Same thing, eight ways to say it
How to say “beans” in Spanish — country by country
For beans such as black or red beans, you will hear frijoles in Mexico, porotos in Argentina and Chile, and habichuelas in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Green beans are a different vocabulary question: in Mexico they are ejotes.
Sources for the short answer: Source 1 · Source 2
Try it in a sentence
Original practice examples using the vocabulary above.
- Mexico
Quiero frijoles negros.
I want black beans.
- Mexico
¿Tiene ejotes frescos?
Do you have fresh green beans?
Pronunciation: syllables and stress
Capital letters mark the stressed syllable. These are Spanish syllables, not English phonetic spellings; pronunciation varies by region.
- frijolesfri-JO-les
- ejotese-JO-tes
What people actually say
| Where | They say | Also · notes |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Buenos Aires | porotos | Regional usage frijol is known but not eaten/used. |
| Chile Santiago | porotos | Regional usage |
| Colombia Medellín | fríjoles | Regional usage Also: frisoles (paisa) Paisa stress: FRÍ-joles. habichuela = green bean. Bogotá: frijol/fríjol (Saúl Ortega uses frijol). |
| Dominican Republic Santo Domingo | habichuelas | Regional usage Also: frijol (also used; DAMER frijol tags RD:N) vainitas = green beans. |
| Spain Madrid | judías / alubias | Regional usage Also: habichuela (La Mancha/Murcia/south) judía verde = green bean. |
| Mexico Mexico City | frijoles | Regional usage Also: frijolitos (affectionate) The whole of Mexico is the same. |
| Peru Lima | frejoles | Regional usage Also: frijol (written media, now coexisting); poroto (DAMER tags Pe for the seed) |
| Puerto Rico San Juan | habichuelas | Regional usage 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).
Practise shopping at a market in Mexico City
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Start speaking — freeSources
Every filled 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.
Read the sources and research notes
- 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.
Dictionary context and regional notes
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 a cited source for every filled cell.