niño y niña
/niɲo i niɲa/from spelling rules
The English phrase "boy and girl" is translated into Spanish as niño y niña.
This phrase is used to refer to a male child and a female child together.
Which one should you use?
In this phrase, the gender of the children is indicated by the final vowels: o is used for the male child in niño and a is used for the female child in niña.
How does it change in a sentence?
The conjunction y (and) is used to connect the two nouns niño and niña.
How do you pronounce it?
/niɲo i niɲa/
Did you know?
- The word niño is frequently used as a term of endearment for a romantic partner or a spouse in several Spanish-speaking countries. This transforms the word for 'boy' into a word like 'honey' or 'baby'.
- The word niño might not come from a formal root, but instead mimics the babbling sounds of an actual infant.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, calling an adult a niño or niña refers to their maturity or personality rather than their chronological age.
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía are talking about their grandchildren.
- JavierTengo un niño y niña.I have a boy and girl.
- Lucía¡Qué bien! ¡Cuántos años tienen?That's great! How old are they?
- JavierEl niño y niña son muy pequeños.The boy and girl are very small.
- LucíaSeguro que son muy lindos.I'm sure they are very cute.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries niño, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
