teñir el pelo
/teɲiɾ el pelo/from spelling rules
To color hair in Spanish is to say teñir el pelo.
The phrase is used to describe the action of changing the color of the hair on one's head using a chemical dye. For reference, El pelo oscuro means dark hair and El pelo claro means light hair.
What does it mean word for word?
The verb teñir specifically means 'to dye' or 'to stain'.
Which one should you use?
While teñir el pelo is the standard way to say 'to dye hair', using the reflexive form teñirse el pelo is more common when emphasizing that the person is doing it to themselves.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In certain regions, the word pelirrojo might be replaced with colorado to describe someone with red hair.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb teñir is irregular and undergoes a stem change from 'e' to 'i' in many present tense forms, such as él/ella tiñe (he/she dyes).
How do you pronounce it?
/teɲiɾ el pelo/
Did you know?
- The English word 'tint' is a distant cousin to the Spanish verb teñir. Both words trace their ancestry back to the same ancient root describing the act of soaking or dipping something into a liquid.
- If you go to a professional hair salon, you might hear the term cabello used instead of pelo to refer to the hair on your head. While pelo is the general word for hair on the body, cabello is the more elegant, specialized term for head hair.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, calling someone colorado describes their red hair, but in other places it means the person is blushing or embarrassed.
Examples in context
- Tiene el pelo rubio oscuroThey have dark blonde hair
- Tiene el pelo castaño claroThey have light brown hair
- Me quiero teñir el pelo de rojo.I want to dye my hair red.
- Voy a teñir el pelo de rojo.I am going to color my hair red.
- ¿Quieres teñir el pelo de un color diferente?Do you want to color your hair a different color?
- Ella prefiere teñir el pelo con tintes naturales.She prefers to color her hair with natural dyes.
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are talking about a change in appearance at a cafe.
- ElenaJavier, ¿vas a teñir el pelo?Javier, are you going to color your hair?
- JavierSí, quiero teñir el pelo de castaño oscuro.Yes, I want to color my hair dark brown.
- ElenaTe quedará muy bien ese color.That color will look very good on you.
- JavierGracias, Elena, espero que sea fácil.Thanks, Elena, I hope it is easy.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries el, pelo, teñir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
