Tarro vs. frasco
While both tarro and frasco can be translated as jar in English, they refer to slightly different types of containers. The distinction primarily depends on the shape, the size, and the specific contents stored inside the vessel.
Tarro
The word tarro refers to a cylindrical container with a wide mouth, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic. It is most commonly used to store thick foods like honey, jam, mayonnaise, and coffee, or thick cosmetics like face creams.
Compré un tarro de miel pura en el mercado de agricultores.
(I bought a jar of pure honey at the farmers market.)
Mi abuela siempre guarda galletas de chocolate en ese tarro de cerámica.
(My grandmother always keeps chocolate cookies in that ceramic jar.)
Se me acabó la crema facial y tuve que abrir un tarro nuevo.
(I ran out of face cream and had to open a new jar.)
Por favor cierra bien el tarro de mermelada antes de guardarlo en el refrigerador.
(Please close the jar of jam tightly before putting it away in the refrigerator.)
Usamos un tarro de cristal vacío para guardar los botones sueltos.
(We used an empty glass jar to store the loose buttons.)
Él dejó caer el tarro de mayonesa y manchó todo el piso de la cocina.
(He dropped the jar of mayonnaise and stained the whole kitchen floor.)
Frasco
The word frasco generally refers to a smaller container, often with a narrower neck or opening, and is typically made of glass or plastic. It is frequently used for liquids, medicines, perfumes, spices, preserves, or laboratory samples, sometimes translating more closely to a flask, small bottle, or vial.
El doctor le indicó que tomara una cucharada de este frasco de jarabe cada ocho horas.
(The doctor instructed him to take a spoonful from this jar of syrup every eight hours.)
Ella colecciona cualquier frasco de perfume antiguo que encuentra en las tiendas de antigüedades.
(She collects any vintage jar of perfume she finds in antique shops.)
Necesitamos un frasco estéril para llevar la muestra médica al laboratorio.
(We need a sterile jar to take the medical sample to the laboratory.)
Abrió un frasco de pimientos encurtidos para acompañar la carne asada.
(He opened a jar of pickled peppers to accompany the roast meat.)
Puse el comino molido en un frasco pequeño con etiqueta para encontrarlo más rápido.
(I put the ground cumin in a small labeled jar to find it faster.)
El boticario mezcló los ingredientes y los vertió en un frasco oscuro.
(The apothecary mixed the ingredients and poured them into a dark jar.)
Summary
In summary, use tarro when talking about wide-mouthed jars intended for solid foods, thick spreads, or creams. Choose frasco for smaller jars, bottles, or vials that usually contain liquids, medicines, spices, or perfumes.