Standard Lemma guide

coypu

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈkɔɪ.pu/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A large, crepuscular, semiaquatic rodent (Myocastor coypus) resembling a large rat, having bright orange-yellow incisors, native to South America and introduced to Europe, Asia and North America, valued for its fur in eastern Europe and central Asia and considered a pest elsewhere.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nutria

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rodent, mammal, vertebrate, animal, organism, gnawer, critter, creature

2

noun

Meaning 2

aquatic South American rodent resembling a small beaver; bred for its fur

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nutria, Myocastor coypus

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rodent, gnawer

History

Etymology

From Spanish coipú, from Mapudungun koypu.

Across languages

Translations

37 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: ну́трыя (nútryja) — Myocastor coypus
  • Bulgarian: нутрия (nutrija) — Myocastor coypus
  • Chamicuro: chiklo'ti — Myocastor coypus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 海狸鼠 (hǎilíshǔ) — Myocastor coypus
  • Czech: nutrie — Myocastor coypus
  • Danish: sumpbæver — Myocastor coypus
  • Dutch: beverrat — Myocastor coypus
  • Esperanto: kojpo — Myocastor coypus
  • Finnish: nutria — Myocastor coypus
  • French: ragondin — Myocastor coypus
  • German: Biberratte — Myocastor coypus
  • German: Nutria — Myocastor coypus
  • German: Sumpfbiber — Myocastor coypus
  • German: Schweifbiber — Myocastor coypus
  • German: Schweifratte — Myocastor coypus
  • German: Coypu — Myocastor coypus
  • Italian: nutria — Myocastor coypus
  • Japanese: ヌートリア (nūtoria) — Myocastor coypus
  • Korean: 뉴트리아 (nyuteuria) — Myocastor coypus
  • Lithuanian: nutrija — Myocastor coypus
  • Macedonian: нутрија (nutrija) — Myocastor coypus
  • Mapudungun: koypu — Myocastor coypus
  • Polish: nutria — Myocastor coypus
  • Portuguese: ratão-do-banhado — Myocastor coypus
  • Portuguese: ratão-d'água — Myocastor coypus
  • Portuguese: nútria — Myocastor coypus
  • Portuguese: caxingui — Myocastor coypus
  • Romanian: nutrie — Myocastor coypus
  • Russian: ну́трия (nútrija) — Myocastor coypus
  • Slovak: nutria — Myocastor coypus
  • Spanish: coipo — Myocastor coypus
  • Spanish: coipu — Myocastor coypus
  • Thai: นากหญ้า (nâak-yâa) — Myocastor coypus
  • Turkish: koypu — Myocastor coypus
  • Turkish: su maymunu — Myocastor coypus
  • Turkish: bataklık kunduzu — Myocastor coypus
  • Ukrainian: ну́трія (nútrija) — Myocastor coypus