Ayuda, me he pinchado la patita

What does “pinchar” mean in Spanish?

Pinchar means to prick or poke with something sharp — it comes from pincho, a spike or skewer. It’s one of Spanish’s most useful multi-taskers: a thorn pinches a paw (se ha pinchado la patita), a nurse pincha you with a needle for a shot, a flat tire is una rueda pinchada, and a DJ who pincha is simply spinning records.

Patita itself shows another everyday Spanish habit: it’s the diminutive of pata (paw, leg, or — informally — a person’s own foot). Adding -ito/-ita softens a word and adds affection, which is why a worried pet owner reaches for patita rather than the plain, clinical pata.