How do you say “A basket case” in Spanish?
The closest natural Spanish equivalent is estar hecho un manojo de nervios, which literally means “to be made into a bundle of nerves”. English speakers use a basket case to mean someone unable to cope because of worry or distress. A natural match for being extremely nervous. It does not cover every kind of distress suggested by “basket case”. Register: informal. Usage frequency: common.
Closest natural Spanish
estar hecho un manojo de nervios
/esˈtaɾ ˈetʃo un maˈnoxo ðe ˈneɾβjos/
- Literal meaning
- “to be made into a bundle of nerves”
- Register
- informal
- How often it's used
- common
- Equivalence
Close equivalent
88 out of 100
What a native Spanish speaker would actually say
“Estoy hecho un manojo de nervios” stresses how anxious you feel. A woman would say “estoy hecha”.
The phrase suits waiting for news or facing a performance. It is not a translation for an economy described as a basket case.
How close is the meaning?
- Meaning4 out of 5
- Tone4 out of 5
- Context4 out of 5
- Literal similarity1 out of 5
These ratings are editorial approximations, not measurements.
In context
English
Before the audition, I was a basket case and could barely eat.
Spanish
Antes de la audición, estaba hecho un manojo de nervios y apenas podía comer.
English
Waiting for news left him a complete basket case.
Spanish
La espera de noticias lo dejó hecho un manojo de nervios.
Related expressions
Last updated 2026-11-04