cobaya

Spanish

Dos cobayas.

Etymology

Ultimately from Old Tupi saûîasobaîa. Compare Portuguese cobaia.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /koˈbaʝa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): /koˈbaʝa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʝa] (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /koˈbaʃa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /koˈbaʒa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʒa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʝa
• Syllabification: co‧ba‧ya

Noun

cobaya f or m (plural cobayas)

1. (zoology) guinea pig (animal)

   Synonyms: cobayo, conejillo de Indias, curí, cuy

2. (cooking) guinea pig meat, eaten in many parts of Latin America
3. (figuratively) guinea pig (person used for experimentation)

Further reading

• “cobaya”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025