How do you say "floppy" in Spanish?

Question

Hola--

I was hoping someone could help me translate the adjective "floppy" into Spanish. The results I've found online with translators haven't been sufficient to properly convey the meaning I'm looking for. I'm hoping to get a translation of the word "floppy" as in "The baby was floppy when held by the caregivers."

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Hi, Maureen, I have a couple of questions.

Am I correct that you are not referring to "floppy baby syndrome"? If you are, I located the translation by doing a "translation to Spanish 'floppy baby syndrome'" on google.

If you just mean that the baby was floppy during that specific time period, the only word(s) I can think of are "flojo" or "caído", but I'm not sure those would communicate your intention.

Possibly thinking of a synonym in English and then coming up with a translation to Spanish for that word would be helpful. Do you mean "falling over"? Or do you mean just "tilting"? Do you mean "not holding his head up properly"?

I'm sorry I can't help you more.

Thank you for your very thorough answer to my question! I am not referring to "floppy baby syndrome"; rather, I am trying to translate something for use in autism screening. This part of the translation is particularly tricky because... - Maureen-Early, JUN 16, 2010

...on the materials I'm working with, "floppy" is a stand-alone word, so "flojo" would no doubt be taken to mean "lazy" and "caido" as "fallen." Also, since I'm talking in general, I'm sure particular details of the floppiness would vary btwn babies. - Maureen-Early, JUN 16, 2010

Answer 2

Maureen,

Thanks for your comments on my reply.

I have done a google search on "síntomas del autismo" and have come up with numerous hits. Unfortunately, I have to leave my house soon and I don't have time to skim through these articles for an equivalent of "floppy", but I imagine it would be in there somewhere.

If not, I am thinking that "weak muscle tone" or "underdeveloped muscle tone" is a possibility, since that is the precipitating cause of the floppiness.

This is the sort of thing that I enjoy researching; if you have no resolution by later this evening, I will continue to work on it.

Mountaingirl

Answer 3

I would go with fláccido (limp, flaccid), or even aguado (which might relate more to an item being limp, rather than a baby). I feel that flaccid is more representative of the body's condition than floppy.

Anthony

Anthony, thank you so much for your response! Do you think the average-joe (or perhaps average-jose) hispanic person in the United States would know what "fláccido" means? I don't think of "flaccid" as a commonly known word in English, and the document.. - Maureen-Early, JUN 18, 2010

...is meant to be read by members of the general hispanic population. Again, thank you for your help! - Maureen-Early, JUN 18, 2010

Answer 4

@ Mountain Girl - I was thinking that too but that term most commonly seems to crop up when referring to the 'floppy baby syndrome' - still here's the English equivalent.

Hypotonia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hypotonia is a state of low muscle tone[1] (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle), often involving reduced muscle strength. Hypotonia is not a specific medical disorder, but a potential manifestation of many different diseases and disorders that affect motor nerve control by the brain or muscle strength.

I wonder though if one of the words given above is less specific and can be used as floppy for babies, rabbits ears or anything else? I can't seem to find which one it would be as they usually carry something more along the lines of hanging or loose.

Anyone??

Yes, I know. As I thought about it though, I am wondering if "floppy baby syndrome" is really what we are dealing with here, even though it's not called that specifically. - mountaingirl123, JUN 16, 2010

Thanks for the answers and comments! It's neat to see you guys engaged in this tough translation, and I appreciate your input! I don't believe "floppy baby syndrome" has anything to do with autism. Individuals with autism physically look like... - Maureen-Early, JUN 18, 2010

...neurotypical people do, as do individuals with bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other psychiatric disorders. However, one of the main differences in autism is that the individuals have social impairment, and for many, this starts in infancy with an... - Maureen-Early, JUN 18, 2010

aversion to or an indifference to being held. I think that's what the materials I'm translating are trying to get at (although I didn't write the original so I can't be sure). - Maureen-Early, JUN 18, 2010

Answer 5

Muareen,

I think I found it on wordreference.com. A poster from Spain answered a very similar question and he said that it is called "bebé hipotónico". The English speaking poster has asked if "bebé flácido" would be correct, and the native speaker from Spain came back with the "hipotónico" answer.

I also searched on google.com.mx and found many valuable articles about autism that may be of interest to you as far as vocabulary is concerned, but none of them addressed the floppy baby question.

I truly hope that this helps.

Answer 6

Hi,

How about "blandito"?

Answer 7

Consider a synonym for floppy (limp?) and know that sometimes in translating you may have to use a phrase to convey the meaning of a word in another language.

Answer 8

Maybe flojo?

Answer 9

How about "cansino(a)," which means listless or lethargic.