río
/ˈrio/
The phrase rio in Spanish is a conjugated form of the verb to laugh.
Which one should you use?
It is important to distinguish between río and rio. The word with an accent on the 'i' (río) means 'river', whereas the word without an accent (rio) is a conjugated form of the verb 'reír' (to laugh).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈrio/
Did you know?
- The word río shares a distant ancestor with the English word 'river', both tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *h₃reyH- meaning 'to flow'.
- The word río descends from the Classical Latin rīvus, which specifically referred to a 'brook' or 'small stream' rather than a large river.
- Spanish has a specific word riberas to describe the banks of a río, which is distinct from the word costa used for the coast of an ocean.
Examples in context
- ¿Alguna vez has ido a Río?Have you ever been in Rio?This sentence is useful for asking about travel to Río.Tatoeba #10671415 by Shishir, translation #7477068 by Ricardo14
- Llovió mucho en Río de Janeiro.It rained a lot in Rio de Janeiro.This sentence is useful for mentioning rainfall in Río de Janeiro.Tatoeba #4774133 by DarkHollow, translation #4773810 by Germic
- ¿Jamás has oído de Río de Janeiro?Haven't you ever heard of Rio de Janeiro?This sentence is useful for asking if someone has heard of Río de Janeiro.Tatoeba #1276063 by marcelostockle, translation #870591 by CN
- El río Amazonas es el más caudaloso del mundo.The Amazon River is the most voluminous in the world.
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry río, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries río, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
