Spanish Conversation · Level 37
74 words
Spanish word
elefante
Pronunciation
IPA/eleˈfante/
Meaning
- masculine nounelephant
Example
El elefante bebe agua.
The elephant drinks water.
More examples
En la reunión nadie mencionó el elefante en la habitación.
At the meeting nobody mentioned the elephant in the room.
Core concept
Huge tusked land mammal with a long flexible trunk and thick skin.
Common phrases
tener memoria de elefante
have an elephant's memory
el elefante en la habitación
the elephant in the room
cría de elefante
elephant calf
Similar words
vaca: Large domesticated herbivore kept for milk and meat.
caballo: Large domesticated animal often ridden or used to carry loads.
jirafa: Very tall herbivore with an extremely long neck for browsing high leaves.
hipopótamo: Very large herbivore that spends much of its time in water and near rivers.
Definition in Spanish
Mamífero terrestre de gran tamaño, con trompa larga, colmillos y piel gruesa, que se alimenta principalmente de plantas.
Word origin
Elefante comes from Latin elephantus and ultimately from Greek elephas meaning elephant or ivory.
Usage tips
- The idiom "como un elefante en una cacharrería" compares someone to an elephant to express clumsiness or awkwardness.