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"Las pailas" is a form of "paila", a noun which is often translated as "frying pan". "Las tenazas" is a form of "tenaza", a noun which is often translated as "tongs". Learn more about the difference between "las pailas" and "las tenazas" below.
la paila(
pay
-
lah
)A feminine noun is almost always used with feminine articles and adjectives (e.g., la mujer bonita, la luna llena).
1. (skillet) (Latin America)
Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.
a. frying pan
Vierta una cucharada de aceite en la paila y eche el filete cuando esté caliente.Pour a spoonful of oil in the frying pan and add the steak when it's hot.
2. (deep pan) (Latin America)
Regionalism used in Latin America: all the countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Does not include Spain.
a. large dish
Mi abuela siempre llena las pailas hasta el borde cuando voy a comer a su casa.My grandmother always fills large dishes to the brim when I go to her house for lunch.
la tenaza(
teh
-
nah
-
sah
)A feminine noun is almost always used with feminine articles and adjectives (e.g., la mujer bonita, la luna llena).
a. tongs
Peter agarró un pedazo de carbón con las tenazas y lo arrojó al fuego.Peter picked up a piece of coal with the tongs and threw it into the fire.
2. (tool)
a. pliers
El mecánico abrió su caja de herramientas y se dio cuenta que había olvidado las tenazas en el taller.The repairman opened his toolbox and realized that he had left his pliers at the workshop.
b. pair of pliers
El electricista utilizó una tenaza para cortar los cables.The electrician used a pair of pliers to cut the cables.
c. pincers
El herrero sujetaba el hierro al rojo vivo con unas tenazas.The smith held the red-hot piece of iron with some pincers.
a. pincer
En la playa, vi un cangrejo abriendo y cerrando sus tenazas.At the beach, I saw a crab opening and closing its pincers.
