roncar
/ronˈkaɾ/
To snore in Spanish is roncar.
The verb roncar is used to describe the act of breathing with harsh noises during sleep. If you want to refer to the act or the noise of snoring as a noun, you can use ronquido, jipío or jipido.
Meaning: breathe during sleep with harsh noises (verb)
Which one should you use?
While roncar is the verb meaning to snore, the noun for a single snore is ronquido.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
In the present indicative, the third-person singular form is ronca (he/she snores). In the preterite tense, the first-person singular form is ronqué (I snored).
How do you pronounce it?
/ronˈkaɾ/
When do people say it?
You may hear the humorous expression Tener un aserradero to describe someone who snores excessively loud.
Did you know?
- Because roncar can mean both 'to snore' and 'to boast', a sentence like está roncando could mean someone is either asleep or bragging, depending on the context.
- The Greek root of roncar, rhonchus, is also the source of the English medical term 'rhonchi', which describes the rattling sounds heard in a patient's chest.
- In some Spanish dialects, the act of snoring is jokingly referred to as tocar la corneta, which means 'to play the horn'.
Examples in context
- Tom empezó a roncar.Tom started to snore.This sentence is useful for seeing the verb roncar in context.Tatoeba #2789810 by nancy, translation #2646857 by CK
- Mi esposo ronca durante la nocheMy husband snores during the night
- ¿Él suele roncar cuando duerme?Does he usually snore when he sleeps?
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are talking about their night's sleep.
- ElenaJavier, anoche no pude dormir nada.Javier, I couldn't sleep at all last night.
- Javier¿Por qué? ¿Hacía mucho ruido fuera?Why? Was it very noisy outside?
- ElenaNo, es que empezaste a roncar muy fuerte.No, it's just that you started to snore very loudly.
- JavierLo siento, Elena, no sabía que lo hacía.I'm sorry, Elena, I didn't know I did that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “snore” translations and entries roncar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries roncar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
