Same thing, eight ways to say it
How to say “a straw” in Spanish — country by country
A drinking straw is a popote in Mexico, a pajita in Spain and a cañita in Peru. Puerto Rico uses sorbeto. There is no single everyday term used throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
Sources for the short answer: Source 1 · Source 2
Try it in a sentence
Original practice examples using the vocabulary above.
- Mexico
¿Me das un popote, por favor?
Can you give me a straw, please?
- Peru
Sin cañita, por favor.
No straw, please.
Pronunciation: syllables and stress
Capital letters mark the stressed syllable. These are Spanish syllables, not English phonetic spellings; pronunciation varies by region.
- popotepo-PO-te
- pajitapa-JI-ta
- cañitaca-ÑI-ta
What people actually say
| Where | They say | Also · notes |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Buenos Aires | sorbete | Regional usage Also: pajita (older; still understood) The current Buenos Aires word; two BA natives say pajita was the word until not long ago and was dropped out of prudishness. |
| Chile Santiago | bombilla | Regional usage Also: pajita (co-used in Chile) A Santiago native says bombilla is used partly to dodge the pajita double meaning. |
| Colombia Medellín | pitillo | Regional usage DAMER Co; no Bogotá / Medellín split found — the single Colombian poster in a large thread gives pitillo as the word. |
| Dominican Republic Santo Domingo | calimete | Regional usage Also: popote (DAMER also lists RD); sorbete (understood but «suena pretensioso» to the Dominican poster); chupi-chupi (one poster) DAMER RD-only headword. One self-identified Dominican native on Reddit; popote is a lexicographic also-word that no Dominican poster volunteered. |
| Spain Madrid | pajita | Standard usage Also: cañita / caña (some regions — but in most bars cañita = a small beer); pajilla (one Canarias poster; mainland posters say not to use it) Six Spain natives, one thread. Not pajilla on the mainland: «Aquí en el norte pajilla es lo mismo que paja». |
| Mexico Mexico City | popote | Standard usage The only word every Mexican poster gives, and a DEM headword; from Nahuatl popotl. Grey because in Mexico the dictionary word IS the street word. |
| Peru Lima | cañita | Regional usage Also: sorbete (DiPerú pop., DAMER Pe — the two are near-equal in Lima); sorbetín (DiPerú) DiPerú has both cañita and sorbete as headwords; the one Lima native gives both and cannot rank them. |
| Puerto Rico San Juan | sorbeto | Regional usage Also: sorbete (Tesoro lists it as a synonym) The DLE's own «P. Rico.» headword; Tesoro attests 1937-2010, and a PR native confirms. |
Grey = the pan-Hispanic dictionary word is what people really say there. Blank = we couldn't source it yet.
Watch out
- paja / pajita / pajilla = masturbation across Latin America and in northern Spain. Mate and Amapolas (Argentina) say pajita was dropped for exactly this reason; Aviador (Chile) calls it «el problema del doble sentido»; Переводчик (Spain): «pajilla es lo mismo que paja, en el sentido de masturbación». Spain keeps pajita for the straw regardless. [1]
- pitillo = a cigarette in Spain, and a joint in Puerto Rico and Peru: DAMER pitillo II.1 «m. Ni, PR, Pe. Cigarrillo de marihuana»; Spanish posters read pitillo as cigarrillo. Ask for a pitillo in Madrid and you get a smoke; in San Juan, worse. [1][2]
- sorbete = an ice cream or sherbet everywhere the straw sense is absent (Spain, Mexico, Colombia); DAMER sorbete II «m. Mx, Gu … Helado»; the Dominican poster says sorbete for a straw «suena pretensioso». [1][2]
- bombilla = the metal mate straw in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay (DAMER bombilla II «Ar, Ur, Py. Tubo de metal … para sorber el mate») and a light bulb in Spain — only Chile, Peru and Bolivia use it for a drinking straw. [1]
- cañita = a small draught beer in Spanish bars (alexacohen, Elixabete) and, per DAMER, clandestine rum in Puerto Rico («cañita. I. 1. f. PR. Ron fabricado clandestinamente») — the Peruvian straw word orders a drink in Madrid and moonshine in San Juan. [1][2]
- popote also = a very thin person in Mexico (DEM popote 3 «Persona muy delgada»). A rumour in the same thread that popote is a sex act in Costa Rica comes from a non-native and is not confirmed by any dictionary — do not repeat it as fact. [1]
- calimete is also a fern / plant name in the DR (DAMER calimete 2), and sorbeto is a biscuit / ice-cream cone in Cuba and PR (DAMER sorbeto II). Neither collision is embarrassing; both are why a Dominican asks for the straw with a gesture abroad. [1][2]
- Neighbours differ: Cuba says absorbente, Venezuela pitillo (with Colombia), El Salvador pajilla — the pitillo cell is Colombia-and-Venezuela, not Andean. [1][2]
Practise ordering at a café in Barcelona
Explore Cafè Montseny and rehearse a drink order or a polite request.
