papel

paper, role

noun pah-PEHL Common

Usage Note

Papel means both the physical material ('paper') and a role or part (jugar un papel importante, 'to play an important role'). Hacer el papel de means 'to play the role of' in theatre or film. The plural papeles can mean 'documents, papers' in an administrative sense (tener los papeles en regla, 'to have one's papers in order').

Examples

"El actor interpretó un papel difícil."

Natural Translation

The actor played a difficult role.

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