Hair & looks · El pelo

20 Spanish words — each with a picture, audio and an example sentence. Long, short, curly, gray — describing hair works with tener: Tiene el pelo largo.

English	Spanish · Español	Notes
hair	el pelo	Also el cabello — slightly more formal.
long hair	el pelo largo	False friend: largo means 'long', not 'large' (that's grande).
short hair	el pelo corto	corto is for length; a short person is bajo.
straight hair	el pelo liso	Literally 'smooth' — also used for surfaces.
wavy hair	el pelo ondulado	🔗 Word familyFrom onda (wave).
curly hair	el pelo rizado	🌎 RegionIn Mexico also chino.
blond	rubio	In Mexico also güero/güera.
dark-haired	moreno	Describes both dark hair and skin tone.
brown-haired	castaño	🔗 Word familyFrom castaña (chestnut) — chestnut brown.
red-haired	pelirrojo	Compound: pelo (hair) + rojo (red).
gray-haired	canoso	🔗 Word familyFrom canas (gray hairs).
bald	calvo	To go bald: quedarse calvo.
haircut	el corte de pelo	🔗 Word familyFrom cortar (to cut).
hair salon	la peluquería	The -ería ending marks a shop: panadería (bakery), zapatería (shoe shop).
hairdresser	el peluquero
bangs	el flequillo	🌎 RegionIn Mexico: el fleco (flequillo is its diminutive).
ponytail	la cola de caballo	Literally 'horse tail' — like in English.
braids	las trenzas	Singular: la trenza; to braid is trenzar.
beard	la barba	Barbershop: la barbería.
mustache	el bigote	Often used in the plural: los bigotes.