Same thing, eight ways to say it
How to say “beans” in Spanish — country by country
There is no single pan-Hispanic word for this — No single pan-Hispanic standard (dry beans, e.g. red/black beans). DLE headwords judía / alubia (Spain) vs frijol (Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Caribbean), poroto (Southern Cone), habichuela (DO, PR; = green bean in CO/ES), caraota (Venezuela). Here is what you'll actually hear in eight cities, with the source for every cell.
What people actually say
| Where | They say | Also · notes |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Buenos Aires | porotos | frijol is known but not eaten/used. |
| Chile Santiago | porotos | |
| Colombia Medellín | fríjoles | Also: frisoles (paisa) Paisa stress: FRÍ-joles. habichuela = green bean. Bogotá: frijol/fríjol (Saúl Ortega uses frijol). |
| Dominican Republic Santo Domingo | habichuelas | Also: frijol (also used; DAMER frijol tags RD:N) vainitas = green beans. |
| Spain Madrid | judías / alubias | Also: habichuela (La Mancha/Murcia/south) judía verde = green bean. |
| Mexico Mexico City | frijoles | Also: frijolitos (affectionate) The whole of Mexico is the same. |
| Peru Lima | frejoles | Also: frijol (written media, now coexisting); poroto (DAMER tags Pe for the seed) |
| Puerto Rico San Juan | habichuelas | Also: frijol (DAMER frijol tags PR) habichuelas tiernas = green beans (unsourced). |
Grey = the pan-Hispanic dictionary word is what people really say there. Blank = we couldn't source it yet.
Watch out
- habichuela = dry bean in DO/PR but green bean in Colombia (SilentShyJD, Juceto, WR 603555) and Spain (judía verde; belén, WR 325388). Rude sense in PR: tesoro.pr habichuela: «Voz usada por prostitutas. Clítoris. También dicen la habichuelita.» — marginal register, but on record. In DO green beans are vainitas (Cocina Dominicana glossary: «En la República Dominicana, los frijoles verdes son vainitas»). [1][2][3][4]
- poroto outside AR/CL: Chile «bulto» (lump), Uruguay «cosa de escaso valor» (DAMER poroto other senses). DAMER poroto also tags Co:SO (south-west Colombia) and Pe for the seed, so it is understood in parts of CO/PE but is not the Medellín/Lima word. [1]
- frijol / fríjol stress: DPD (quoted by Jellby, WR 997288) accepts both; Colombians say FRÍ-jol (JOYCE, SilentShyJD); Peru historically frejol (aguda) with frijol gaining in print (jorgema). Antioquia also has frisoles (BETOREYES). [1]
- frijol = cold (pop., festive) in Mx/Gu/Ho: DAMER frijol II — a pun, not a trap. [1]
- caraota is Venezuela-only (DAMER caraota); not in any of the eight columns. [1]
- Spain's judía/alubia are unknown as everyday words in Latin America; Spain's habichuela is regional (Birke: La Mancha/Murcia) and a Spanish poster associates it with Puerto Ricans (belén).
Hear it in the city
Reading a table is one thing; ordering with it is another. Loquala puts you at a real counter with a local who speaks the variety you're learning — and corrects you in your own language.
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Start speaking — freeSources
Every cell above is backed by human-authored lexicography or a native speaker who says where they're from — ASALE's Diccionario de americanismos, El Colegio de México's Diccionario del español de México, the Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, the Peruvian Academy's DiPerú, and country-stated posts on language forums. Nothing here comes from a model's recall. Spot a mistake? Tell us — corrections from native speakers go straight in.
- Argentina — porotos
- DAMER:
I.2. Pa, Co:SO, Ec, Ch, Ar, Ur. frijol, fruto; I.3. Ec, Pe, Bo, Ch, Py, Ar, Ur. frijol, semilla
↗ - WordReference · aleCcowaN (Argentina):
En la Argentina se conocen las palabras frijol y frijoles, y se comen porotos
↗ - WordReference · Calambur (Argentina, rioplatense):
En la Argentina los llamamos porotos
↗ - Chile — porotos
- DAMER:
poroto I.2/I.3 tag Ch
↗ - WordReference · cristina friz (Valdivia, Chile):
En Chile son 'porotos'
↗ - Colombia — fríjoles
- DAMER:
frijol I.1 fruit: tag Co
↗ - WordReference · JOYCE (Colombia):
En Colombia decimos Fríjoles
↗ - WordReference · BETOREYES (Colombia):
Bandeja Paisa (los frijoles/frisoles)
↗ - WordReference · SilentShyJD (Colombia):
fríjoles… habichuela = green bean
↗ - Dominican Republic — habichuelas
- DAMER:
I.1. f. RD, PR. Frijol, especialmente el de color rojo, básico en la dieta del puertorriqueño y del dominicano
↗ - Cocina Dominicana · Clara González:
Habichuelas es como los dominicanos llamamos a los frijoles
↗ - WordReference · Cronista (República Dominicana):
En la República Dominicana se usa frijol... También se utiliza la palabra habichuela
↗ - Spain — judías / alubias
- WordReference · pickypuck (Spain):
Los términos 'estándar'... son judías... o bien alubias
↗ - WordReference · Birke (España meridional):
habichuela in the La Mancha/Murcia zone
↗ - WordReference · belén (Spain):
'habichuela' solo la he oido entre los portorriqueños
↗ - Mexico — frijoles
- DAMER:
I.1. m. Mx, Gu, Ho, ES, Ni, CR, Pa, Cu, RD:N, PR, Co, Ec, Pe, Bo. Fruto de la planta de frijol
↗ - DEM (COLMEX):
es parte fundamental de la dieta de los mexicanos: frijolitos refritos
↗ - WordReference · Brenduchis (Mexico City):
frijoles
↗ - Peru — frejoles
- DAMER:
I.1. m. Ec, Pe. frijol, planta / semilla / fruto
↗ - WordReference · jorgema (Peru):
En el Perú lo común era decir frejol... Actualmente ambas formas coexisten... con preferencia por frijol en los medios escritos
↗ - WordReference · UNMSM (Perú):
En el Perú... se dice frejol. Asì es, palabra aguda
↗ - Puerto Rico — habichuelas
- DAMER:
RD, PR. Frijol... básico en la dieta del puertorriqueño y del dominicano
↗ - Dialecto Boricua · SheilaTN:
En Puerto Rico, las habichuelas son lo que se conoce como frijoles, judías, porotos o caraotas en otros países
↗ - WordReference · Kymoon (Puerto Rico):
Puerto Rico, where the term [habichuela] is used; Puerto Ricans call them habichuelas, no matter the color (borgonyon)
↗
Where we're less sure
- DO: habichuelas vs frijol — Cronista (RD) leads with frijol and adds habichuela; DAMER tags frijol only for RD:N (north) and habichuela for all RD; Clara González says habichuelas. Ask a capitaleño which word they use at the table (expected: habichuelas) and whether frijol sounds northern/Cibao.
- CO: Medellín fríjoles vs frisoles frequency; Bogotá stress and word not separately attested beyond Saúl Ortega's unmarked usage. A paisa and a bogotano should each confirm.
- ES: Madrid judías vs alubias — pickypuck gives both as standard; which is more Madrid-everyday needs a madrileño. Fine for a grey cell either way.
- PE: frejol vs frijol is generational/register-shifting per jorgema; card should probably show frejoles with a note. Confirm with a limeño under 30.
- PR: strong (DAMER + named Boricua blog + two WR posters).
- DLE returned 403 to every fetch, so DLE is not cited; dle.rae.es blocked every fetch.