Nahuatl words in Mexican Spanish

Many words in Mexican Spanish come from Nahuatl. Papalote, the Mexican word for a kite, comes from papalotl, “butterfly.” Metate comes from metlatl: a sloping stone slab used with a stone grinder (metlapil), in use since pre-Hispanic times to grind corn, chiles, cacao and spices.

Other everyday Nahuatl loanwords include tianguis, chocolate, aguacate, jitomate, chapulín and cuate. Recognizing them shows how the language of the Mexica lives on in the Spanish spoken today.