mano
/ˈmano/feminine
The English word 'hand' is mano in Spanish.
mano refers to the part of the fore limb. To describe specific parts, you can use la palma de la mano for the palm of the hand and el dorso de la mano for the back of the hand. The phrase dar la mano is used to describe the act of shaking hands or offering one's hand.
Meaning: part of the fore limb (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Although mano ends in -o, it is a feminine noun and takes the feminine article la. The plural form of mano is manos.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈmano/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Because mano ends in -o, English speakers often mistakenly use the masculine article el mano.
Did you know?
- In some Caribbean dialects, mano is used as a shortened, slang version of hermano to mean 'bro' or 'friend'.
- In Spanish, the expression echar una mano means to help someone, similar to the English phrase 'lend a hand'.
- Spanish has a common idiom ser mano derecha, which means to be someone's 'right hand', referring to a most trusted and indispensable assistant.
Examples in context
- Él alzó la mano.He raised his hand.This sentence shows the use of mano to indicate raising the hand.Tatoeba #1355645 by marcelostockle, translation #370607 by saeb
- Me tocó la mano.He touched my hand.This sentence shows the use of mano to indicate touching the hand.Tatoeba #2008695 by Shishir, translation #1977695 by Spamster
- Me besó la mano.He kissed my hand.This sentence shows the use of mano to indicate kissing the hand.Tatoeba #3530906 by Shishir, translation #2260271 by Hybrid
- Por favor, lave sus manos.Please wash your hands.
- Estoy sosteniendo una carta en mi mano.I am holding a letter in my hand.
- La herida en su mano necesitaba puntos.The wound on his hand needed stitches.
- Agarró el lápiz con su manito.He grabbed the pencil with his little hand.
- 445 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Mateo are looking at a small injury.
- SofíaMira, tengo un corte en la mano.Look, I have a cut on my hand.
- MateoDéjame ver tu mano, Sofía.Let me see your hand, Sofía.
- SofíaMe duele mucho la mano ahora.My hand hurts a lot now.
- MateoNecesitamos limpiar esa mano pronto.We need to clean that hand soon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hand” translations and entries mano, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mano, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
