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Spanish Loan Words Quiz

Somehow, these Spanish words have sneaked into the English language. Guess what they are.
The definition of the word is the English definition - not necessarily the Spanish one
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: January 27, 2022
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First submittedAugust 7, 2010
Times taken42,257
Average score59.1%
Rating4.13
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Definition
Word
Papier-mâché decoration, filled with candy
Piñata
Liquor made from distilled agave
Tequila
One who takes justice into his own hands
Vigilante
Wide-brimmed hat
Sombrero
Beach hut
Cabana
Donkey
Burro
Naval fleet
Armada
Afternoon rest period
Siesta
Elevated plateau, surrounded by cliffs
Mesa
What the crowd says when the matador
dodges a bull
Olé
Small grocery/liquor store, particularly
in New York City
Bodega
Definition
Word
Ruling council of a military dictatorship
Junta
Cowboy of Argentina and the Pampas
Gaucho
Spanish sausage
Chorizo
Masculine, in an exaggerated way
Macho
Crazy
Loco
Wild or not fully broken horse
Bronco
Public city square
Plaza
Spicy, green chili pepper
Jalapeño
Neighborhood
Barrio
Right now, ASAP
Pronto
Party, festival
Fiesta
+3
Level 37
Aug 23, 2013
Good quiz.
+2
Level 53
Sep 12, 2015
bodega is use mostly for wines establishments (e.g. winestore, winery) and I have heard it for a few restaurants which have an ample selection of wines. It is also used in the same meaning as pantry.
+11
Level 37
Oct 27, 2016
Perhaps this quiz is a little New York centric. But I have always herd of the work Bodega used for neighborhood small grocery store. I

remember it vividly because in my native land we have a similar word Botica, (which translates pharmacy) and when I first moved to NY I couldn't get it straight.

+2
Level 65
Nov 25, 2019
I wondered if it was related to boutique, so I looked it up, and it is and also to apothecary. Never would ve thought those two words were related.
+1
Level 68
Feb 15, 2022
Definitely not in New York. The bodega is a way of life in NYC. Its our grocery store, deli, beer vendor... in fact, I'd say wine is just about the only thing I would never buy at a bodega.
+5
Level 69
Dec 29, 2015
I see you wrote Piñata, so it would be logical to write Cabaña as well, for Cabana isn't a word in Spanish. At least not that I've heard of, and I'm a native speaker
+8
Level 76
Aug 14, 2018
My guess is that they're using the English spelling, reflecting the English pronunciation. When "piñata" is said in English, the "ñ" pronounced with the proper "nyuh" sound, and the same with

"jalapeño," but "cabana" is pronounced with just a regular "n" sound.

