Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| palomitas de maíz | /palomitas de maiθ/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /palomitas de mais/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Spain, feminine, plural |
| cancha | /ˈkant͡ʃa/ | Peru, feminine |
| canguil | /kanɡil/ (from spelling rules) | Ecuador, masculine |
| gallitos | /ɡaˈʝitos/ | Northwestern, Venezuela, masculine, plural |
| maíz pira | /maˌiθ ˈpiɾa/ /maˌis ˈpiɾa/ |
Colombia, feminine |
| pop | /ˈpop/ | Uruguay, masculine |
| popcorn | /ˈpopkoɾn/ /popˈkoɾn/ |
Panama, Puerto Rico, masculine |
| pororó | /poɾoˈɾo/ | Argentina, Bolivia, Eastern, Northern, Paraguay, Uruguay, Western, masculine |
| pururú | /puɾuˈɾu/ | Argentina, Central, Northern, masculine |
| rosetas maiceras | /rosetas maiθeɾas/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /rosetas maiseɾas/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
Puerto Rico, Southern, Spain, feminine, plural |
| rositas de maíz | /rositas de maiθ/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /rositas de mais/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
Cuba, feminine, plural |
| tostón | /tosˈton/ | Southeastern, Spain, masculine |
| ancua | /ankwa/ (from spelling rules) | feminine, masculine |
| ezquites | /eθkites/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /eskites/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
masculine, plural |
Popcorn refers to the snack food made from corn kernels popped by dry heating.
What does it mean word for word?
The term palomitas de maíz literally translates to little pigeons of corn, referring to the way the kernels pop and look like small birds.
Which one should you use?
The forms used for popcorn vary significantly by country and region. Other terms include canguil, cancha, gallitos, maíz pira, pop, popcorn, pororó, pururú, rosetas maiceras, rositas de maíz, tostón, ancua and ezquites.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term palomitas de maíz is used in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Spain. In Peru, you may hear cancha. In Ecuador, the term is canguil. In northwestern Venezuela, the word is gallitos. In Colombia, it is maíz pira. In Uruguay, you can say pop or pororó. In Panama and Puerto Rico, the English word popcorn is used. In Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay, pororó is used. In central and northern Argentina, pururú is used. In southern Spain and Puerto Rico, rosetas maiceras is used. In Cuba, the term is rositas de maíz. In southeastern Spain, the word is tostón. The term ancua is also used, and ezquites is a masculine plural term.
How does it change in a sentence?
In many Spanish-speaking regions, the full phrase palomitas de maíz is often shortened to just palomitas when the context of corn is clear.
How do you pronounce it?
/palomitas de maiθ/
Did you know?
- The word maíz was borrowed into Spanish from the Taíno word mahisi.
- While palomitas de maíz means 'little pigeons of corn', Cuba uses rositas de maíz, which means 'little corn roses'.
- The word gallitos used in northwestern Venezuela translates to 'little roosters'.
Examples in context
- Quiero palomitas de maíz.I want popcorn.This sentence shows how to express a desire for the snack using palomitas de maíz.Tatoeba #8102378 by Seael, translation #5551009 by Hybrid
- En el cine compré canguil y cola.I bought popcorn and soda at the movies.This sentence uses canguil to describe a purchase at the movies.Tatoeba #5006866 by Helio, translation #10251645 by LimeGreenTeknii
- A Tom le gustan las palomitas de maíz.Tom likes popcorn.This sentence illustrates how to say someone likes palomitas de maíz.Tatoeba #10233426 by manufrutos, translation #6358335 by CK
- ¿Dónde puedo comprar palomitas de maíz?Where can I buy popcorn?
- Me encanta el cine, especialmente con palomitas de maízI love going to the movies, especially with popcorn
- ¿Quieres pochoclos? Tengo una gran bolsaDo you want popcorn? I have a big bag
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are preparing to watch a movie at home.
- Sofía¿Quieres palomitas de maíz, Lucía?Do you want popcorn, Lucía?
- DanielSí, por favor, Javier.Yes, please, Javier.
- SofíaVoy a preparar las palomitas de maíz ahora.I am going to prepare the popcorn now.
- DanielGracias, eres muy amable.Thank you, you are very kind.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “popcorn” translations and entries cancha, canguil, gallitos, maíz pira, pop, popcorn, pororó, pururú, tostón, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cancha, de, maíz, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
