radio
“radio” means “radio” in Spanish. It has 3 different meanings depending on context:
radio
Also: radio station
📝 In Action
Me gusta escuchar la radio en el coche.
A1I like to listen to the radio in the car.
¿Puedes encender la radio? Quiero oír las noticias.
A2Can you turn on the radio? I want to hear the news.
Mi abuela todavía tiene una radio antigua que funciona perfectamente.
B1My grandmother still has an old radio that works perfectly.
radius
Also: spoke, range
📝 In Action
El radio de la Tierra es de aproximadamente 6,371 kilómetros.
B2The Earth's radius is approximately 6,371 kilometers.
Necesitamos un círculo con un radio de cinco centímetros.
B1We need a circle with a radius of five centimeters.
La antena wifi tiene un radio de alcance de 20 metros.
B2The Wi-Fi antenna has a range of 20 meters.
Se rompió un radio de la rueda de mi bicicleta.
B1A spoke on my bicycle wheel broke.
radius
Also: radium
📝 In Action
El esquiador se cayó y se fracturó el radio.
B2The skier fell and fractured his radius.
El radio es el hueso del antebrazo que conecta el codo con la muñeca del lado del pulgar.
C1The radius is the forearm bone that connects the elbow to the wrist on the thumb side.
Marie Curie es famosa por su trabajo con el radio y el polonio.
C1Marie Curie is famous for her work with radium and polonium.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: radio
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence is correct for talking about listening to music?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin word 'radius', which meant 'spoke of a wheel', 'staff', or 'ray of light'. You can see how this one idea of a 'ray' branched out: a 'ray' from a broadcast tower gives us 'radio' (the broadcast), a 'ray' from the center of a circle gives us 'radius' (geometry), and a ray-like bone in the arm also became 'radius'.
First recorded: Early 20th century for the broadcast meaning, much earlier for the others.
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is 'radio' sometimes 'la radio' (feminine) and sometimes 'el radio' (masculine)?
It's because they are technically two different words that happen to be spelled the same! 'La radio' (feminine) is a shortening of the original term 'la radiodifusión' (radio broadcasting). Because the full word was feminine, the short version stayed feminine. 'El radio' (masculine) comes directly from the Latin word 'radius', which was masculine, and it kept its gender for meanings like radius, spoke, and the bone.
Is it 'un radio' or 'una radio' for the physical device?
Great question! It's most commonly 'la radio' for the device, but you might hear both 'un radio' or 'una radio' depending on the region and the speaker. The safest and most standard choice is to treat the device as feminine: 'una radio bonita'.