El pelo / Los pelos

Question

If there are two people who both have short hair, should I describe them as "Tienen los pelos cortos." or Tienen el pelo corto." ?

Answer 1

gringojrf

Ellos tienen cabello corto.

Human head hair is referred to as cabello. Hair on your arms etc is pelo. On animals it is >pelo.

You may find this to be regional Gringo but pelo and cabello are usually synonymous when it comes to human hair on the head. Have you heard of a pelirrojo? And here from Rae ...

pelo: 3. m. Cabello de la cabeza humana.

You are right however that animals are said to have pelo and never cabello.

@ Shanh - you would say : Ellos tienen el pelo corto.

You may find this free online book helpful for personal descriptions.

thank you very much :) the links are really useful and I loved the ebook - shanh, Jul 31, 2013

Yes I have heard of pelirrojo, and pelo rubio, etc. Here cabello is used for head hair so I guess it is regional. - gringojrf, Jul 31, 2013

@ Shanh - my pleasure, here's a few more books that I've written lately if you would like to use them http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/250541/easy-spanish-and-bilingual-books @ Gringo, yes I've read that in Mexico that's how it is, is that where you ar - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 31, 2013

that was just a normal - is that where you 'are'? not a pirate's ar btw jeje - Kiwi-Girl, Jul 31, 2013

Answer 2

"Tienen cabello corto" o "Tienen pelo corto"; both are correct.

y "vello" se utiliza para cualquier otra parte del cuepo exepto la cabeza. Por ejemplo: vello facial, vello púbico, vello corporal, vello axilar, etc.

Answer 3

Ellos tienen cabello corto.

Human head hair is referred to as cabello. Hair on your arms etc is pelo. On animals it is pelo.