botana
Mexico, casual
In Mexican Spanish a snack is a botana, and in Spain people talk about a picoteo when they nibble small things. The English word snack is also widely understood.
Meaning: small bite between meals (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | Note |
|---|---|
| botana | Mexico, casual |
| Picoteo | Spain, casual |
| Snack | loanword |
Botana is used for chips, peanuts and other small bites, and a picoteo is a spread of little plates that people pick at together.
Which one should you use?
Snack sounds modern and is common on packaging and in cities. Botana and picoteo sound more local and more relaxed.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Spain also has the verb picar, which means to nibble. Mexico uses botanear for eating botanas, usually with drinks.
Did you know?
- In Mexico botana also names the small dishes that arrive with drinks at many bars.
Examples in context
- ¿Compramos unas botanas para la película?Shall we buy some snacks for the movie?
- Para el picoteo pon aceitunas y queso.Put out olives and cheese for the nibbles.
- Tengo hambre, voy por un snack.I am hungry, I am going to get a snack.
Example conversation
Dani and Pau plan a movie night at home in Mexico City.
- Dani¿Qué botana compramos?What snack do we buy?
- PauUnos cacahuates y papitas.Some peanuts and chips.
- DaniPerfecto, con eso estamos bien.Perfect, that is enough for us.
