tripofobia
/tɾipofobja/from spelling rules
tripofobia is the Spanish word for trypophobia.
The word refers to the fear of holes.
Meaning: fear of holes (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
/tɾipofobja/
Did you know?
- To describe the skin-crawling physical sensation caused by clusters of holes, Spanish speakers often use the colloquial phrase me dan repelús.
- In Spanish, the prefix tripo- comes from the Greek trypa, meaning 'hole', which is also the root for the English word 'trepanation' referring to drilling a hole in the skull.
- While tripofobia refers to the fear of holes, Spanish art historians use the term horror vacui to describe the related concept of filling an entire surface with detail to avoid empty spaces.
Examples in context
- La tripofobia es un miedo muy común.Trypophobia is a very common fear.
- ¿Crees que la tripofobia sea real?Do you think trypophobia is real?
Example conversation
Javier and Sofía are looking at a sponge in the kitchen.
- JavierNo puedo mirar esta esponja.I can't look at this sponge.
- Sofía¿Por qué, Javier?Why, Javier?
- JavierEs que tengo tripofobia.It's just that I have trypophobia.
- SofíaNo sabía que tenías eso, Sofía lo entiende.I didn't know you had that, Sofía understands.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “trypophobia” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
