Spanish word

riñón

Pronunciation

IPA/riˈɲon/

Meaning

  • masculine nounkidney

Example

Me duele el riñón.

My kidney hurts.

Illustration for riñón (kidney)

More examples

El médico sospecha un cálculo en el riñón.

The doctor suspects a kidney stone.

Core concept

Bean-shaped organ that filters blood and produces urine.

Common phrases

  • dolor de riñón

    kidney pain

  • cálculo en el riñón

    kidney stone

  • trasplante de riñón

    kidney transplant

Similar words

corazón: Muscular organ in the chest that pumps blood throughout the body.
estómago: Muscular sac in the upper abdomen that temporarily stores food and digests it with gastric juices.
pulmón: Spongy organ in the chest that takes in oxygen from air and releases carbon dioxide.
vejiga: Hollow sac in the pelvis that stores urine until it is expelled.

Definition in Spanish

Órgano interno con forma de frijol que participa en la depuración de la sangre y en la producción de orina.

Word origin

Derives from Latin ren, renes and develops through Romance sound changes in which n palatalizes to ñ, with cognates such as French rein and Italian rene.

Usage tips

  • The letter ñ represents a single sound like the 'ny' in canyon and the tilde is required for the correct spelling.

Related words

  • riñonerafanny packnoun

Word lists with this word