Vocabulary • By

20+ ways of saying “Popcorn” in Spanish 🍿

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to meet people from other Spanish-speaking countries in Russia. We were able to spend quite a bit of time together, and it was always very funny to compare the words each of us used for everyday things. Over time, we got used to each other’s vocabulary; however, we were always surprised by the way each person called popcorn.

That’s why I decided to ask other native speakers and find all the different ways to call popcorn in Spanish. What I found is fascinating and demonstrates how versatile Spanish is.

General translation

If you look up the translation of “popcorn” into Spanish, “palomitas” will appear. This word literally means “little doves” because of their similarity to a white dove. All Spanish speakers know at least two terms: “palomitas de maíz” (you can just say “palomitas”) and their local version. There are also places where the local version is “palomitas de maíz”.

Names by country

  • 🇦🇷 Argentina: pochoclo, pipoca, pororó, pururú, ancua.
  • 🇧🇴 Bolivia: pipoca, pororó.
  • 🇨🇱 Chile: cabritas.
  • 🇨🇴 Colombia: crispetas, maíz pira o maíz tote (type of corn)
  • 🇨🇷 Costa Rica: palomitas (de maíz).
  • 🇨🇺 Cuba: rositas de maíz.
  • 🇪🇨 Ecuador: canguil.

Once, my Ecuadorian roommate asked me to buy some things. On the list was written “canguil”. I felt like I didn’t know how to speak Spanish.

  • 🇺🇸 US: popcorn.
  • 🇸🇻 El Salvador: palomitas (de maíz), rosetas de maíz.
  • 🇪🇸 Spain: palomitas (de maíz).
  • 🇬🇹 Guatemala: poporopo.
  • 🇭🇳 Honduras: palomitas (de maíz).
  • 🇲🇽 Mexico: palomitas (de maíz), palomas, chivitas, crispetas.

Corn was domesticated about 10,000 years ago, in what is now Mexico.

Genetic Science Learning Center. (2017, August 1) Evolution of Corn. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/evolution/corn/

  • 🇳🇮 Nicaragua: palomitas (de maíz).
  • 🇵🇦 Panama: palomitas (de maíz), popcorn, millo.
  • 🇵🇾 Paraguay: pororó.
  • 🇵🇪 Peru: cancha, canchita, porcó, porcor.
  • 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico: poscón, popcorn (es pronunciado como “poccón” o “pop coln”).
  • 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic: palomitas (de maíz), cocalecas.
  • 🇺🇾 Uruguay: pororó, pop.
  • 🇻🇪 Venezuela: cotufas.

Other names

There are many more translations, and over time, new terms that aren’t used today will appear. Here, I’d like to mention other names for popcorn from more specific regions or communities.

  • 🇧🇷 Brazil: pipocas.
  • 🇧🇿 Belize: poporocho
  • Communities of Catalonia, Balearic Islands, and Valencian (Community): crispetes, roses, rosetes, bufes.
  • 🇮🇨 Canary Islands: cotufas, roscas.
  • Almería, Murcia y Alicante: tostones.
  • Granada, Jaén, Málaga: rosetas.
  • Aragón: pajaretas.