Spanish Conversation · Level 116
60 words
Spanish word
cañón
Pronunciation
IPA/kaˈɲon/
Meaning
- masculine nouncanyon
Example
Visitamos el cañón durante las vacaciones.
We visited the canyon during our vacation.
More examples
La profundidad del cañón sorprendió a todos.
The depth of the canyon surprised everyone.
Core concept
Narrow, steep-sided gorge carved by a river.
Common phrases
profundidad del cañón
depth of the canyon
camping en el cañón
camping in the canyon
visitar el cañón
visit the canyon
Similar words
barranco: Steep, narrow ravine that heavy rain and small streams carve out.
garganta: Tight, steep-sided valley between mountains or cliffs where a stream commonly runs.
Definition in Spanish
Depresión terrestre muy profunda y estrecha con paredes casi verticales, formada habitualmente por la acción de un río.
Word origin
From Latin canna 'reed, tube', entering Spanish through Romance forms for a big tube or cannon and later applied metaphorically to a tube-like river gorge.
Usage tips
- English canyon corresponds to Spanish cañón, but the English cannon is a false friend, so context words (for example visitar el cañón or bajar al cañón) identify the landform meaning.
Other meanings
- cannonnoun
- gun barrelnoun