Our tour through the commonest meanings of similar-looking nouns that differ in ending, gender and usage turns to gira (feminine) and giro (masculine).
Let’s start with the feminine, gira, whose pronunciation you can listen to here:
Una gira can be a series of events held in different places by a band, artist, ballet company, politician, celebrity, and so on; in other words a tour:
El grupo organiza una gira de despedida.
The group is planning a farewell tour.
Se trata del primer concierto de una gira mundial.
It’s the first concert in a world tour.
su gira por Europa para presentar su novela
her tour through Europe to promote her novel
Otherwise, una gira is a tour or a trip by a person or group to one or more places:
El mes pasado realizamos una gira turística por el norte de Italia
Last month, we went on a sightseeing tour in the north of Italy.
Turning to giro (masculine), you can listen to its pronunciation here:
Un giro is a turn or change of direction (both literally and figuratively):
Después de efectuar un giro sobre el aeropuerto tomó tierra con toda tranquilidad.
After executing a turn above the airport he landed easily.
Las marcas en la tierra del giro brusco de una furgoneta han reforzado la teoría del secuestro.
The marks on the ground left by a van making a sharp turn have backed up the hijack theory.
Se trata de un giro de 180 grados para la industria.
It’s a U-turn for the industry.
La marca ha realizado un giro radical en su tradicional filosofía.
The brand has taken a radical turn or change of direction in its traditional philosophy.
Un giro can also be a rotating motion (as around a central point), a spin:
un giro de patinaje artístico
a figure skating spin
In the plot of a novel or film, un giro is something unexpected, a twist:
argumentos con giros imprevisibles
plots with unexpected twists
When talking about language, un giro is a particular way of expressing something – a turn of phrase or expression:
un lenguaje capaz de reproducir todos los giros del habla popular
a language capable of reproducing all the turns of phrase of popular speech
Un giro is also a method of transferring money – a money order:
Hay que enviar cheque, giro o transferencia a nombre de Dana S.A. a la siguiente dirección.
You’ll need to send a cheque, money order or money transfer in the name of Dana S.A. to the following address.
Join us again next week as we continue turning over the differences between similar-looking nouns with different meanings.
