Techo
 

Techo can mean ceiling or it can mean roof. Correct? But those two things are very different. Is it up to the context of the sentence to decide which meaning it carries?

Correct. I don't know why, but I constantly mix up the two words in English. I never get it wrong in Spanish. :)

I see that, of course, there are other Spanish words for ceiling and for roof. But is "techo" the most commonly used word for both?

Cielo is the right word of ceiling. Techo or tejado is roof. These words are
sometimes confused in Latin American Spanish because the the inherent
weakness of the word cielo which also means sky, heaven and the heavens. I don't know if this is done in Spain as well. Remember ceiling can also mean sky in aviation lingo.

Correcto. Although some people will use the proper terms

ceiling = cielo

roof = techo

If you are inside and someone says "mira al cielo" it is perfectly understood.

I've never seen "cielo" for a house or a room ceiling, and I think a Mexican would make unkind jokes if someone used it like that. :thinking:

The meaning I know for ceiling is "techo", which is normally the indoors side of it.
Mexicans use "azotea" for roof, when it's flat, but we commonly say "techo" for "tejado" when it's stooped and/or tiled.

El techo del comedor tiene una gotera.
The ceiling of the dining room has a water leak.

Colgamos un móvil del techo.
We hung a mobile from the ceiling.

Mi perro vive en la azotea.
My dog lives on the roof.

Se rompieron unas tejas y tuvimos que arreglar el techo.
Some tiles got broken and we had to fix the roof.

Perdona. Pensé que en todas partes se usaba eso del cielo raso...

Ahora me dejaste pensado en que otras partes no se entiende cielo por ceiling... que de todas maneras se usa más techo que cielo, por lo menos en Chile.

"Cielo raso" (completo), sí, aunque en contextos más poéticos. Pero "cielo" a secas, es más bien desconcertante. :D

Chileno.

I've a question.
Then definitely I can use roof for express a word or a phrase related with the Techo de alguna casa.

For example.

The house's roof is falling to be old.

The roof of my house is broken.


I hope your commentaries.

No creo. En la aviación, que yo sepa, sólo significa "la máxima altura que puede alcanzar el avión".