pandemia
/panˈdemja/feminine
The English word pandemic translates to Spanish as pandemia.
pandemia is a noun referring to a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population. It is the direct translation of the English word pandemic.
Meaning: disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population (noun)
Which one should you use?
While epidemia refers to a localized outbreak, pandemia is used specifically when the disease has spread across multiple countries or continents.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The related adjective forms change based on the gender of the noun they modify. The masculine adjective pandémico is used for masculine nouns, such as el virus pandémico (the pandemic virus), while the feminine adjective pandémica is used for feminine nouns, such as la crisis pandémica (the pandemic crisis).
How do you pronounce it?
/panˈdemja/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, the adjective pandémico can be used to describe things that are not biological, such as a moda pandémica to describe a trend that spreads uncontrollably across the world.
- The word pandemia shares a root with democracia, as both come from the Greek demos meaning 'people'.
- During the recent global pandemia, some Spanish-speaking regions used the term confinamiento to describe the lockdown, while others used cuarentena even if the period was longer than forty days.
Examples in context
- ¿Qué es una pandemia?What's a pandemic?This sentence is useful for asking for a definition of pandemia.Tatoeba #9477535 by hayastan, translation #9477501 by shekitten
- La epidemia ya se ha convertido en pandemia.The epidemic has turned into a pandemic.This sentence shows how an epidemic can evolve into a pandemia.Tatoeba #8591913 by arh, translation #10097997 by DJ_Saidez
- ¿Qué es lo que más has echado de menos durante la pandemia?What have you missed the most during the pandemic?This sentence is useful for asking about things missed during the pandemia.Tatoeba #9828249 by Shishir, translation #10242699 by LimeGreenTeknii
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing global health news in a cafe.
- JavierHe leído sobre una nueva pandemia en las noticias.I read about a new pandemic in the news.
- LucíaEspero que no sea tan grave como la anterior.I hope it is not as serious as the previous one.
- JavierLos expertos están analizando la situación de la pandemia.The experts are analyzing the pandemic situation.
- LucíaToda la ciudad está muy preocupada por eso.The whole city is very worried about that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pandemic” translations and entries pandemia, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
