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What is the difference between 'oreja' and 'oído'?

Both mean ear, no?

fedorqui
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2 Answers2

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Oído: the whole organ or organs of hearing
Oreja: just the "external ear".

This is the definition of ear according to the Webster dictionary:

ear noun \ˈir\
Definition of EAR
1 a : the characteristic vertebrate organ of hearing and equilibrium consisting in the typical mammal of a sound-collecting outer ear separated by the tympanic membrane from a sound-transmitting middle ear that in turn is > separated from a sensory inner ear by membranous fenestrae
b : any of various organs (as of a fish) capable of detecting vibratory motion

2: the external ear of humans and most mammals
[...]

According to this, oído refers to definition 1, and oreja to definition 2.

Community
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MikMik
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    "oído" can also be the sense of hearing. – Javi Feb 08 '12 at 08:26
  • @Javi: Yes, and it's also the participle of oír, and something about firearms and explosives. But regarding the difference between oído and oreja, I think the anatomical meanings are just enough. By the way, oreja also means "sentido de la audición", so in that meaning they're just the same. – MikMik Feb 08 '12 at 08:53
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    RAE can say they are the same, but at least in Spain people uses only "oído" for that meaning. "Los cinco sentidos son vista, olfato, gusto, tacto y oído". – Javi Feb 08 '12 at 09:05
  • I'm not a native speaker, but it feels weird to me to use "oreja" meaning the sense of hearing... – Alenanno Mar 12 '12 at 23:20
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The oído is related to hearing and the inner ear (mis oídos te escuchan); the oreja is the external ear (la oreja de Van Gogh).

David Terrones
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    Welcome, David. This answer is a bit minimalist and redundant, I suppose, but I think the mnemonic, la oreja de Van Gogh, could be helpful for people. – aparente001 Aug 25 '19 at 00:21