apuros

Apuros is the plural form of the noun apuro in Spanish and Portuguese, where it denotes difficulties, predicaments, or urgent, troublesome situations. The term is widely used in both languages across various regions, including Spain, Latin America, and Portugal. While the singular apuro can refer to a single difficult situation, apuros often refers to a general state of trouble or a set of challenges.

In Spanish, apuros frequently appears in phrases like estar en apuros (to be in trouble), sacar a alguien de apuros (to help someone out of trouble), or atravesar apuros económicos (to go through financial difficulties). It can also convey a sense of embarrassment or tightness in a social or practical context, depending on the sentence. The expression sin apuros means without trouble or without difficulty.

In Portuguese, apuro similarly signals hardship or urgency. Common usages include passar por apuros (to go through hardships), estar em apuros (to be in trouble), and tirar alguém de apuros (to save someone from trouble). The term is common in everyday speech and can describe financial strain, personal emergencies, or challenging situations in work or travel.

Etymology is shared between the two languages, with apuro likely having older roots in Latin-derived vocabularies that evolved into the Iberian languages. The word remains a versatile and neutral term for describing difficulties, dangers, or pressures in both Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking contexts.