pasamanos
/pasamanos/from spelling rules
The English phrase "monkey bars" is translated into Spanish as pasamanos.
In many contexts, pasamanos refers to a handrail on a staircase rather than playground monkey bars.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, monkey bars can be called escalera de chango.
How do you pronounce it?
/pasamanos/
Did you know?
- The word pasamanos literally translates to 'pass hands', describing the action of moving one's hands along a rail.
- In Spanish, chango is a common word for 'monkey' in Mexico, whereas other regions use mono.
- The word manos in pasamanos is a cognate of the English 'manual', both stemming from the concept of using hands.
Examples in context
- Los niños disfrutan escalando los juegos de trepa del parque.The children enjoy climbing the monkey bars at the park.
- Los niños están jugando en la escalera de mono del parque.The children are playing on the monkey bars at the park.
- Los niños juegan en los pasamanos.The children are playing on the monkey bars.
- No te sueltes de los pasamanos.Don't let go of the monkey bars.
- El pasamanos del parque está oxidado.The monkey bars at the park are rusty.
Example conversation
Two children are at a playground.
- Elena¡Mira qué alto llegas en los pasamanos, Mateo!Look how high you go on the monkey bars, Mateo!
- MateoGracias, Elena, pero tengo un poco de miedo.Thanks, Elena, but I am a little scared.
- ElenaNo te preocupes, yo te miro desde aquí.Don't worry, I'll watch you from here.
- MateoEstá bien, lo intentaré de nuevo.Okay, I will try again.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pasamanos, CC BY-SA 4.0.
