respiración superficial
/respiɾaθjon supeɾfiθjal/from spelling rules
The English phrase "shallow breathing" is respiración superficial in Spanish.
respiración superficial is used to describe shallow breathing. In medical or descriptive contexts, you may also use respiración corta to describe breathing that is shallow or labored.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of respiración (breathing) and superficial (shallow/superficial).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, respiración superficial is widely understood and used.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun respiración is feminine. While the adjective superficial remains the same for both masculine and feminine nouns, it must still agree in gender with the noun it modifies.
How do you pronounce it?
/respiɾaθjon supeɾfiθjal/
Did you know?
- Because respiración comes from the Latin 'spirare', it is a distant cousin to the English word 'despair', which literally means to lose one's breath or spirit.
- The Spanish adjective superficial can describe both a lack of depth in breathing and a person who is shallow or fake in personality.
- In some Spanish-speaking medical contexts, if a patient is struggling to breathe, doctors might use the word jadeo to describe the heavy, shallow gasping of someone out of breath.
Examples in context
- El paciente tiene una respiración superficial.The patient has shallow breathing.
- Noto una respiración superficial en el niño.I notice shallow breathing in the child.
- Su respiración superficial me preocupa mucho.His shallow breathing worries me a lot.
Example conversation
Elena is checking on Javier during a medical exam.
- ElenaJavier, noto que tienes una respiración superficial.Javier, I notice you have shallow breathing.
- JavierSí, me siento un poco ansioso.Yes, I feel a bit anxious.
- ElenaIntenta respirar más profundo ahora.Try to breathe deeper now.
- JavierEstá bien, voy a intentarlo.Okay, I'm going to try.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries respiración, superficial, CC BY-SA 4.0.
