Vocabulary Guide to Glassblowing Terms in Spanish

Combine the worlds of glassblowing and learning a foreign language with this vocabulary guide to glassblowing terms in Spanish!

Soplado de vidrio (glassblowing) is a unique artform in which a skilled artist shapes heat-softened glass. While many techniques to manipulate glass exist, one of the most famous is to blow air into a tube while the glass is heated. 

To say “glassblowing” in Spanish, your options are soplado de vidrio, which is the literal translation and the more common term, vidrio soplado (blown glass).

Keep reading this article to better understand instructional glass blowing tutorials in Spanish and easily discuss your techniques and artisanal process with Spanish speakers. 

¡Aprendamos términos de vidrio soplado en español!
Let’s learn glassblowing terms in Spanish!

Glass-related Facts and Vocabulary

Did you know glass is made from sand? Or that the way to change its color is by adding and mixing minerals? Adding nickel oxide creates a violet color, for example. Humans have used glass for centuries. 

In nature, glass is made from lightning or volcanic lava. Sounds crazy, right? Glass figures appear in deserts after a lightning storm or at the skirts of a volcano after an eruption in the form of obsidian. 

Man made glass is recyclable, but it takes up to a million years to decompose. Here are some glassblowing terms in Spanish related to these glass facts:

English	Spanish
color	el color
eruption	la erupción
glass	el vidrio
lightning	el relámpago
man-made	hecho por el hombre, artificial
mineral, minerals	el mineral, los minerales
nature	la naturaleza
nickel oxide	óxido de níquel
obsidian	la obsidiana
recyclable	reciclable
sand	arena
volcanic lava	lava volcánica

Learn about the history of glassblowing.

See also: A Colorful Exploration of Mexican Folk Art

Glassblowing Techniques 

Many techniques exist when it comes to glass handling. One of the most common is fusion—taking the glass to its fusion point to manipulate it and then letting it cool down.

Within this technique you can find many others, like for an instance the thermal temper technique, which is more practical. You take the glass to its fusion point and then cool it quickly. This will redistribute the tension of the glass, making it more resistant. 

Glassblowing Terms and Techniques

English	Spanish
artist	el/la artista
bubbles	las burbujas
creativity	la creatividad
elements	los elementos
fusion point	el punto de fusión
heat	el calor
heated	calentado/a
layers	las capas
metallic tube	el tubo metálico
mold	el molde
piece	la pieza
technique	la técnica
temperature	la temperatura
tension	la tensión
thermal temper	el temple térmico

Glassblowing Verbs

English	Spanish
to add	agregar
to blow	soplar
to handle	manejar
to heat	calentar
to let something cool down	dejar enfriar
to make	hacer
to manipulate	manipular
to melt	fundir
to mix	mezclar
to pour	verter
to redistribute	redistribuir
to shape	dar forma

Hand-picked for you: A-Z Guide on Spanish Art Words

Let’s Get Technical 

The main sources of heat to make glass products are furnaces that heat up to 2,000º F. You can place a yoke right outside it to support the pipes and to give your hands the stillness they need. The blowing hose goes in a hole within the furnace. 

You’ll need a bench to give support to that hose once you take the glass out. Once the piece is out, you put it in an annealer to cool down gradually. This will prevent it from shattering since glass that cools down too quickly always breaks.  

Blocks are wooden tools you use to shape masses of glass into spheres. Then, the glass goes in the furnace and it’s ready for the glassblower to blow bubbles into. 

When working with small pieces, you can use a blowtorch for greater precision.

Shears are useful when shaping a piece of glass, and paddles are for flattening the edges of the piece. 

Glassblowing Tools 

English	Spanish
annealing	el recocido
furnace	el horno
paddles	las paletas
pipes	los tubos
shears	las tijeras
small pieces	las piezas pequeñas
sources	las fuentes
torch	antorcha
yoke	yunta

Artisanal Glass in Latin America

Artisanal glass has spread throughout Latin America and across the globe. The most prominent place to find it is Mexico. Tonala in Jalisco is the capital city of blown glass in this country. 

Here, you’ll find flower vases, lamps, ornaments, animal-shaped glass, kitchenware, and much more. The most celebrated figures are the ones with local motifs and related to holidays like Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead). 

In El Progreso, Honduras, pioneer craftsmen have opened workshops and stores selling all shapes and sizes of blown glass. 

Ezpeleta, Argentina offers crystalware, gastronomy glasses, lamps, gifts, and perfume vases. The main cooperative there is 71 years old.

In Bogotá, many shops are dedicated to the art of glassblowing. The Colombian capital is also home to the Glass Museum. The pieces in the exhibitions were donated by these artists. You can see the difference between natural and artificial glass, as well as the results of handling it with many techniques.

Learn More Spanish Vocabulary

Now that you’ve learned all about glassblowing terms in Spanish, are you ready to take the next step towards learning Spanish? 

Learning Spanish is a brilliant idea because it is a great tool in life to make your resume shine and connect with more people. Spanish is the language with more native speakers on the planet besides Chinese and has 41 million speakers that use it at home in the United States, according to CNN.

Speaking Spanish empowers you to travel easier anywhere in the 21 countries that speak Spanish. You’ll be able to chat with locals and ask for tips, opinions, engage in conversations, and even make life-long friends. 

Here at Homeschool Spanish Academy, we specialize in helping you speed up your learning process. Sign up for a free trial class today and practice these glassblowing terms and many more subjects with our certified, native-speaking teachers from Guatemala.

Together, we’ll tailor a Spanish package that suits your needs and interests during your flexible individualized lessons with our friendly instructors. Check our affordable pricing and flexible programs.

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