acoso escolar
/akoso eskolaɾ/from spelling rules
The English phrase "school bullying" is translated into Spanish as acoso escolar.
The phrase refers to the phenomenon of school bullying.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of acoso, meaning harassment or stalking and escolar, meaning school-related.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, acoso escolar is the commonly used term. In Mexico, bullying escolar is widely understood and you might also hear hostigamiento escolar.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is a noun phrase and does not change its form based on whether the bullying is happening to one person or many. The noun acoso remains singular.
Did you know?
- The word acoso comes from the verb acosar, which originally described the act of hunting or chasing an animal to the point of exhaustion. In a modern context, this sense of 'relentless pursuit' defines the nature of harassment.
- While acoso escolar is the standard term, many Spanish speakers simply use the English word 'bullying' as a loanword. It has become so common that it is often used even in formal reports and news broadcasts across the Spanish-speaking world.
- The word acoso is often used in legal contexts to describe 'stalking' or 'harassment', making the term acoso escolar sound quite serious and criminal to a native speaker.
Examples in context
- El acoso escolar es un problema graveSchool bullying is a serious problem
- La intimidación escolar afecta a muchos estudiantesSchool intimidation affects many students
- El maltrato escolar debe ser abordado de manera inmediataSchool mistreatment must be addressed immediately
- Enfrenté mucho matoneo cuando era estudianteI faced a lot of bullying when I was a student
- Trabajemos juntos para prevenir el bullying escolarLet's work together to prevent school bullying
- Debemos prevenir el acoso escolar.We must prevent school bullying.
- El acoso escolar es un problema grave.School bullying is a serious problem.
- Hay programas para combatir el acoso escolar.There are programs to combat school bullying.
Example conversation
Two teachers are discussing a student's wellbeing.
- AlejandroLucía, creo que este niño sufre acoso escolar.Lucía, I think this boy is suffering from school bullying.
- LucíaHe notado que está muy triste últimamente.I have noticed that he is very sad lately.
- AlejandroTenemos que hablar con sus padres pronto.We have to speak with his parents soon.
- LucíaTienes razón, Alejandro, hay que actuar ya.You are right, Alejandro, we must act now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries acoso, escolar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
