Spanish word

rascar

Pronunciation

IPA/rasˈkaɾ/

Meaning

  • verbscratch

Example

Me rasco la espalda.

I scratch my back.

Illustration for rascar (scratch)

More examples

¡No te rasques tanto o se te irritará la piel!

Don't scratch yourself so much or your skin will get irritated!

Core concept

Hand scratching an itchy forearm with fingernails.

Common phrases

  • rascarse la cabeza

    scratch one's head

  • rascar la pared

    scratch the wall

Similar words

rascarse: Rub the skin with nails to relieve an itch.
arañar: Drag a nail or sharp point across a surface, leaving cuts, marks, or tears.
raspar: Scrape a surface forcefully with a tool to remove or shave off material.
frotar: Rub with a cloth or hand to lift and remove dirt, stains, or oil.

Definition in Spanish

Frotar con las uñas u otro objeto la piel o una superficie para remover algo, aliviar una comezón o desgastar la superficie.

Word origin

It comes from Latin radere 'to scrape', via Vulgar Latin and Ibero-Romance into Old Spanish rascar, retaining the sense of rubbing or scraping a surface.

Usage tips

  • Spanish often uses the reflexive rascarse for body actions (rascarse la cabeza) and the idiom rascarse el bolsillo means to pay up, so context determines literal or figurative meaning.

Other meanings

  • clawverb
  • rubverb
  • pick atverb

Opposites

Related words

  • rascadorscratchernoun
  • rascamientoscratchingnoun

Word lists with this word