# punzón



## powerluceni

How would you say in English "punzón and picar"? I mean the school tool to  use it instead of scissors and the action picar.
Thank you.


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## gotitadeleche

Have you tried the WordReference Dictionary? Both words are there. If you still aren't sure, or have more questions, come back and ask again.


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## powerluceni

gotitadeleche said:


> Have you tried the WordReference Dictionary? Both words are there. If you still aren't sure, or have more questions, come back and ask again.


 
Yes, i have tried but im not sure about the meaning because it does not say anything about the school tool.


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## gotitadeleche

From the WordReference dictionary:

*punzón *sustantivo masculino (para hacer agujeros) bradawl, awl;
(para hacer ojetes) hole punch;
(de grabador, escultor) burin

For the school context, if you are talking about children, I would use "hole punch." The other words are a little more technical.

For picar, you can say to poke or to punch.


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## 0_Christine_0

Hola a todos:

He estado revisando hilos previos en el foro pero no termina de quedarme claro.

Estoy buscando el equivalente en inglés para "punzón". Me refiero al instrumento que se usan los niños en las escuelas. Tienen una especie de almohadilla donde colocan encima una hoja de papel y van haciendo agujeros en el papel mediante el punzón siguiendo una forma determinada, un dibujo, o lo que sea.

No estoy segura de que esto sea un "hole punch". ¿Puede ayudarme alguien?

Saludos.


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## k-in-sc

A regular hole punch just makes round holes. The ones that make fancy shapes are called decorative hole punches, paper punches, craft punches, etc. Paper Shapers is a brand that makes large cutouts.


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## 0_Christine_0

That's what I mean - I am referring to another type of "punzón". It's a kind of tool which ends in a sharpy metal end. 
I don't know if I'm allowed to post a pic here, but in order for you to get an idea, you could google "punzón para niños" in the images section. That's the kind of tool I'm referring to.


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## k-in-sc

A stick with a metal point? I've never seen those. I can't imagine schools here allowing them  Why do you need a translation?


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## 0_Christine_0

k-in-sc said:


> A stick with a metal point? I've never seen those. I can't imagine schools here allowing them  Why do you need a translation?



Yeah, that's exactly what I'm looking for. Don't you have them in English-speaking countries?


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## mijoch

For light work---paper/cloth---bodkin. 

For heavier work--leather/wood--awl.


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## 0_Christine_0

I think the first one is the most appropriate. Thanks.


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## k-in-sc

It's not either of those, most people don't know what a bodkin is anyway and they probably won't understand what the kids are doing with a pointed instrument. You haven't said what your context is, but I really think you need to explain this activity for English speakers.


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## Bevj

Having raised three children in the Spanish education system, I remember well buying one or more 'punzones' every September.
I think they were/are used for art and crafts, for making holes in card or other materials.  I have always referred to them as a hole puncher.


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## mijoch

Back to School ..... shed more intense, lower light), it would have been time for embroidery or handiwork. ... Mrs. Delany used tweezers, a bodkin (an embroidery tool for poking holes), perhaps a thin, flat ...


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## k-in-sc

mijoch said:


> Back to School ..... shed more intense, lower light), it would have been time for embroidery or handiwork. ... Mrs. Delany used tweezers, a bodkin (an embroidery tool for poking holes), perhaps a thin, flat ...


Yes, I'm sure bodkins were common in 1772 (but this modern author had to explain what one was). And don't forget the ox gall:
_Mrs. Delany used tweezers, a bodkin (an embroidery tool for poking holes), perhaps a thin, flat bone folder (shaped like a tongue depressor and made for creasing paper), brushes of various kinds, mortar and pestle for grinding pigment, bowls to contain ox gall (the bile of cows which when mixed with paint made it flow more smoothly) ..._


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## 0_Christine_0

Bevj said:


> Having raised three children in the Spanish education system, I remember well buying one or more 'punzones' every September.
> I think they were/are used for art and crafts, for making holes in card or other materials.  I have always referred to them as a hole puncher.



Yes - this is what I am referring too. Are they hole punches as well?


