Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say Hair in Spanish: Pelo, Cabello & Vello
Pelo · noun (masculine) · PEH-loh
Hair is pelo (el pelo) in everyday Spanish. Pelo is versatile — it covers head hair, body hair, and even animal fur in casual speech. Cabello is more elegant and restricted to hair on the human head, commonly found in shampoo ads and literary writing. Vello refers specifically to fine body hair (arms, legs, face). In Spanish, pelo is typically singular even when referring to all one's hair collectively.
Pelo is PEH-loh, two syllables, stress on PEH. Cabello is kah-BEH-yoh, three syllables. Vello is BEH-yoh (the v is pronounced as b in Spanish).
Tiene el pelo castaño y rizado.
She has brown curly hair.
Hair in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for hair, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| pelo | hair | PEH-loh | Default, widely understood |
| cabello | hair | Universal — hair (more formal, head hair only) | |
| vello | hair | Universal — body hair, fine hair |
How Native Speakers Use Pelo
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Describing appearance
Mi hermano tiene el pelo negro y lacio.
My brother has straight black hair.
Tener el pelo + adjective is the standard way to describe someone's hair. Lacio means straight (for hair). Note the singular el pelo for the whole head of hair.
At the salon
Fui a la peluquería a cortarme el cabello.
I went to the hair salon to get my hair cut.
Peluquería (hair salon) derives from pelo. Cabello sounds slightly more refined here. Cortarse el pelo is equally correct and more common in daily speech.
Body hair
El vello de los brazos se me pone de punta cuando tengo frío.
The hair on my arms stands up when I'm cold.
Vello is specifically fine body hair. Ponerse de punta means to stand on end (goosebumps). This is not interchangeable with pelo in this technical sense.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Pelo
Using cabellos (plural) to mean all head hair
Incorrect: Ella tiene los cabellos rubios.
Correct: Ella tiene el pelo rubio. / Ella tiene el cabello rubio.
In everyday Spanish, hair on the head is treated as a collective singular: el pelo or el cabello. The plural cabellos exists but sounds poetic or archaic. In normal speech, keep it singular.
Confusing pelo with piel
Incorrect: Tengo la pelo seca.
Correct: Tengo el pelo seco. / Tengo la piel seca.
Pelo (hair) is masculine; piel (skin) is feminine. If you mean dry hair: el pelo seco. If you mean dry skin: la piel seca. They are different words with different genders.
Lock in Hair Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Pelo used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using pelo in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Tiene el pelo castaño y rizado. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Hair in Spanish
- What is the difference between pelo and cabello?
- Pelo is the everyday, general word for hair — head, body, or animal. Cabello is restricted to human head hair and sounds more formal, literary, or commercial. Shampoo bottles say cabello; your friends say pelo.
- How do I describe hair types in Spanish?
- Lacio (straight), rizado (curly), ondulado (wavy), chino (curly in Mexico). Colors: rubio (blonde), castaño (brown), negro (black), pelirrojo (redhead), canoso (gray). Length: corto (short), largo (long).
- How do I say 'haircut' in Spanish?
- Corte de pelo (haircut). Cortarse el pelo means to get a haircut (reflexive). ¿Dónde te cortaste el pelo? means 'Where did you get your haircut?' Peluquero/peluquera is the hairdresser.