Bananas vs. Platanos

Question

I initially learned that the spanish equivalent for" banana" is" platano". Is the word banana also used with frequency in spanish speaking countries? Which ones please. Does the word "plantain" have any relation? Thanks.

"plátano" - Sabor, Apr 26, 2011

Thanks,I missed the tilde. - heliotropeman, Apr 26, 2011

Answer 1

¿Cual cosa es oro y plata no es? ¡Un Plátano!

thanks - heliotropeman, Apr 26, 2011

Answer 2

i've heard plátano used before. I'm not sure about foreign countries, but i'm sure it would be fine.

thanks - heliotropeman, Apr 26, 2011

Answer 3

Plantain is an English word that came from the Spanish plátano in the 1500s. According to the DRAE, banana is one type of plátano but according to my English dictionary a plaintain is a type of banana. According to the produce man in a grocery store near Washington, D.C., where there were many customers from various hispanic countries, there are many ways to refer to them in Spanish. The large ones that require cooking are called plátanos machos in some regions, but not all.

I think it would require a big, impractical research project to figure out that trying to figure it out is impossible.

Yeah. I think you first have to decide what country you are discussing bananas in. :) - Valerie, Apr 26, 2011

Muchas Gracias - heliotropeman, Apr 26, 2011

Answer 4

Helio, this is one of the very frequent questions we get. Please do a search for "banana vs platano", and you'll see all the interesting answers that have been posted.

There are many different words for Banana, and there are more kinds of banana than you realize.

Thanks - heliotropeman, Apr 26, 2011