Spanish word

papel

Pronunciation

IPA/paˈpel/

Meaning

  • masculine nounpaper

Example

¿Tienes papel para escribir?

Do you have any paper to write on?

Illustration for papel (paper)

More examples

En el baño no queda papel higiénico.

There is no toilet paper left in the bathroom.

Core concept

Flat sheet used for writing, printing, or wrapping.

Common phrases

  • papel higiénico

    toilet paper

  • papel de regalo

    wrapping paper

  • hoja de papel

    sheet of paper

Similar words

hoja: Single leaf of paper, unbound and used separately from a stack or pad.
cuaderno: Hard- or soft-covered notebook for writing, studying, or journaling.
periódico: Printed paper with news stories, features, and opinion pieces.
revista: Magazine containing photos, interviews, and feature-length articles.

Definition in Spanish

Material formado por fibras prensadas que sirve para escribir, imprimir o envolver; por extensión, documento escrito.

Word origin

From Latin papyrus (Greek papyros) via Romance languages into Spanish, papel refers to a material originally made from papyrus and now to sheets used for writing, printing, or wrapping.

Usage tips

  • In casual speech '¿Tienes papel?' usually asks for any scrap to write on, so providing context clarifies if a formal document or a specific type of paper is needed.

Other meanings

  • documentnoun
  • rolenoun

Related words

  • papelerawastepaper basketnoun
  • papelitoslip of papernoun
  • empapelarwallpaperverb

Word lists with this word