[Vocabulary] pare/peel

Status
Not open for further replies.

mmasny

Key Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2009
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
Is there a difference in usage?
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
To me, pare means to remove the unwanted parts (potato skin, rotten parts, etc). Peel simply means to remove the outer thin layer of vegetables and fruits
 

BobK

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 29, 2006
Location
Spencers Wood, near Reading, UK
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
:up: In order for you to peel something, it has to have a peel! But even after you peel a vegetable you may want to pare a bit off.

But 'pare' isn't very common as a verb. Depending on the shape I was cutting I'd say slice/chop/dice. But 'paring' is more common in compound words: "cheese-paring" or "paring-knife" for example.

b
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I was just thinking that I use my paring knife to peel things. (That's when the vegetable peeler won't work for some reason.)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top