ardilla
/aɾˈdiʝa/feminine
The Spanish word for squirrel is ardilla.
The term ardilla is the most common and straightforward way to refer to this rodent in Spanish.
Meaning: rodent (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
ardilla is a feminine noun. When you want to say "a squirrel," you must use the feminine indefinite article una ardilla instead of the masculine uno. To talk about more than one, the plural form is ardillas.
How do you pronounce it?
/aɾˈdiʝa/
Did you know?
- The word ardilla is actually a double diminutive. It comes from the older word arda combined with the suffix -illa, effectively meaning 'little squirrel'.
- In the wild, the squirrel species found in Spain is the ardilla roja, or red squirrel, which is significantly smaller than the grey squirrels common in North America.
- While 'squirrel' is a neutral term in English, the Spanish ardilla is a feminine noun regardless of the animal's sex. To specify a male squirrel, you must explicitly say ardilla macho.
Examples in context
- Mi gato mató una ardilla.My cat killed a squirrel.Tatoeba #1189751 by Shishir, translation #681296 by Source_VOA
- Hoy vi una ardilla albina.I saw an albino squirrel today.Tatoeba #2718378 by caiser, translation #2718071 by Hybrid
- La ardilla saltó de una rama.The squirrel jumped off a branch.Tatoeba #10465149 by Seael, translation #6947984 by Hybrid
- Siempre veo ardillas en el parque.I always see squirrels in the park.
- Las ardillas son animales juguetones y ágiles.Squirrels are playful and agile animals.
- 39 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are walking through a park.
- Sofía¡Mira, Daniel! ¡Hay una ardilla allí!Look, Daniel! There is a squirrel there!
- DanielEs muy rápida, no puedo seguirla con la vista.It is very fast, I can't follow it with my eyes.
- SofíaLa ardilla se escondió en el árbol.The squirrel hid in the tree.
- DanielSí, parece que se fue a descansar.Yes, it looks like it went to rest.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “squirrel” translations and entries ardilla, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ardilla, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
