coma

noun KOH-mah Rare

Also means

comma

Usage Note

Coma is a gender-distinguishing pair: el coma (masculine) is the medical state of unconsciousness, while la coma (feminine) is the punctuation mark (comma). This is a classic deceptive gender pair that confuses learners. Estar en coma means 'to be in a coma'; poner una coma means 'to put a comma'. Context and the article are the only differentiators.

Examples

"El paciente lleva dos semanas en coma."

Natural Translation

The patient has been in a coma for two weeks.

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