Spanish Words of Quechua Origin

Quick Answer

In this article, we’ll discuss Spanish words of Quechua origin, such as quinoa(quinoa) and palta(avocado).

Questions This Article Answers

What is quechua?

Is quinoa Spanish?

Examples of quechua words in Spanish?

Machu Picchu 2

Quechua Influence on Spanish

Quechua(Quechua) refers to a family of languages spoken in the Imperio inca(Inca Empire) in América del Sur(South America). The Inca Empire first arose in Perú(Peru) and later extended through the Andes(Andes) to Bolivia(Bolivia), Ecuador(Ecuador), southern Colombia(Colombia), northern Chile(Chile), and northwestern Argentina(Argentina). Currently, Quechuan languages are spoken primarily in Bolivia, Perú, Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina.

Quechua, also known as quichua, has been in contact with Spanish since the arrival of the españoles(Spaniards) in the 16th century. Many of the words that the Spanish borrowed from Quechuan languages are related to flora and fauna.

Adaptations, Calques, and Loanwords

A linguistic adaptación(adaptation) is a word or phrase taken from another language but adapted to the target language for phonologic, lexical, or syntactic reasons. For example, breeze is an adaptation of the Spanish word brisa.

A calco(calque) is a word or phrase translated literally into another language. For example, roadrunner is a calque of the Spanish word correcaminos (correr: to run + caminos: roads).

A préstamo lingüístico(loanword) is a word or phrase taken from another language and used in its original form. For example, patio is a loanword taken from Spanish.

Spanish Words of Quechua Origin

The following words are quechuismos(words of Quechua origin adapted to Spanish).

Quechua	Spanish	English
allpaqa	alpaca	alpaca
chakra	chacra	farm
ch'arki	charqui	jerky
choccllo	choclo	corn
ch'ullu	chullo	chullo (woolen cap with earflaps)
ch'únchull	chinchulín	cow chitterling
čína	china	woman
cúntur	cóndor	condor
humint'a	humita	tamale
kamcha	cancha, canchita	corn nuts
kancha	cancha	field, court
kawchu	caucho	rubber
kinúwa	quinoa	quinoa
kkhéna	quena	quena
kuka	coca	coca plant
maqa	maca	maca
mati	mate	maté
muruch'u	morocho	dark-haired
pállay	payana	jacks
puchu	pucho	cigarette butt
punchu	poncho	poncho
pupu	pupo	belly button
purutu	poroto	bean
qquirquinchu	quirquincho	armadillo
rucma	lúcuma	eggfruit
sapallu	zapallo	pumpkin
tampu	tambo	diary farm
tata	taita	daddy
ushuta	ojota	sandal
wákkhra	guampa	horn
wanaku	guanaco, huanaco	guanaco
wánu	guano	guano
waskha	guasca, huasca	leather strap
wáwa	guagua(Andes)	baby
wayq'u	huaico	mudslide
wik'uña	vicuña	vicuña
wíncha	vincha	hairband
wisk'acha	vizcacha	viscacha
yuyu	yuyo	weed

examples
¿Esa es una alpaca o una vicuña? Is that an alpaca or a vicuña?
El equipo visitante ya está en la cancha. The away team is already on the field.
El guagua dejó de llorar. The baby stopped crying.

Peru children traditional clothes

Quechua Loanwords in Spanish

The following list shows Quechua préstamos lingüísticos(loanwords) used in Spanish.

Spanish	English
chala	corn husk
chaucha	string bean
llama	llama
Machu Picchu	Machu Picchu (Inca citadel)
ñaña	sister
Pachamama	Pachamama (goddess of Earth and fertility)
palta	avocado
pampa	pampa (extensive grassy plain)
papa	potato
pirca	dry-stone wall
puma	puma
puna	puna (high treeless plateau in the Andes)
yapa	gratuity

examples
Ya pelé las papas. I already peeled the potatoes.
Estas paltas no están maduras. These avocados are not ripe.
Vimos un puma cerca de esos árboles. We saw a puma near those trees.

Red beans

Using Different Words To Refer to the Same Thing in Spanish

The Spanish language has been influenced by many other languages, including other lenguas romances(Romance languages), lenguas germánicas(Germanic languages), árabe(Arabic), lenguas africanas(African languages), quechua in South America, náhuatl(Nahuatl) in Mexico, taíno(Taino) in Puerto Rico, lenguas mayas(Mayan languages) in Mexico and Central America, and so many more! Therefore, there are often different words for the same term depending on the region where Spanish is spoken.