tiburón ballena
/tibuˌɾom baˈʝena/masculine
The English phrase whale shark is translated into Spanish as tiburón ballena.
The term is used to refer to the marine species Rhincodon typus.
Meaning: Rhincodon typus (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
Pez Dama is an informal way to refer to the whale shark in some Spanish-speaking regions.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase is masculine and uses the masculine article el. When pluralizing the phrase to say whale sharks, only the noun changes to tiburones, while the modifier ballena remains singular, resulting in tiburones ballena.
How do you pronounce it?
/tibuˌɾom baˈʝena/
Did you know?
Examples in context
- Conocí a un experto en fauna marina y me contó muchas curiosidades sobre el tiburón ballena.I met a marine fauna expert and he told me many curiosities about the whale shark.
- El tiburón ballena es un animal enorme.The whale shark is an enormous animal.
- Vimos un tiburón ballena en el océano.We saw a whale shark in the ocean.
- Me gustaría nadar con un tiburón ballena.I would like to swim with a whale shark.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are looking at a nature documentary.
- Mateo¿Es ese un tiburón ballena?Is that a whale shark?
- LucíaSí, es un tiburón ballena muy grande.Yes, it is a very large whale shark.
- MateoEs increíble verlo en la televisión.It is incredible to see it on television.
- LucíaEs una criatura maravillosa, Mateo.It is a wonderful creature, Mateo.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “whale shark” translations and entries tiburón ballena, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ballena, tiburón, CC BY-SA 4.0.
