brote psicótico
/bɾote bsikotiko/from spelling rules
The English phrase "psychotic break" is brote psicótico in Spanish.
This phrase describes a sudden mental health crisis during which a person loses touch with reality.
What does it mean word for word?
The word brote literally means an "outbreak" or "burst", which is used metaphorically here to describe the sudden onset of symptoms.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Latin America, the term crisis psicótica may be used instead of brote psicótico.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the plural "psychotic breaks", use brotes psicóticos, where both the noun and the adjective are pluralized.
Did you know?
- While English uses the word 'break' to suggest a fracture or a collapse, Spanish uses brote to suggest an emergence or a blooming. This shifts the metaphor from something snapping to something appearing suddenly.
- The word brote shares an ancient root with the Old High German word broz, which relates to the act of breaking or bursting.
- While brote psicótico is common in clinical settings, saying un brote in a non-medical context can actually mean 'an outbreak' of something like a skin rash or a disease.
Examples in context
- El paciente sufrió un episodio psicótico repentino.The patient suffered a sudden psychotic episode.
- El paciente sufrió un brote psicótico repentino.The patient suffered a sudden psychotic break.
- El paciente sufrió un brote psicótico.The patient suffered a psychotic break.
- Es necesario tratar el brote psicótico rápido.It is necessary to treat the psychotic break quickly.
- Ella está recuperándose de su brote psicótico.She is recovering from her psychotic break.
Example conversation
Two doctors are discussing a patient's recent medical history.
- ElenaDaniel, ¿viste el historial del paciente?Daniel, did you see the patient's history?
- DanielSí, Elena, tuvo un brote psicótico ayer.Yes, Elena, he had a psychotic break yesterday.
- Elena¿Fue un brote psicótico repentino?Was it a sudden psychotic break?
- DanielParece que sí, fue muy brusco.It seems so, it was very abrupt.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries brote, psicótico, CC BY-SA 4.0.
