from spelling rules
In Spanish, a medical seizure is called convulsión.
The term convulsión refers specifically to a sudden episode of uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain that may cause convulsions.
Which one should you use?
While convulsión refers specifically to the physical shaking or electrical event, ataque (attack) is often used more broadly by laypeople to describe a sudden medical episode, such as an ataque epiléptico (epileptic attack). In a clinical or formal medical context, crisis epiléptica is a common way to specify a seizure caused by epilepsy.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word convulsión is a feminine noun, so it takes the feminine article una to mean "a seizure" (una convulsión). The plural form of convulsión is convulsiones.
How do you pronounce it?
/kombulsjon/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, a person having a seizure might be described as having un ataque de nervios, which blends medical symptoms with cultural distress.
- In many Spanish-speaking regions, using the word ataque to describe a seizure can be confusing because it is also the standard word for a 'heart attack' (ataque al corazón).
- Spanish uses the same word convulsión for both the clinical medical seizure and the figurative 'convulsions' of a political or social upheaval.
Examples in context
- María se desmayó y después de unos minutos tuvo una especie de convulsión.María fainted and after a few minutes, she had a sort of seizure.
- Tuvo una convulsión ayer en la escuela.He had a seizure yesterday at school.
- La convulsión fue muy breve pero intensa.The seizure was very brief but intense.
- El médico explicó qué causa la convulsión.The doctor explained what causes the seizure.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a health emergency they saw.
- SofíaAlejandro, vi a un hombre tener una convulsión.Alejandro, I saw a man have a seizure.
- AlejandroQué susto, ¿llamaste a una ambulancia?How scary, did you call an ambulance?
- SofíaSí, los paramédicos llegaron muy rápido.Yes, the paramedics arrived very quickly.
- AlejandroMenos mal que supiste cómo reaccionar, Sofía.It's a good thing you knew how to react, Sofía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
