tirón de pelo
/tiɾon de pelo/from spelling rules
The English phrase hair pulling is translated into Spanish as tirón de pelo.
tirón de pelo is a noun phrase used to describe the act of tugging or pulling someone's hair, which often occurs during a fight or as a prank.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of tirón (a pull or tug) and de pelo (of hair).
Which one should you use?
While tirón de pelo is the noun phrase for the act itself, the verbal phrase tirar del pelo is used to describe the action of pulling hair.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form tirones de pelo is used when referring to multiple instances of hair pulling.
How do you pronounce it?
/tiɾon de pelo/
Did you know?
- The verb tirar, used in the phrase tirar del pelo, can also mean 'to throw' or 'to shoot', depending on the context.
- In Spanish, the word pelo can refer to both the hair on a person's head and the fur on an animal, unlike the English distinction between 'hair' and 'fur'.
- The word pelo shares a common ancestor with the English word 'pile', used to describe the fine, short hair of certain animals.
Examples in context
- Estoy tan frustrado que me dan ganas de arrancarme los cabellosI'm so frustrated that I feel like pulling my hair out
- La situación es tan estresante que me tiro del peloThe situation is so stressful that I'm pulling my hair out
- María está tan enojada con su jefe que se arranca los cabellos.María is so angry with her boss that she is pulling her hair out.
- El niño estaba tan frustrado con su tarea que se tiraba del pelo.The child was so frustrated with his homework that he was pulling his hair out.
- Ese tirón de pelo fue muy doloroso.That hair pulling was very painful.
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are talking about a fight between two children.
- ElenaMira, esos niños están peleando.Look, those children are fighting.
- Javier¡Uy! Ella le dio un tirón de pelo.Oops! She gave him a hair pull.
- ElenaEso duele mucho, pobre niño.That hurts a lot, poor boy.
- JavierSí, el tirón de pelo es muy agresivo.Yes, hair pulling is very aggressive.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, pelo, tirón, CC BY-SA 4.0.
