pesadilla
Spanish
Etymology
From pesado (“heavy”) + -illa. Compare Portuguese pesadelo m.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pesaˈdiʝa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʝa] (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain and Latin America)
- IPA(key): /pesaˈdiʎa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʎa] (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
- IPA(key): /pesaˈdiʃa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
- IPA(key): /pesaˈdiʒa/ [pe.saˈð̞i.ʒa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)
- Rhymes: -iʝa (Equatorial Guinea, most of Spain and Latin America)
- Rhymes: -iʎa (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines)
- Rhymes: -iʃa (Buenos Aires and environs)
- Rhymes: -iʒa (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)
- Syllabification: pe‧sa‧di‧lla
Noun
pesadilla f (plural pesadillas)
Related terms
Further reading
- “pesadilla”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025