How to Say "suddenly" in Spanish
The most common Spanish word for “suddenly” is “repentinamente” — use this word when something happens quickly and unexpectedly, often referring to a change in state or situation..
repentinamente
/reh-pen-tee-nah-MEN-teh//repenˌtinaˈmente/
Examples
El clima cambió repentinamente.
The weather changed suddenly.
Ella se levantó y salió de la habitación repentinamente.
She stood up and left the room abruptly.
La música se detuvo repentinamente y todos guardaron silencio.
The music stopped all of a sudden and everyone went silent.
The '-mente' ending
In Spanish, adding '-mente' to the end of a word is just like adding '-ly' in English. It turns a descriptive word into a word that explains how an action is performed.
Don't forget the 'a'
Mistake: “Él paró repentinmente.”
Correction: Él paró repentinamente.
bruscamente
/broos-kah-MEN-teh//brus.kaˈmen.te/
Examples
El conductor frenó bruscamente para evitar el gato.
The driver braked abruptly to avoid the cat.
La temperatura bajó bruscamente al atardecer.
The temperature dropped sharply at sunset.
El avión cambió de dirección bruscamente.
The plane changed direction suddenly.
Creating '-ly' words
To make this word, Spanish takes the adjective 'brusca' (abrupt) and adds '-mente'. It's just like adding '-ly' in English.
Where to put it
In a sentence, this word usually goes right after the action word (the verb) to describe how that action happened.
Using the wrong 'o' or 'a'
Mistake: “bruscomente”
Correction: bruscamente. When adding '-mente', you must always use the feminine version of the adjective (the one ending in 'a').
Suddenness vs. Abruptness
Related Translations
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