bocadillo

Spanish

Etymology

diminutive of bocado (“mouthful”), from bocado +‎ -illo.

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /bokaˈdiʝo/ [bo.kaˈð̞i.ʝo]

• IPA^(key): (most of Spain and Latin America) /bokaˈdiʝo/ [bo.kaˈð̞i.ʝo]
• IPA^(key): (rural northern Spain, Andes Mountains, Paraguay, Philippines) /bokaˈdiʎo/ [bo.kaˈð̞i.ʎo]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /bokaˈdiʃo/ [bo.kaˈð̞i.ʃo]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /bokaˈdiʒo/ [bo.kaˈð̞i.ʒo]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

 

• Rhymes: -iʝo

• Rhymes: -iʝo
• Rhymes: -iʎo
• Rhymes: -iʃo
• Rhymes: -iʒo

• Syllabification: bo‧ca‧di‧llo

Noun

bocadillo m (plural bocadillos)

1. (Spain) sandwich

   Synonyms: (Spain) bocata, (Mexico) torta, (Central America) emparedado, sánduche, sándwich, sándwiche, torta

   Tengo carne, queso y tomates en mi bocadillo.

   There is meat, cheese and tomatoes in my sandwich.

2. (Colombia, Venezuela, Panama) guava jelly/jam
3. (Rest of the World) snack, bite to eat

   Necesito un bocadillo.

   I need a snack.

4. (comics) speech bubble (rounded outline, containing words, representing speech)

Usage notes

• In Spain, bocadillo and bocata (and torta in Mexico) tends to refer to a sandwich made with a baguette and any of bread, while sándwich only refers to a sandwich made with sandwich bread.

Derived terms

• bocadillería
• bocata

 

Further reading

• “bocadillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10