A high quality simple colorful storybook illustration of a large gray elephant standing on green grass under a blue sky.

elefante

eh-leh-FAHN-teh

nounmA1

elephant?The large animal

Also:something huge or clumsy?Figurative use

📝 In Action

El elefante es el animal terrestre más grande del mundo.

The elephant is the largest land animal in the world.

Mi hijo quiere un juguete de un elefante gris.

My son wants a gray elephant toy.

Se movía con la gracia de un elefante en una tienda de porcelana.

He moved with the grace of a bull in a china shop (literally: an elephant in a china shop).

Word Connections

Synonyms

paquidermo (pachyderm (technical term))

Common Collocations

trompa de elefante – elephant trunk
manada de elefantes – herd of elephants

Idioms & Expressions

tener memoria de elefante – to have a very good memory

💡 Grammar Points

Fixed Gender

Even though the word ends in '-e,' 'elefante' is always a masculine noun ('el elefante'). To specify a female animal, you add an '-a' to the end: 'la elefanta'.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Confusing Gender

Mistake: "Using 'la elefante' for a female elephant."

Correction: The correct term for a female elephant is 'la elefanta,' though the general species name remains 'el elefante'.

⭐ Usage Tips

Describing Clumsiness

Spanish often uses 'elefante' in the figurative sense of being clumsy or huge, similar to the English idiom 'elephant in the room' (but Spanish often uses other phrases for that specific idiom).

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: elefante

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence correctly uses the gender of 'elefante'?

📚 More Resources

Word Family

elefanta(female elephant) - noun

elefantito(baby elephant (diminutive)) - noun

Frequently Asked Questions

If I see a female elephant, should I call it 'elefante' or 'elefanta'?

You can use 'elefante' to refer to the species in general, but if you want to specify the female animal, the correct and common word is 'elefanta'.