Bolígrafo o Pluma?
Which is used more commonly by native spanish speakers? thanks.
14 Answers
"lapicero" es la palabra que mas he escuchado entre todos los paises de Latinoamerica, "pluma" sólo en Mexico y "bolígrafo" sólo en España.
En Perú también le decimos "lapicero" a la palabra "pen".
I was was looking through some posts and came across this one so I thought I would add my epxieriences. This is based on having worked in Mexico in engineering and architect offices..
Pluma = Pen (ball point, gel point, roller ball etc).
Lápiz = Pencil (the wood type that you need to sharpen)
Lapicero = Mechanical Pencil (like we used to call eversharps in the US)
Marcador = Either felt tip pen or magic marker type
I’m not sure why…. but I’ve found this thread entertaining and also educational to see the different names. I work in a large engineering department so just for fun, I went to our supply cabinet and took out a variety of writing instruments to see what the makers of these products called them.
BIC ballpoint pen Bolígrafos
SHARPIE highlighter Resaltador
SHARPIE marker Marcador Permanente con Punta Biselada
PAPERMATE felt tip pen Plumígrafo
UNI-BALL ballpoint pen Bolígrafos
EBERHARD felt tip pen Bolígrafos con Punta de Fieltro
PRECISE roller ball pen Bola Rodante
PAPERMATE mechanical pencil Portaminas
PILOT fine tip felt pen Marcador con Punta Fina
Not one box was marked lapicera / lapicero. I found that interesting considering all the responses to the contrary. Maybe the makers of these products need to reference SpanD before they name their products. But as the expression goes…….” A Rose by any other name would still smell as sweet.”
Hope you find this entertaining. MexGuy
in spain i was told the pen was called boligrafo
then i went to guatemala, though they don't actively express, you can't miss their "what the hell?" face when you say boligrago! they call it "lapicero".
now i live in honduras, one day i gave an honduran girl a "ballpen with feather ornament" - pluma con pluma. she said the pluma was so pretty and i natually thought she meant the feather but later i got lost when she was saying "dame una pluma" - wot? give me a feather?? then a girl who was next to her gave her a pen! in honduras they call it pluma!
As can be seen there are multiple answers to this and thought I wanted to add mine. In Puerto Rico "bolígrafo" is commonly used to refer to a ball point pen. There is also "pluma fuente" which is exactly that, a fountain pen but. "Lapicero" is not commonly used but it usually refers to a mechanical pencil. Although "boligrafo" is the most commonly used word, "pluma" is also good and can be used to refer to a pen. In Puerto Rico "pluma" also meas water faucet but the context will tell you if they refer to a feather, a pen or a faucet. No idea where "pluma" for faucet comes from.
in spain i was told the pen was called boligrafo
then i went to guatemala, though they don't actively express, you can't miss their "what the hell?" face when you say boligrago! they call it "lapicero".
now i live in honduras, one day i gave an honduran girl a "ballpen with feather ornament" - pluma con pluma. she said the pluma was so pretty and i natually thought she meant the feather but later i got lost when she was saying "dame una pluma" - wot? give me a feather?? then a girl who was next to her gave her a pen! in honduras they call it pluma!
Ni pluma, ni bolígrafo... En Argentina es "lapicera"
En Colombia decimos lapicera, no decimos bolígrafo.
In mexico youll hear pluma a lot more than boligrafo.
I've heard "pluma" or "lapicero" for "pen" from Mexicans but I've never heard anyone say "bolígrafo" or "boli". Do check other threads as gfreed suggested. Just type "pluma" into the search bar at the top of the questions. There's a thread with some interesting answers to this same question. direct link
When I was in Mexico, pluma was definitely more common. In fact I don't think anyone said boli or boligrafo. Maybe its a regional preference?
I don't know if being cool is the reason everyone around here uses 'boli' instead, I think it's much more probable that they're just..lazy, haha.
-Charlius-
Probably "bolígrafo" (ballpoint pen) as "pluma" refers to a feather pen from way back in the day. (Pluma means feather); however, "pluma" is still used for "pen"
Also, if you want to be "cool", you say "bolí" which is short for "bolígrafo"