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## k-in-sc

I would call it a "hole puncher" too, but seeing one and describing it is not the same as knowing what someone else means by "hole puncher" if you've never seen one.


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## Bevj

I had never seen one before either.  I'm sure that Nanny UK would not let children go to school with such potentially dangerous instruments.
I am sure there is a better and more descriptive translation than 'hole puncher' but that's better than 'a small wooden thing with a sharp metal point a bit like a screwdriver'


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## k-in-sc

Yes, the OP still has not said why she needs an English term for this thing or whether whoever this translation is for will already be familiar with it or not.


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## mijoch

The names and uses of tools often don't line up too well between languages.

Punzón describes well the function-----make a hole. There are two basic type "punzón de punta" and "punzón de boca". The "punta" one has a sharp point. The "boca" one cuts a hole the size and shape of the "boca". This is a "hole punch".

I imagen that in school the "punta" one is used, and a good description is "punzón".

The "bodkin" has a number of uses. The sharp pointed one simply makes thin holes". Another type of bodkin is a blunt needle with a large eye used the draw tape through a long hole to keep your pyjamas up.

The "awl" is simply a stronger version of the sharp bodkin. I agree that the word bodkin may not be well-known. It would depend on the school, the teacher, and the catalogue name used to buy them. These are not hole punches.

In the UK they would be supplied by the school for use in handicraft lessons, and then collected at the end.

Us boys never got to use "bodkins"; we used "awls". So I don't know what word a teacher would use for "bodkins": perhaps "bodkins".


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## k-in-sc

Note that the preferred spelling is "bodkin."


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## mijoch

Dreadful mistake.

Free Dictionary give "punch/bodkin". The problem being that a version of "punzón" is a hole punch. The version of the OP is the sharp pointed "punzón", bodkin.

If "bodkin" is a problem, I suggest "needle" which is familiar in "knitting needles" and they're big with points.


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## k-in-sc

This isn't a needle, though. It has a wooden handle. Did you look at the images?


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## mijoch

Yes------I've got one here. It's a needle mounted in a wooden handle. It's too weak to be used as awl. I use it for marking through holes to drill in the right place.

There's a company that markets "three piercing points"-----awl, bodkin, pricker. (bodkin is used now).

I would call what I have "pricker". I don't about AE, but in BE we do "prick holes in things like paper. etc.

So there yer goes------PRICKER.


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## k-in-sc

I'm imagining the hilarity that the word "pricker" would cause among elementary school boys


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## mijoch

That's just the bonus. 

I can't wait for the spring. Prick out some seedlings
 y podar el follaje.


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## k-in-sc

And harden them off. Just don't drag dibbles into this


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## englishfreak

Hemos terminado por decir "paper piercer", si sirve.


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## englishfreak

LOL
We use "paper piercer", si sirve.


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## donbill

"Hole punch[er]" si es para hacer ojetes. 'Paper piercer' me suena muy mal, pero sirve si el instrumento se usa para perforar el papel para hacer adornos, diseños, etc.


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## englishfreak

I don't know, three natives from the UK ok-ed it here at work, maybe it's a UK-US think? It's used when the kid is too young to use scissors, so he grabs this and presses it against a mat over a paper and "cuts" this way.

Moderator's note
Links to youtube and similar are not allowed unless they have prior authorization.
Bevj

We thought of puch stylo and others...

I have to say I was shocked at reading ojete. In this side of the Atlantic I'm afraid that refers to just the one hole... ;-)
Thanks a lot!


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## englishfreak

Sorry about the link, I thought as long as it had a capture or something it was fine, I have to reread the rules,  sorry! just youtube "punzón infantil" and check videos with kids doing arts and crafts in case you are interested.


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## donbill

englishfreak said:


> I have to say I was shocked at reading ojete. In this side of the Atlantic I'm afraid that refers to just the one hole... ;-)
> Thanks a lot!



It can mean the same thing here!


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## oceansounds

The term for _punzón _in English is "punch-out pin" or "pin puncher". This tool is normally used by preschoolers or elementary school students in Montessori schools.

The activity is called pin punching or pin punch work, e.g. "my daughter is punching out shapes/letters with a pin puncher".


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