brocheta
/bɾoˈt͡ʃeta/
The English phrase "shish kabob" is translated into Spanish as brocheta.
The term refers to pieces of meat and vegetables threaded onto a skewer and grilled.
Which one should you use?
You may encounter pincho in various contexts to refer to food served on a skewer or a skewer-based snack.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In many parts of Spain, people use pincho instead of brocheta for food served on a skewer. In Peru, the specific term anticuchos is used for skewered and grilled meat.
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of brocheta is brochetas, which means skewers or shish kabobs.
How do you pronounce it?
/bɾoˈtʃeta/
Did you know?
- In Spain, a pincho is often not a skewer at all, but a small snack held in place on a slice of bread by a toothpick.
- In Peru, if you order anticuchos, you are not just ordering any shish kabob, but a very specific, traditional dish made from beef heart. It is a staple of street food culture that dates back to the colonial era.
- The word brocheta shares its roots with the word brocha, which is the Spanish word for a paintbrush or a brush. It is a linguistic connection between a tool used for coating and a tool used for skewering.
Examples in context
- Me gustaría ordenar una brocheta de carne, por favorI would like to order a shish kabob, please.
- Quisiera probar un pincho moruno, por favor.I would like to try a shish kabob, please.
- Vamos a hacer unas brochetas de carne en la barbacoa.Let's make some shish kabobs on the grill.
- En Canarias, me encanta la espetada de carne.In the Canary Islands, I love the beef skewers.
- ¡Vamos a comer anticuchos, son deliciosos!Let's eat anticuchos, they are delicious!
- Me gusta comer brochetas de pollo.I like to eat chicken skewers.
- Me gusta la brocheta de pollo.I like the chicken shish kabob.
- El camarero trajo una brocheta de carne.The waiter brought a meat shish kabob.
- Esa brocheta de verduras está muy rica.That vegetable shish kabob is very tasty.
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are deciding what to order at a restaurant.
- Javier¿Quieres pedir una brocheta de ternera?Do you want to order a beef shish kabob?
- LucíaSí, suena muy bien, Javier.Yes, that sounds very good, Javier.
- JavierTambién podemos pedir patatas fritas.We can also order french fries.
- LucíaPerfecto, me parece una buena idea.Perfect, that sounds like a good idea to me.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry brocheta, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries brocheta, CC BY-SA 4.0.
