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There are two shapes you can create in Penpot, rectangles or ellipses. (For those of you who aren’t shape nerds, ellipses here means circles or ovals.) 

Paths can be just a line or joined at each end to create an object with a fill. The difference between a shape and a path is usually not important. Both can be resized, have fills and strokes, layouts and shadows. 

Transforming shapes into paths

Sometimes, you’ll want to transform your shape into a path so you can change it in some way. For example, I might want to start with a symmetrical circle but then transform it into a path so I can 
pull a point out, remove its curves, and make myself a map pin. You can transform a shape into a path, but you can’t go back from a path to a shape.

This difference between paths and shapes is key when you’re dealing with rectangles and corner radiuses. Most UI design involves rectangles, and corner radiuses in this era of rounded corners.
But paths cannot have corner radiuses: If you transform your rectangle with a corner radius of 20 into a path, the corner is converted into two points joined with a curve. If you then resize your rectangle, that corner curve will be resized proportionally to the rest of the path, 
losing the corner radius value you specified.

In most cases, this is exactly what you want when you transform a shape into a path. 
But I’m giving you this tip so you can make the most of shapes and paths without getting caught out by corners!