+3
Level ∞
Jan 27, 2022
This exactly. Thank you @MarlowePI.
+6
Level 56
Dec 29, 2015
If I was ever in such a situation, the word I would speak when avoiding a bull would certainly not be 'ole'!!
+2
Level 85
Mar 16, 2020
Indeed. "Ole" is what you say when *someone else* dodges a bull, right?
+1
Level ∞
Jan 27, 2022
This is correct. The clue has been fixed.
+3
Level 71
Dec 29, 2015
I tried every alternate spelling I could think of for "machismo". Didn't even dawn on me to try macho. Maybe accept "machismo"?
+1
Level ∞
Jan 27, 2022
That will work now.
+2
Level 66
Dec 30, 2015
I don't know where you live but these words are not part of my language.
+8
Level 62
Dec 30, 2015
America has a lot of Spanish influence because of the Hispanic immigrants. Elsewhere in the world, we don't know anywhere near as many Spanish words just as general knowledge.
+8
Level 75
Jan 1, 2016
Actually, there are a lot of Spanish-speaking Americans who aren't recent immigrants at all - particularly in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Can we please all agree to call the United States the United States?
+4
Level 82
Apr 20, 2017
Too late.
+2
Level 70
Mar 8, 2017
Many of these words aren't used in Canada either, (Burro, Branco, Barrio to name a few).
+1
Level 77
Feb 13, 2022
I would imagine most Canadians have heard of broncos just from the NFL team. Anyway, it’s certainly not true that bronco or burro aren’t recognizable words for many Canadians based on western Canada.
+1
Level 73
Jan 21, 2018
Then you don't live in a very vibrant place. Melting pot - not melted pot. It's an ongoing process, forever evolving with the inclusion of new cultural influences. The result is a unique and dynamic outcome that no other country has, not even Canada. Canada has its own melting pot, of course, which means that the two countries, so alike in many ways, will forever be culturally distinct - and each is better for it.
+1
Level 73
Jan 21, 2018
(My reply was mainly directed to the person who appeared to be a US resident who had never heard any of these terms. But I did have in mind the comments made by the Canadian person whose reply mine followed, making it appear that the words were directed to them. To that person - because there is so little Hispanic migration to Canada, I wouldn't expect these influences to cross the border, except via the media, perhaps, in TV shows and movies. Just not in daily, local experiences.)
+1
Level 74
Jan 19, 2016
I kept trying "palapa" for beach hut, since that's what they're called in Southern California.
+1
Level ∞
Jan 27, 2022
Palapa will work now.
+4
Level 65
Feb 28, 2016
Fun quiz but I think it favoured some obscurities over more widely known loan words. I'd put matador, amigo, burrito, mosquito, tamale, poncho and 'ay carumba' and instead of bodega, barrio, chorizo, mesa and burro.
+2
Level 81
Mar 3, 2016
Yes, you've listed words which are in common usage in the UK. Many in the quiz are not.
+2
Level 34
Jun 24, 2017
Hmm. I think you'd struggle to find many people in the UK who have ever heard of tamale.
+2
Level 65
May 25, 2019
Im not in the uk or usa (or a spanish or even romance language speaking country) and i have heard of tamale, movies expose you to many things. Eventhough i hardlly watch them.
+1
Level 68
Feb 15, 2022
It never ceases to amaze me how pedantic and nitpicky JetPunkers are. This is why many quizzes have different versions. There are likely 1000+ loan words. Just take the quiz...
+7
Level 37
Oct 27, 2016
To Tshalla: Only inhabitants of the United States call themselves and/or are called "Americans". The populations of the other areas

you've mentioned, call themselves refer to themselves as Mexican, Jamaicans, Venezuelans, Arubians' etc., etc. - So when one hears

the word American, one should automatically relate it to the United States.

+4
Level 53
Jun 20, 2017
People from Europe don't call themselves European, yet they consider themselves as such. Same goes with Asian or African people. One should automatically relate it to the inhabitants or people born in the Americas.
+7
Level 71
Feb 8, 2018
When you hear the song "America the beautiful' one assumes it means the USA not the continents.
+3
Level 76
Apr 17, 2018
Okay, so what do you call someone from the United States of America, in English?
+3
Level 65
Jan 14, 2019
@marlowepi a usaer
+2
Level 76
Aug 4, 2019
@Sifhraven - Can you provide a link to show that anyone, anywhere in the English-speaking world uses that term besides you?
+2
Level 78
Aug 5, 2019
Citizens from the EU call themselves Europeans, as do people from Serbia, or Ukraine, or Belarus for instance, in the same way people from the US call themselves Americans as do citizens from Chile, or Mexico
+1
Level 65
Nov 25, 2019
@marlowpi are you serious?!
+2
Level 76
Jun 10, 2020
Are you seriously saying that "usaer" is a term English-speakers use to refer to people from the United States? I'm honestly not sure if you're joking or not.
+1
Level 54
Oct 17, 2017
I thought a beach hut was a jacal. I personally associate the word cabana with a log cabin.
+1
Level ∞
Jul 7, 2018
Jacal is not a word in English.
+2
Level 71
Feb 8, 2018
I had to dodge a bull once after it chased me across a field and what I shouted wasn't Ole ....
+1
Level 35
Jul 25, 2018
...all spanish american...bodega over here is a musical festival...
+2
Level 85
Mar 16, 2019
In the description for the quiz you should say "snuck" instead of 'sneaked.'
+2
Level 74
Aug 24, 2019
if really spanish sausage is called chorizo I wonder what you put in a hot dog. That thing is called "salsicha".
+2
Level 62
Feb 13, 2022
salchicha*
+1
Level 65
Feb 16, 2022
I always thought chorizo was a specific type of meat, rather than the actual term for sausage. I've never ordered any other type of sausage. Great. I am hungry now.
+1
Level 68
Oct 29, 2019
Kept trying ahora and horita for 'right now, asap'
+1
Level 71
Oct 29, 2019
I grew up saying "ahora" and "ahorita" for "right now". "Pronto" meant "quickly" or "hurry". A "bodega" was used to describe a "warehouse". It is all a matter of where one learned their Spanish. In Mexico, "coche" can be used for "car" (literally translated coach), but in other countries "coche" was someone with bad manners, it was short for "cochino", or pig.

