forúnculo
/foˈɾunkulo/
The English phrase skin boil is translated into Spanish as forúnculo.
The term refers to a painful, pus-filled bump on the skin caused by an infected hair follicle.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of forúnculo is forúnculos.
How do you pronounce it?
/foˈɾunkulo/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, people might refer to a boil as a nacido. This term comes from the idea that the infection has 'born' or emerged from the skin.
- Spanish has a specific distinction between a forúnculo and an ántrax. While both are boils, ántrax refers specifically to a cluster of connected boils, a distinction not always made in casual English.
- In colloquial Spanish, a persistent or recurring boil might be associated with the phrase estallar, which means 'to explode'. People often describe the process of a boil draining as the moment it estalla.
Examples in context
- El paciente presenta un forúnculo en la espaldaThe patient has a skin boil on their back
- El paciente fue diagnosticado con un furúnculoThe patient was diagnosed with a skin boil
- Tengo un forúnculo muy doloroso en el brazo.I have a very painful skin boil on my arm.
- El médico me recetó una crema para el forúnculo.The doctor prescribed a cream for the skin boil.
- Ese forúnculo se ve bastante inflamado.That skin boil looks quite inflamed.
Example conversation
Alejandro is asking Lucía about a visible bump on her arm.
- LucíaMe duele mucho el brazo hoy.My arm hurts a lot today.
- AlejandroEs por ese forúnculo que tienes.It is because of that skin boil you have.
- LucíaSí, es muy molesto.Yes, it is very annoying.
- AlejandroDeberías ir al médico pronto.You should go to the doctor soon.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry forúnculo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
