Spanish Words For The Stationery Store

Let’s learn some Spanish words for the Stationery Store. In this lesson you will also learn how to say stationery store in Spanish, how to say pencil in Spanish, how to say paper in Spanish, how to say pencil sharpener in Spanish and how to say eraser in Spanish.

I am reminded so frequently that Spanish words change from one country to another – and even from one region to another.

How To Say Stationery Store In Spanish

A couple of weeks ago, I went to “una papelería” or stationery store in Medellin, Colombia.

We are creating a new software product and I wanted to draw a picture of the interface to give our software graphic designer an idea of what I had in mind. I am old school so I wanted to try draw my concept on a piece of paper.

How To Say Pencil In Spanish?

1. So when I went to the “papelería” and I asked one of the store’s “empleadas” (employees) for a “lápiz” (pencil).

Thinking that I may make a lot of mistakes in my drawing, I then asked her:

How To Say Eraser In Spanish?

2. ¿Dónde están las gomas de borrar?
(Where are the erasers?)

At first she gave me a rather puzzled look. And then she said to me ¿los borradores? (the erasers?)

From studying Spanish on my own, I learned that “goma de borrar” is the Spanish word for eraser. But in Colombia — and some other countries — the word for eraser is “borrador”

How To Say Sharpener In Spanish?

Next, I decided that I may need  to sharpen my “lápiz” or pencil.
So I said to her:

3. Necesito un sacapuntas.
(I need a pencil sharpener.)

***Notice that “sacapuntas” (pencil sharpener) is a masculine word that can  be used as a singular or plural noun.***

Again, she gave me a rather puzzled look. And then she said to me ¿Quieres un tajalápiz? (Do you want a
pencil sharpener?)

From studying Spanish on my own, I learned that “sacapuntas” is the Spanish word for pencil sharpener. But in Colombia, they say the word “tajalápiz” in order to say “pencil sharpener.”

How To Say Pen In Spanish

I then remembered that I needed some writing pens. But this time I was ready for her!

I used the Spanish word that everyone in Medellin, Colombia uses for writing pen: lapicero

¿Dónde están los lapiceros?
Where are the pens?

***Note that many countries in Latin America besides Colombia use the word “lapicero” in order to say pen.***

In countries such as Mexico, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the word used for pen is “pluma” — which literally means “feather.”

In countries such as Spain and the coastal cities of Colombia the word for pen is “bolígrafo.”

Before I lived in Medellin, Colombia, I lived in a coastal city of Colombia called Barranquilla — where I learned that the word for pen is “”bolígrafo.” When I moved to Medellin and I used the word “bolígrafo” — “un amiga” told me that using the word “bolígrafo” for pen sounded like something her “abuelito” (grandfather) would say.