No getting the wrong end of the stick with Spanish nouns palo (masculine) and pala (feminine) as we continue our series looking at the commonest meanings of potentially confusable words.
You can listen to the pronunciation of palo here:
Un palo is a long (at least in comparison to its width or diameter) and generally cylindrical object often made of wood. It translates as a stick (or a post, pole or mast, depending on the context):
Estaba dibujando con un palo en la arena.
He was drawing in the sand with a stick.
Todos llevaban palos, machetes, piedras.
They were all carrying sticks, machetes, stones.
El ataúd es amarrado a cuatro palos y transportado en hombros.
The coffin is fastened onto four poles and carried on shoulders.
fragatas de tres palos y vela cuadrada
frigates with three masts and a square sail
Un palo is the long part of something (such as a broom, an axe or a knife) that you hold. It translates as a handle or shaft:
Con el palo de una escoba dio los tres golpes convenidos en el techo.
Using the broom handle she gave the three knocks that had been agreed on the ceiling.
Su madre espantaba las gallinas con un largo palo de escoba.
Their mother would scare the hens away with a long broom handle.
In informal language, un palo is also a blow with such an object:
Empezó a darle palos.
She began to strike him.
Había matado a palos a alguien.
He had beaten someone to death.
In sport, un palo (de golf) is a (golf) club while un palo (de hockey) is a (hockey) stick:
la bolsa de palos
the bag of (golf) clubs
Le regalaron un palo de golf del siglo XIX.
They gave him a 19th-century golf club.
La forma correcta de agarrar un palo de hockey
The correct way to hold a hockey stick
In cards, there are four palos as here palo means suit:
Tenía dos cartas de cada palo.
I had two cards from each suit.
Moving on to pala, you can listen to its pronunciation here:
Una pala is a tool with a wider, flatter piece at the end of a handle. It can be used for digging, when it translates as a spade or, if it has turned-up sides and is used for scooping up or shovelling materials such as coal and ash, a shovel:
La pala y el cubo se oxidaban.
The bucket and spade were going rusty.
Volvieron con azadones y palas.
They came back with hoes and spades.
PUZZLE TIME
From the following examples, what do you think un palillo de dientes or un palillo is?
una caja de palillos de dientes
Permanecía sentado en una banca, con un palillo entre los labios.
ANSWER
In these examples un palillo de dientes and un palillo both mean a toothpick:
una caja de palillos de dientes
a box of toothpicks
Permanecía sentado en una banca, con un palillo entre los labios.
He was sitting on a bench, with a toothpick between his lips.
The -illo ending means little, with un palillo literallymeaning a little stick, so palillo can also be used to refer to a drumstick or a chopstick.
To get a handle on the meanings of more similar-looking but differently used nouns, come back next week.
