vejiga natatoria
/beˌxiɡa nataˈtoɾja/feminine
The English phrase swim bladder is vejiga natatoria in Spanish.
The term refers to the organ found in fish.
Meaning: fish organ (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of vejiga (bladder) and natatoria (swimming/pertaining to swimming).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Argentina, people commonly refer to the swim bladder as la vejiga natatoria. In Colombia, vejiga natatoria is used to refer to the swim bladder. In Mexico, la vejiga del pez is sometimes used informally to mean the fish's bladder.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun is feminine, so it takes the feminine article la for the swim bladder. To form the plural swim bladders, both the noun and the adjective must change to their plural versions: vejigas natatorias.
How do you pronounce it?
/beˌxiɡa nataˈtoɾja/
Did you know?
- In various Spanish dialects, vejiga can be used metaphorically to describe something that is inflated or swollen like a balloon.
- The word vejiga shares a common ancestor with the English word 'vesicle', which is used in biology to describe small fluid-filled sacs.
- Spanish uses the same word vejiga for both the swim bladder of a fish and the urinary bladder of a mammal.
Examples in context
- Los peces tienen una vejiga natatoria para controlar su flotabilidad.Fish have a swim bladder to control their buoyancy.
- El órgano responsable de la flotabilidad de los peces es la vesícula natatoria.The organ responsible for the buoyancy of fish is the swim bladder.
- Sin la vejiga de los peces, se les dificultaría controlar su posición en el agua.Without fish swim bladders, they would find it difficult to control their position in the water.
- La vejiga natatoria ayuda al pez a flotar.The swim bladder helps the fish to float.
- El científico estudió la vejiga natatoria del ejemplar.The scientist studied the specimen's swim bladder.
- Esa especie tiene una vejiga natatoria muy grande.That species has a very large swim bladder.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are studying biology in a classroom.
- LucíaMateo, ¿qué es la vejiga natatoria?Mateo, what is the swim bladder?
- MateoEs el órgano que controla la flotabilidad.It is the organ that controls buoyancy.
- LucíaEntonces, ¿todos los peces la tienen?So, do all fish have it?
- MateoNo, algunas especies no tienen vejiga natatoria.No, some species do not have a swim bladder.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “swim bladder” translations and entries vejiga natatoria, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries vejiga, CC BY-SA 4.0.