Good quiz

+3
Level 18
Sep 4, 2020
Agreed. "Right now" is "ahora mismo". "Pronto" is "soon". "Quiero que lo hagas pronto." is not the same as "Quiero que lo hagas ahora mismo."
+1
Level 18
Sep 4, 2020
I got stuck on "junta" for about 30 seconds. I kept thinking "tribunal" since it's spelled the same way in Spanish.
+3
Level 48
Feb 13, 2022
10/22... I´m from Spain
+4
Level 51
Feb 13, 2022
i did poorly too despite speaking spanish and english fluently. I was thrown off because half of these aren't *loan* words but just the name of things
+6
Level 62
Feb 13, 2022
pronto is Italian
+3
Level 65
Feb 13, 2022
indeed, It has a different meaning in Italian than in Spanish, and it is clearly the Italian version that means ASAP
+1
Level 67
Feb 15, 2022
I disagree, the word pronto in Italian means 'ready'. For example you use it when you pick up the phone to tell the caller you are ready to talk, not for them to hurry up (which would be rude). A quick google search tells me the Spanish pronto means 'soon', so it makes sense that ASAP comes from that.
+1
Level 75
Jul 18, 2023
I don't know which origin or meaning is correct, but I always associated pronto with NYC Italoamerican boss guys who say with a Godfather-like voice "I want that [Mcguffin] pronto, so hurry up." No idea which movie(s) I got that from.
+1
Level 66
Feb 13, 2022
If English has a word for something, we don't usually use another language to describe it.

For example we wouldn't use the word burro because we have our own word for it. Just because people use it in conversation doesn't make it a part of the English language.

+1
Level 75
Feb 13, 2022
Very brave assertion - who are the "we" you refer to?

burro is in Collins as both a British and American English word:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/burro

+2
Level 68
Feb 15, 2022
What?! Are you saying that English does not use loan words? There are many pedants and such on this site, but this has to be the wildest and most ridiculous claim I have ever seen on this site.
+1
Level 67
Feb 13, 2022
Can you accept ‘Piniata’?
+4
Level 59
Feb 13, 2022
that's not what its called now is it
+1
Level 72
Feb 13, 2022
I didn't know a lot of these had fallen into common usage among english speakers. Chorizo I've only heard in restaurants that serve spanish or mexican food...and barrio I've never heard anyone say...

BUT I'm from Canada! I have no idea how people are talking in, say, California!

+2
Level 51
Feb 13, 2022
I lived in California and it is the same - chorizo isn't a loan word because it only used to refer to Spanish-style sausage. Same with sombrero. "Barrio" is something Latin people use to refer to poor, Latin-dominant neighborhoods - but it'd be super strange to hear a non-Latin person say "barrio" for anything
+1
Level 70
Feb 15, 2022
There are a number of words in Spanish where context and your familiarity with who you're speaking with really, really matter. Barrio is right there in that gray area --- I shy away from using it, but I'd also readily understand it if used in conversation.
+1
Level 69
Feb 13, 2022
I tried meseta several times - could that be an alternative to "mesa"?
+1
Level 70
Feb 15, 2022
As the clue says, gaucho is very much tied to Argentina. The only time I see it used is when speaking about that specific place and those specific people. If reworded to be more general, I've seen "vaquero" used in the US to refer to cowboys.
+2
Level 69
Feb 15, 2022
Did anybody else struggle with the "ASAP" clue?

I tried "ahora", "andele", "vamos", and "vamonos". Is pronto really more correct than all of those?

+1
Level 30
Feb 16, 2022
Ahora is right. Pronto is not the right word.
+3
Level 30
Feb 16, 2022
PRONTO means soon. NOT right now/ASAP. Fix it.

Bodega is more like a warehouse/depot, "tienda" fits better.

+1
Level 71
Feb 20, 2022
What about Guerilla?
+1
Level 44
Aug 22, 2023
I am pretty sure that Pronto is Italian
+1
Level 67
Dec 7, 2023
I feel like the pepper one has plenty of other answers that would work. Jalapeño is the obvious one, but serrano definitely should work, and arguably habanero, too.