kril
/ˈkɾil/masculine
The Spanish word for krill is kril.
The term refers to small marine crustaceans. The formal way to say krill in Spanish is krill.
Meaning: small marine crustacean (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina and Uruguay, the term kril is used to refer to krill and quisquilla antártica is used to refer to krill.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈkɾil/
Did you know?
- The Norwegian origin of the word, which means 'fish fry', is preserved in the Spanish spelling of kril. This creates a linguistic chain from a Scandinavian term to a Spanish word used in the Southern Ocean.
- The Spanish word kril is an example of a loanword that retains the letter 'k', which is rare in Spanish and usually only appears in words of foreign origin.
- In the specific context of Antarctic research in Argentina and Uruguay, you might hear the phrase quisquilla antártica instead of kril. This uses the word quisquilla, which usually refers to small shrimp in a culinary context.
Examples in context
- El kril es la base de la cadena alimentaria.Krill is the base of the food chain.
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are visiting a marine aquarium.
- DanielMira cuántos crustáceos hay en el tanque.Look how many crustaceans are in the tank.
- LucíaCreo que todo eso es kril.I think all of that is krill.
- DanielSon muy pequeños, casi no se ven.They are very small, you can barely see them.
- LucíaPero son la base de la cadena alimenticia.But they are the base of the food chain.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “krill” translations and entries kril, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries kril, CC BY-SA 4.0.
