Eating popcorn is an all time favorite snack at the movies. You can have it salty or sweet or you can even string it as a Christmas decoration or packaging material. But as simple as it sounds when it comes to a Spanish translation it is not easy.
Palomitas de maíz is the most common Spanish term for popcorn and is used in Mexico as well as other countries. You can simply say palomitas. The literal translation of the Spanish word palomitas de maíz is “little corn doves”. If you are looking to say popcorn in a country but aren’t sure of the correct local word to use, try palomitas de maíz.”
Spanish for Popcorn Infographic
Generic Spanish translation for POPCORN
1. palomitas de maíz: Mexico
2. rosetas: This is another generic term for popcorn. The word “roseta” is used by the Royal Spanish Academy to define the word palomitas.
More Ways to Say POPCORN in Spanish
You might get around with palomitas or rosetas, but if you travel to the following countries you will hear these Spanish words for popcorn:
3. pochoclos: Argentina
4. cabritas: Chile
5. pororó: Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay
6. pop: Uruguay
7. cotufas: Venezuela
8. crispetas: Colombia. According to the Diccionario de Americanismos, the word crispetas is considered obsolete. This term is also used in Colombia and Nicaragua to refer to the sweet popcorn made with panela or unrefined sugar. A similar candy made with popcorn in form of a ball is called alboroto in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia (alborotos) and Costa Rica.
9. cocaleca: Dominican Republic. Also spelled cocaleka.
10. maíz pira: Colombia
11. poporopo: Guatemala
12. canchitas or canchas: Peru
13. canguil: Ecuador
14. gallitos: Venezuela (Northwestern)
15. maíz tote: Colombia
16. millo: Panama
17. rositas de maíz: Cuba and Dominican Republic
18. pipoca: Bolivia and Argentina (northeast). This is a Portuguese word.
Countries that use the English word POPCORN in Spanish
The English word popcorn (and variations like popcon and posco) is commonly used in the following Latin American countries: Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Bolivia and Uruguay.
Do you know any other Spanish words for popcorn?
Check out these other articles about the Spanish Language.
