hipopótamo
/ipoˈpotamo/masculine
The Spanish word for hippopotamus is hipopótamo.
hipopótamo is the most universally recognized term for the African mammal in Spanish.
Meaning: African mammal (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To form the plural, add -s to the end of the word to get hipopótamos.
How do you pronounce it?
/ipoˈpotamo/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly include a second 'p' in the middle of the word as seen in the English spelling. However, in Spanish there is only one 'p' in the middle of hipopótamo.
Did you know?
- The word hipopótamo is a 'learned borrowing', meaning it was adopted directly from Latin and Greek rather than evolving naturally through spoken Vulgar Latin.
- If you were to call the animal a 'river horse' in Spanish using its literal Greek roots, you would be using the exact logic behind hipopótamo.
- In Spanish, the stress falls heavily on the third-to-last syllable, the 'pó' in hipopótamo, because it is an esdrújula word.
Examples in context
- Vi un hipopótamo en el zoo.I saw a hippopotamus at the zoo.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use hipopótamo when describing seeing one at a zoo.Tatoeba #4988615 by swyter, translation #4986473 by Airvian
- Un hipopótamo puede atacar a un humano.A hippopotamus can attack a human.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use hipopótamo when discussing the ability of the animal to attack.Tatoeba #10253691 by ecorralest101, translation #10253690 by LimeGreenTeknii
- Tom le dijo a Mary que pensaba que un hipopótamo podía correr a una velocidad de unos 30 kilómetros por hora.Tom told Mary that he thought a hippopotamus could run at a speed of about 30 kilometers per hour.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use hipopótamo when discussing the speed of the animal.Tatoeba #1262181 by Shishir, translation #1261802 by CK
- El hipopótamo es un animal impresionanteThe hippopotamus is an impressive animal
- El hipopótamo común habita en las zonas de África subsaharianaThe common hippopotamus inhabits sub-Saharan African areas
Example conversation
A couple is watching a nature documentary on TV.
- María¿Viste ese hipopótamo en la pantalla?Did you see that hippopotamus on the screen?
- MateoSí, es un hipopótamo muy grande.Yes, it is a very large hippopotamus.
- MaríaParece que el hipopótamo tiene mucha fuerza.It looks like the hippopotamus is very strong.
- MateoEs verdad, ese hipopótamo es impresionante.It's true, that hippopotamus is impressive.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hippopotamus” translations and entries hipopótamo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hipopótamo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
