Doblar vs. plegar
The Spanish words 'doblar' and 'plegar' both refer to the action of folding, typically used for different objects and contexts with varying subtleties in their use.
Doblar
'Doblar' is a Spanish verb generally used to denote the action of folding. Most commonly, it is used when referring to folding clothes.
Dobla la ropa antes de guardarla en el cajón.
(Fold the clothes before putting them in the drawer.)
Necesito doblar las toallas.
(I need to fold the towels.)
Plegar
'Plegar' is another Spanish word for folding, which is mostly utilized in context of folding paper-like materials such as maps, or administrative tasks involving documents.
Por favor, plega el mapa.
(Please, fold the map.)
Luego de leerlo, plegué el documento y lo guardé.
(After reading it, I folded the document and kept it.)
Summary
'Doblar' and 'plegar' both mean 'to fold', yet they differ slightly in their usage. 'Doblar' is generally used when it comes to items like clothes, while 'plegar' is primarily used for paper like materials such as documents and maps.