barba
/ˈbaɾba/feminine
The Spanish word for beard is barba.
barba is the standard and most common word used to refer to facial hair. When you want to describe the process of growing hair on the chin and jaw, you can use the phrase crecimiento de barba. If you are specifically referring to stubble or a very short beard, you can use the phrase barba de tres días.
Meaning: facial hair (noun)
Which one should you use?
While barba refers to a general beard, perilla is used specifically to describe a goatee.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun barba is feminine and is used with the feminine article la.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈbaɾba/
Did you know?
- In some idioms, barba is linked to the concept of 'masking' or hiding one's true intentions, acting as a screen for the face.
- The English word 'barber' and the Spanish word barba are distant cousins, both descending from the same ancient root meaning 'beard'.
- In certain historical contexts of Spanish literature, a barba was often used as a symbol of wisdom or patriarchal authority in colonial settings.
Examples in context
- Me encantas con barba.I really like you with a beard.This example shows how to express liking someone with a beard using barba.Tatoeba #4951643 by ecorralest101, translation #4959808 by Aria
- Tom se acarició su barba.Tom stroked his beard.This example demonstrates the action of stroking a beard with barba.Tatoeba #6881889 by albrusgher, translation #2982503 by Hybrid
- Él tiene una barba espesa.He's got a thick beard.This example uses barba to describe the thickness of a beard.Tatoeba #1256511 by marcelostockle, translation #454749 by FeuDRenais
- Carlos se dejó crecer una barba muy larga y frondosa.Carlos grew a very long and bushy beard.
- ¡Oye, Juan! ¡Qué buena barbaza llevas!Hey, Juan! You have such an awesome beard!
- 67 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Daniel are talking at a coffee shop.
- ElenaDaniel, te queda bien la barba.Daniel, the beard looks good on you.
- DanielGracias, Elena. Me gusta mucho.Thanks, Elena. I like it a lot.
- Elena¿Es una barba nueva?Is it a new beard?
- DanielSí, la dejé crecer un poco.Yes, I let it grow a bit.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “beard” translations and entries barba, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries barba, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
