Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| piercing | /ˈpiɾsin/ /ˈpiɾsinɡ/ |
masculine |
| pirsin | /ˈpiɾsin/ | masculine |
The term refers to a hole made in the body for jewelry. While the English loanword is widely used, the formal Spanish term for the hole or the act itself is perforación. Other related terms include anillo de nariz or piercing en la nariz for a nose ring, piercing en el ombligo for a belly button piercing and piercing en la lengua for a tongue piercing. For an earlobe piercing, you can use perforación en el lóbulo de la oreja.
Which one should you use?
The term pirsin is a phonetic spelling of the anglicism, while piercing is the standard spelling of the borrowed word. In more formal contexts, you may use perforación corporal or adorno corporal con perforación.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, piercing is the most predominant term, though arete is frequently used in informal contexts or specifically when referring to ear piercings. In Argentina, some people use arito to denote smaller, more traditional types of piercings. The term aros is used to mean earrings.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The word is a masculine noun, so it is used with the masculine article el (e.g., el piercing).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈpiɾsin/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers may mistakenly use the feminine article la (as in la piercing) because many jewelry-related words in Spanish are feminine. However, piercing is masculine.
Did you know?
- While piercing is common, the word arete in Mexico can refer to any body piercing, even if it is not in the ear.
- In Argentina, the diminutive arito is often used to distinguish a small, traditional piercing from a larger, more modern piercing.
- In formal medical or legal documents, a piercing is referred to as a perforación corporal, which literally means 'corporal perforation'.
Examples in context
- Estoy pensando en hacerme un nuevo piercing.I'm thinking of getting a new piercing.
- ¡Qué padre! ¿En qué parte del cuerpo estás considerando hacértelo?That sounds cool! Where are you considering getting it?
- Tengo un piercing nuevo en la nariz.I have a new piercing in my nose.
- Ese piercing de oro es muy bonito.That gold piercing is very pretty.
- Me hicieron un piercing en la oreja.They gave me a piercing in my ear.
Example conversation
Daniel and Elena are talking about jewelry.
- DanielElena, ¿dónde te hiciste ese piercing?Elena, where did you get that piercing?
- ElenaMe lo hice en un estudio profesional.I got it at a professional studio.
- DanielMe gusta mucho, ¿te dolió?I like it a lot, did it hurt?
- ElenaSolo un poco, pero valió la pena.Only a little, but it was worth it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “piercing” translations and entries piercing, pirsin, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