🇦🇷 Buenos Aires · 🇨🇱 Santiago · 🇨🇴 Medellín · 🇪🇸 Barcelona · 🇲🇽 Mexico City · 🇵🇪 Cusco · 🇵🇷 San Juan
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 — sorbete
- DAMER:
sorbete. I. 1. m. Ec, Pe, Ar, Ur. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - WordReference · Mate (Argentina):
En Argentina también le decimos 'sorbete'. Y antes se le llamaba 'pajita', hasta que apareció el sentido sexual de la palabra 'paja' y hubo que sustituir...
↗ - WordReference · Amapolas (Castellano rioplatense):
En Buenos Aires se dice sorbete. Pajita se decía hace tiempo, cuando la gente no tenía mente sucia.
↗ - Chile — bombilla
- DAMER:
bombilla. I. 1. f. Pe, Bo, Ch. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - WordReference · Aviador (Castellano de Chile):
En Chile se le llama bombilla. Aunque también se utiliza pajita, esta última tiene el problema del doble sentido.
↗ - Colombia — pitillo
- DAMER:
pitillo. I. 1. m. Cu, Co, Ve. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - WordReference · oa2169 (Español; Colombia-based):
En Colombia: pitillo.
↗ - Dominican Republic — calimete
- DAMER:
calimete. I. 1. m. RD. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - DAMER:
popote. I. 1. m. Mx, RD. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - Reddit r/Spanish · u/Chivo_565 (self-described Dominican):
Soy Dominicano y en mi país se dice ¡Definitivamente calimete o chupi-chupi! Sorbete suena pretensioso.
↗ - Spain — pajita
- WordReference · Stolker (Spain):
En España se dice pajita.
↗ - WordReference · alexacohen (Spanish. Spain):
Pajita. Por aquí se dice pajita. Cañita es un vaso pequeño de cerveza.
↗ - WordReference · Переводчик (Spain):
Aquí en el norte pajilla es lo mismo que paja, en el sentido de masturbación, así que nada de pajilla, por favor.
↗ - WordReference · Elixabete (Spain, Basque Country):
En el norte de España se dice pajita o cañita, aunque cañita también es una cerveza pequeña.
↗ - Mexico — popote
- DEM (COLMEX):
popote s m 1 Tubo delgado de plástico, papel u otro material que se usa para sorber líquidos 2 Tallo de ciertas gramíneas, de forma cilíndrica y delgada
↗ - DAMER:
popote. I. 1. m. Mx, RD. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - WordReference · Kibramoa (Spanish - Mexico):
En México, popote.
↗ - WordReference · xaliscience (México, español):
Aquí en Jalisco decimos popote, viene del náhuatl popotl.
↗ - Peru — cañita
- DiPerú:
cañita. f. Tubo delgado de plástico o de otro material que se usa para sorber líquidos.
↗ - DiPerú:
sorbete. m. «pop.». Cañita, tubo delgado para sorber líquidos.
↗ - DAMER:
sorbete. I. 1. m. Ec, Pe, Ar, Ur. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - WordReference · jorgema (Peruvian Spanish):
En Perú: cañita o sorbete. Ambas se usan.
↗ - Puerto Rico — sorbeto
- Tesoro PR:
Tubo delgado de plástico o papel que se usa para sorber líquidos. Sin.: sorbete. (Malaret 1937; Álvarez Nazario 1972; Morales de Walters 2009; DAMER 2010)
↗ - DLE:
sorbeto. 1. m. P. Rico. paja (‖ pajita para sorber líquidos).
↗ - DAMER:
sorbeto. I. 1. m. PR. Pajita, tubo delgado que sirve para sorber líquidos.
↗ - WordReference · lauranazario (Puerto Rico/Español & English):
En Puerto Rico le decimos sorbeto.
↗
Where we're less sure
- AR (sorbete): high — DAMER Ar + two Buenos Aires natives who also explain the pajita retreat.
- CL (bombilla): medium-high — DAMER Ch + one Santiago native; no second Chilean voice in the thread.
- CO (pitillo): medium-high — DAMER Co + one Colombian poster; no Antioquia-specific testimony.
- DO (calimete): medium — DAMER RD-only headword + ONE self-described Dominican Redditor. popote for RD is DAMER-only; no Dominican poster volunteered it.
- ES (pajita): high on usage — six Spain natives in one thread — but no DLE quote (dle.rae.es 403).
- MX (popote): high — DEM headword + DAMER + three Mexican natives. Greyed because the dictionary word is the street word.
- PE (cañita): medium — DiPerú registers both cañita and sorbete, DAMER lists Pe under sorbete, and the one Lima native gives both without ranking; either could be primary. Ask a Lima native which they say first.
- PR (sorbeto): high — Tesoro (1937-2010), the DLE's own P. Rico headword (via Wayback), DAMER PR, and a PR native.
- Not reached: dle.rae.es for pajita / pitillo / cañita (403; only sorbeto and paja via Wayback), jergasdehablahispana.org (down).
Dictionary context and regional notes
The dictionary word is pajita — Spain's word and the one the DLE lists first, but there is no single pan-Hispanic word: the DLE entry for Puerto Rico's sorbeto gives «paja, pajita, pajilla, pitillo, popote» as synonyms, and every column has its own everyday noun. pajita is also the word most likely to embarrass a learner elsewhere, since paja is masturbation across Latin America. Here is what you'll actually hear in eight cities, with a cited source for every filled cell.