How to Say "Circle" in Spanish

círculo

/ˈθiɾkulo/masculine

To say circle in Spanish, meaning the geometric shape, use círculo.

círculo names the round shape and can also mean a social group. It appears in set phrases such as círculo vicioso, vicious circle.

Meaning: geometry: set of points that are equally distant from a center (noun)

Which one should you use?

círculo with an accent is the noun. circulo without the accent is a form of the verb circular, meaning I circle or I move around.

círculo is masculine. The plural is círculos, and the accent stays on the first syllable.

círculo is pronounced /ˈθiɾkulo/, with the stress on the first syllable.

Do not drop the accent. Without it, the word reads as a verb instead of the noun.

In Spanish, the word círculo refers to the boundary or the line itself, while the word disco is often used to describe the filled-in area of a circle.
The Spanish word círculo shares a root with the English word 'circus'. Both come from the Latin circus, which originally referred to a circular arena or track.
A 'roundabout' in Spanish is commonly called a glorieta or rotonda, rather than using a derivative of círculo.

Traza un pequeño círculo.
Draw a small circle.
círculo is the object of Traza, draw.
Tatoeba #1292143 by marcelostockle, translation #267541 by CK
Amigos, hagamos un círculo.
Friends, let's make a circle.
un círculo with hagamos means let's make a circle.
Tatoeba #3778481 by cueyayotl, translation #6005870 by AlanF_US
Entramos a un círculo vicioso.
We are entering a vicious circle.
círculo vicioso is the Spanish for vicious circle.
Tatoeba #1732383 by marcelostockle, translation #2119636 by frecklejuice7
El círculo tiene un radio de seis centímetros.
The circle has a radius of six centimeters.
Por favor, dibuje un círculo alrededor del número correcto.
Please draw a circle around the correct number.
Ese dibujo tiene un lindo circlito alrededor del sol.
That drawing has a cute little circle around the sun.
¡Vamos a jugar a encontrar el circlito oculto en la imagen!
Let's play finding the hidden little circle in the picture!
Eso no es un círculo perfecto, parece más una rodaja de naranja.
That's not a perfect circle, it looks more like an orange slice.
33 more sentences on Tatoeba

Sofía and Daniel are studying geometry together.

Sofía

Daniel, ¿puedes dibujar un círculo aquí?
Daniel, can you draw a circle here?
Daniel

Sí, pero no tengo un compás.
Yes, but I don't have a compass.
Sofía

Usa una tapa para hacer el círculo.
Use a lid to make the circle.
Daniel

Está bien, lo haré ahora mismo.
All right, I'll do it right now.

Sources

Wiktionary, “circle” translations and entries círculo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries círculo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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