¿eres una niña?
The English phrase "are you a girl?" is translated into Spanish as ¿eres una niña?
This question is used to ask if a child is female. The noun niña carries a more childish connotation than the word chica. In some countries, the word muchacha is sometimes used as a synonym for chica.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb ser (to be) in the second person singular form eres, the indefinite article una (a/one) and the noun niña (girl).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, the subject pronoun tú (you) is often omitted from this phrase because the verb conjugation eres already indicates the second person singular. Additionally, you can change the meaning of the question by altering the verb: changing the second person eres to the third person es transforms the question from "Are you a girl?" to "Is she a girl?" (¿es una niña?).
Did you know?
- The word eres is a linguistic fossil from Latin. It actually comes from the future tense form eris meaning 'you will be', which survived into modern Spanish while the original present tense form was lost.
- While niña means 'girl', the word niño is often used as a collective term in some regions to refer to a group of children regardless of their gender.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to use the diminutive niñita to make the question sound more affectionate or gentle when speaking to a very small child.
Examples in context
- ¿Eres una chica?Are you a girl?
Example conversation
Mateo is meeting a new classmate for the first time.
- MateoHola, soy Mateo. ¿Eres una niña?Hi, I'm Mateo. Are you a girl?
- LucíaSí, soy una niña. Me llamo Lucía.Yes, I am a girl. My name is Lucía.
- MateoMucho gusto, Lucía.Nice to meet you, Lucía.
- LucíaIgualmente, Mateo.Likewise, Mateo.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eres, una, CC BY-SA 4.0.
