chirivía
/t͡ʃiɾiˈbia/feminine
The Spanish word for parsnip is chirivía.
chirivía refers to the edible root of Pastinaca sativa.
Meaning: the edible root of Pastinaca sativa (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of chirivía is chirivías.
How do you pronounce it?
/tʃiɾiˈbia/
Did you know?
- Because chirivías are not common in many Spanish regions, some speakers might mistake them for a type of zanahoria blanca or 'white carrot'.
- The word chirivía shares a linguistic ancestor with the word alcaravea, which means 'caraway'.
- Despite being a common vegetable in many parts of Europe, 'parsnip' is not a staple in many traditional Spanish diets, making chirivía a more niche term in local gastronomy.
Examples in context
- La chirivía es un vegetal de raíz.The parsnip is a root vegetable.
- La chirivía es un vegetal de invierno.The parsnip is a winter vegetable.
- Compré una chirivía en el mercado.I bought a parsnip at the market.
- ¿Te gusta el sabor de la chirivía?Do you like the taste of parsnip?
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are grocery shopping.
- AlejandroMaría, ¿compramos una chirivía?María, shall we buy a parsnip?
- MaríaSí, me gusta mucho la chirivía.Yes, I like parsnips very much.
- AlejandroLa pondré en la sopa.I will put it in the soup.
- MaríaPerfecto, Alejandro.Perfect, Alejandro.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “parsnip” translations and entries chirivía, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries chirivía, CC BY-SA 4.0.
