jarana

Spanish

Etymology

From arana (“cheating”), which is probably from Quechua [Term?], note similar jalana (noisiness) from extinct Charrúa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xaˈɾana/ [xaˈɾa.na]
• Rhymes: -ana
• Syllabification: ja‧ra‧na

Noun

jarana f (plural jaranas)

1. (Mexico) a small guitar

   Hypernym: guitarra

2. (familiar) horseplay; fooling around
3. (familiar, uncountable) cheat, deception

   Synonyms: estafa, engaño

   Te hicieron jarana. ― They tricked (deceived) you.

4. (familiar) revelry
5. (familiar, Central America, countable or uncountable) debt

   Synonym: deuda

   Estoy feliz de que ya no tengo jaranas. ― I'm happy I'm not in debt any longer.

6. (Cuba) mockery

Derived terms

• enjaranarse
• jaranero

Descendants

• → Tagalog: harana

Further reading

• “jarana”, 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