castañuelas
/kastaɲwelas/from spelling rules
The Spanish word for castanets is castañuelas.
castañuelas refers to the small percussion instruments consisting of two hollowed pieces of wood held in the hand and clicked together. Within a set, the terms macho and hembra are used to distinguish between the two different-sounding pieces of a pair.
How does it change in a sentence?
The default form castañuelas is plural, but the singular castañuela can be used to refer to a single instrument.
How do you pronounce it?
/kastaɲwelas/
Did you know?
- The name castañuelas is a diminutive of castaña, meaning 'chestnut'. This is because the shape and size of the instruments resemble the nut.
- While commonly associated with Spain, castañuelas are not indigenous to the country. They likely arrived in the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa or the Middle East during the Moorish period.
- In certain traditional Spanish dances, the rhythm of the castañuelas is used to mimic the sound of a galloping horse.
Examples in context
- Cada par de castañuelas se toca con una mano. Los dos pares no son iguales: un par se llama "hembra" y suena más agudo, el otro es el par "macho" y suena más grave.Each pair of castanets is played with one hand. The two pairs are not alike: one pair is "female" and sounds higher, the other is the "male" pair and sounds lower.This sentence illustrates that each pair of castañuelas is played with one hand and explains the distinction between the hembra and macho pieces.Tatoeba #1479248 by letras_de_aire, translation #9423735 by DJ_Saidez
- Ella compró unas castañuelas para la clase de flamenco.She bought some castanets for the flamenco class.
- Las castañuelas de madera suenan muy bien.The wooden castanets sound very good.
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are preparing for a dance performance.
- MateoElena, ¿dónde están mis castañuelas?Elena, where are my castanets?
- ElenaEstán sobre la mesa, Mateo.They are on the table, Mateo.
- MateoGracias, no puedo bailar sin ellas.Thanks, I cannot dance without them.
- ElenaTienes razón, el ritmo es importante.You are right, the rhythm is important.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
