tía y tío
/tia i tio/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for aunt uncle is tía y tío.
The phrase is used to refer to the sister and brother of one's parent. In many Spanish-speaking cultures, tío or tía can also be used colloquially to address friends or acquaintances, similar to how one might use terms like 'guy' or 'girl' in certain English dialects.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some areas of Spain, tía and tío can be used informally to refer to friends or acquaintances.
How does it change in a sentence?
When referring to one specific aunt and one specific uncle, the singular forms tía and tío are used with the conjunction y. If you are referring to a group of only aunts, use the feminine plural tías. To refer to a group consisting of both aunts and uncles, or a group of only uncles, use the masculine plural tíos.
Did you know?
- Unlike English where 'aunt' and 'uncle' come from different roots, tía and tío both originate from the Ancient Greek word for 'divine'.
- In some Spanish contexts, calling someone tío can be used to express surprise or disbelief, similar to saying 'man!' or 'dude!' in English.
- Because of the grammatical rule of masculine inclusion, a group containing 99 'tías' and only one 'tío' will be referred to collectively as tíos.
Examples in context
- Mi tío es muy gracioso.My uncle is very funny.
Example conversation
María and Daniel are looking at old family photos.
- María¿Quiénes son ellos en esta foto?Who are they in this photo?
- DanielSon mi tía y tío en Italia.That is my aunt and uncle in Italy.
- MaríaSe ven muy felices juntos.They look very happy together.
- DanielSí, mi tía y tío son muy divertidos.Yes, my aunt and uncle are very funny.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tía, tío, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
