How to Say "Small Intestine" in Spanish

intestino delgado

/intestino delɡado/from spelling rulesmasculine

The English phrase "small intestine" is intestino delgado in Spanish.

Intestino delgado refers to the upper part of the intestine.

Meaning: upper part of the intestine (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of intestino (intestine) and delgado (thin/slender).

Because intestino is a masculine noun, the definite article used is el rather than la.

/intestino delɡado/

While delgado describes the diameter of the intestino delgado, the word corto is used for 'short' in length, highlighting a distinction between girth and distance.
The word delgado is a linguistic relative of the English word 'delicate'. Both share a root in the Latin word dēlicātus, which originally referred to something thin or refined.
While 'delgado' is the standard anatomical term, in some medical contexts or informal slang, you might hear people refer to parts of the digestive tract using the word tripas, which is a much more colloquial way to say 'innards'.

El intestino delgado consiste en tres partes.
The small intestine consists of three parts.
This sentence is useful for describing the components of the intestino delgado.
Tatoeba #2722668 by cueyayotl, translation #2275313 by orcrist
La absorción de la comida ocurre en el intestino delgado.
Food absorption happens in the small intestine.
This sentence describes where food absorption occurs in the intestino delgado.
Tatoeba #10913670 by Eremon, translation #10856504 by Amastan
El anquilostoma es un gusano, parásito del hombre, que se pega al intestino delgado.
Hookworm is a worm, a parasite of man, that sticks to the small intestine.
This sentence mentions a parasite that attaches to the intestino delgado.
Tatoeba #4394758 by saverius, translation #4435309 by LB
Cuando digo 'tripas,' me refiero al intestino delgado
When I say 'tripas,' I mean the small intestine
El médico se enfocó en examinar el intestino delgado.
The doctor focused on examining the small intestine.

A biology student and a teacher are discussing digestion.

Daniel

Sofía, ¿qué función tiene el intestino delgado?
Sofía, what is the function of the small intestine?
Sofía

Absorbe los nutrientes de los alimentos, Daniel.
It absorbs nutrients from food, Daniel.
Daniel

Entonces, el intestino delgado es muy importante.
So, the small intestine is very important.
Sofía

Sí, es fundamental para nuestra salud.
Yes, it is fundamental for our health.

Sources

Wiktionary, “small intestine” translations and entries intestino delgado, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries delgado, intestino, intestino delgado, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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