Vocabulary Guide to Origami in Spanish

How do you say origami in Spanish? Simply, el origami. Although, if you want to use the technical term, you can refer to it as la papiroflexia (pronounce it: pa-pee-roh-fleh-xee-ah), or la cocotología (pronounce it: koh-koh-toh-loh-hee-a). However, not a lot of people outside of Spain use or even understand these terms. 

We find no change in the word origami in Spanish because the word comes from the land of the Rising Sun, Japan. It is a combination between the Japanese verb oru, which means “to fold,” and the Japanese noun kami, which means “paper.”

Contrary to popular belief, this noble art wasn’t born in Japan, but in China. The Chinese invented it around the first century and took it to Japan around 500 years later. 

Japanese people did, however, popularize it over the centuries until everyone was able to practice it on the island in the 19th century. The Spanish writer, Miguel de Unamuno popularized origami in the 1930s in the Spanish-speaking world.

If you are ready to learn about origami in Spanish, you know what to do: lay back, get comfortable, and get ready to start scrolling down.

FUN FACT: Miguel de Unamuno invented the Spanish word cocotología mixing the French word cocotte meaning “paper bird” and the suffix –logía which means “the study of.”

Verbs To Use With Origami in Spanish

Origami is the technique of making paper shapes by folding them repeatedly. How do you say “to fold” in Spanish? The short answer is doblar, which is a regular verb. If you want to say “making origami” in Spanish you can say hacer origami. 

Another possibility is the irregular verb plegar which we use a lot and it is perfect to use with papel (paper), whereas doblar is more general and you can use it with: ropa (clothes), partes del cuerpo body parts, or with enough force, metales (metals), as well as paper. 

Check out how to conjugate plegar in presente simple (simple present), pretérito (simple past), futuro simple (simple future) and imperativo (imperative.)

Plegar Conjugation Simple Present

Plegar Conjugation Simple Past

Plegar Conjugation Simple Future

Plegar Conjugation Imperative

Practice Sentences

Ella pliega el papel muy bien; hace buen origami.
She folds the paper very well—she makes good origami.

El otro día plegamos un periódico.
The other day we folded a newspaper.

Plegaré unas ocho figuras hoy.
I will fold around 8 shapes today.

Plegad el papel de forma transversal.
Fold the paper in a crossed way.

Types of Paper To Use in Origami in Spanish

El papel (paper) is la materia prima (the raw material) to origami, but there are different types of papers in which to fold your creations, some specifically made for origami, and some more creative ones. Check these types of papers to make origami in Spanish.

Types of Paper in Spanish A-K

Types of Paper M-Z

Practice Sentences

Hacer origami con cartón es una locura.
Making origami with paperboard is crazy.

El papel Xuan es carísimo.
Xuan paper is very expensive.

¿Has plegado papel kraft? Es buenísimo para hacer origami.
Have you folded kraft paper? It is great to do origami.

Mi hijo plegó este cerdito en papel periódico.
My son folded this little pig using the newspaper.

PRO TIP: El papel periódico refers to the material of the paper, whereas el periódico means “the newspaper”—the piece of paper in which you read journalistic material everyday.

Origami in Spanish: Models

Folding paper to do modelos or figuras (models) is the main goal of origami. 

In this section you can find 26 different ideas models in Spanish to expand your vocabulary, including the famous origami crane, in Spanish, check them out!

Origami Models A-E

Origami Models F-Z

Practice Sentences

Hacer un corazón de origami es fácil.
Making an origami heart is easy.

Plegar una grulla es clásico en el origami.
Folding a crane is classic in origami.

¿Puedes hacer una estrella ninja de origami?
Can you make an origami shuriken?

La rana saltarina es muy linda.
The jumping frog is very nice.

Origami in Spanish: Folding Techniques

If you are into origami, maybe you know that there are different folding techniques. These are the three basic folding techniques for origami in Spanish.

• valley folding – el plegado valle
• mountain folding – el plegado montaña
• double folding – el plegado doble

Common Instruction Words for Origami in Spanish

If you’re not an autodidacta (self-taught person) like most of us, you might need to sign up for an origami class or check YouTube out for some tutorials. Here, you will find the words pliega, plegá, plieguen or plegad quite a lot. Let’s check out these instructions for origami in Spanish on how to make un cerdito de origami (an origami pig.)

Dobla dos veces por la mitad, juntando las puntas, para marcar los pliegues.
Fold in half twice, keeping both edges together to mark the foldings.

Luego, lleva dos puntas opuestas hacia el centro que quedó marcado por los pliegues.
Then, take both of the opposite edges to the center that was left marked by the foldings.

Mantén esas puntas dobladas y coloca la figura en forma vertical para juntar las otras dos puntas plegando el papel en dos.
Keep those two edges folded and put the model vertically to join the other two edges folding the paper in half.

Pliega la punta que queda hacia el punto que se muestra en la foto, y luego abre y pliega solo un lado hacia abajo, de modo que, como resultado, quede un pequeño rombo blanco.
Fold the tip that is left towards the point shown in the picture, and then open and fold just one side downwards so that, as a result, you can see a small white diamond.

Doblas las dos puntas superiores un poco hacia dentro, para formar las orejas.
Fold both upper edges a bit towards the inside to form the ears.

Finalmente, pinta los ojos y la nariz del cerdito con el rotulador.
Finally, color the piggy’s eyes and nose with a marker.

Origami in Spanish Terms

Here are some extra words, and some terms that any origami enthusiast should know. Check them out.

Origami in Spanish: Terms A-F

Origami in Spanish: Terms M-Z

PRO TIP: The word el pliegue can be substituted by its synonym el doblez. If you say la doblez, however, it means hypocrisy or lies.

Exercise Your Brain With Origami and Spanish!

Origami is the art of folding paper into a certain shape without using scissors or glue to achieve it. Not only can it be relaxing but it can be beneficial to your brain as well. It can stimulate your concentration, develop your hand-eye coordination and stimulate your concentration.

If you enjoy this, then learning Spanish is a great idea, because it can highly boost your decision making abilities as well as your cognition skills and boost your brain in places that origami does not. Sign up for a free Spanish class today and start discovering all the benefits of learning this amazing language. Some of them are, getting a better paycheck and opening the door to 21 countries and cultures, as well as understanding the third most spoken language on the internet!

Learning Spanish with Homeschool Spanish Academy is a great idea, not only thanks to our more than 10 years of experience in teaching SpLearning Spanish with Homeschool Spanish Academy is a great idea, not only thanks to our more than 10 years of experience in teaching Spanish, but also thanks to our tailored lessons, flexible schedules, high school Spanish credit and great pricing options! Learn Spanish today!

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Javier Grazioso

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Italo-Guatemalan, born and raised in Guatemala City, where I got a B.A. in Communication and Journalism. Currently, I'm living in Spain where I'm studying for a master's degree. I'm a language and travel enthusiast who speaks Spanish, English, Italian, and a bit of Hungarian. I love watching sports, practicing boxing, writing, and gaming.

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