ñu
/ɲu/from spelling rules
The English word "wildebeest" is translated into Spanish as ñu.
ñu refers to the large African antelope known for migrating in huge herds. When you need to specify the blue wildebeest, you can use the phrase El ñu azul.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɲu/
Did you know?
- The Spanish ñu follows a complex linguistic journey from the Khoekhoe language of Southern Africa through Dutch or German before reaching Spanish.
- The Spanish word ñu is a rare example of a word that begins with the letter ñ, which almost always appears in the middle of words in Spanish.
- Because ñu is a very short word, it is often used in Spanish as a playful example when teaching children how to pronounce the ñ sound.
Examples in context
- En la reserva natural, pudimos observar manadas de ñus cruzando la llanura.In the nature reserve, we were able to observe herds of wildebeests crossing the plains.
- El ñu corre por la sabana.The wildebeest runs across the savanna.
- Vimos un ñu en el safari.We saw a wildebeest on the safari.
- La manada de ñu es enorme.The wildebeest herd is huge.
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are watching a nature documentary on TV.
- Alejandro¿Qué animal es ese, María?What animal is that, María?
- MaríaEs un ñu africano.It is an African wildebeest.
- AlejandroEs muy impresionante.It is very impressive.
- MaríaSí, el ñu es muy rápido.Yes, the wildebeest is very fast.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ñu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
