pan
/ˈpan/masculine
The English word bread is pan in Spanish.
pan refers to baked dough made from cereals. For more specific types of bread, you may encounter these terms: pan de molde refers to sliced bread or loaf bread and pan de muerto is a specific traditional sweet bread eaten during Day of the Dead celebrations.
Meaning: baked dough made from cereals (noun)
Which one should you use?
While pan is the noun for the food itself, the verb empanar is used when you want to describe the action of coating food in breadcrumbs.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈpan/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not confuse the Spanish word pan (bread) with the English word 'pan' (a cooking vessel), as they are unrelated.
Did you know?
- The English word 'company' actually shares the same root as the Spanish pan, tracing back to the idea of those who eat bread together.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is considered a sign of bad luck or a taboo to place a loaf of pan upside down on a table.
- The term pan is used in several Spanish idioms to describe something easy, such as ser pan comido, which means 'to be a piece of cake'.
Examples in context
- Tú eres un pan.You're a bread.Tatoeba #1241320 by marcelostockle, translation #1241061 by Scott
- Me comí mi pan.I ate my bread.Tatoeba #13611187 by Lernema, translation #13609880 by Babelball
- Me gusta el pan.I like bread.Tatoeba #4482654 by cueyayotl, translation #3254621 by CK
- Me gusta el pan recién horneado.I like freshly baked bread.
- Prefiero el pan de molde para hacer sándwiches.I prefer sliced bread for making sandwiches.
- Voy a comprar una rosca de pan para celebrar el Año Nuevo.I'm going to buy a circular bread to celebrate the New Year.
- Si vas a Chile, no puedes dejar de probar una deliciosa hallulla con palta.If you visit Chile, you must try a delicious hallulla with avocado.
- 285 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
- Lucía¿Quieres un poco de pan, Daniel?Do you want some bread, Daniel?
- DanielSí, por favor, Lucía.Yes, please, Lucía.
- LucíaVoy a tostar el pan ahora.I am going to toast the bread now.
- DanielMuchas gracias, se ve muy rico.Thank you very much, it looks delicious.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bread” translations and entries pan, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pan, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
