madrugada
/madɾuˈɡada/
In Spanish, early morning is madrugada.
madrugada refers to the period of time between midnight and sunrise. To describe something that happened during those hours, such as saying something occurred "in the early morning" or "in the small hours," it is common to use the adverbial phrase de madrugada.
Which one should you use?
While mañana is used for the morning, madrugada specifically refers to the hours of the night or the early morning before sunrise, a time when people are typically sleeping.
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun madrugada is feminine and is almost always used with the definite article la.
How do you pronounce it?
/madɾuˈɡada/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, the madrugada is the traditional time for serenatas, when musicians perform romantic songs outside a person's window to wake them up.
- There is a popular Spanish proverb, No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano, which means that waking up earlier doesn't make the sun rise any sooner.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, saying you are de madrugada can imply you have stayed awake all night since the previous day rather than waking up early.
Examples in context
- La niebla era muy densa durante la madrugada.The fog was very dense during the early morning.This sentence is useful for describing weather conditions during the madrugada.Tatoeba #5727595 by arh, translation #10350495 by DJ_Saidez
- La intervención policial en la madrugada del 1 de noviembre fue precisamente uno de los puntos que mayores lamparones ha vertido sobre la actuación municipal en la investigación política de la tragedia.The police intervention in the early morning of November 1st was precisely one of the points that greater stains have spilt over the municipal actions in the political investigation of the tragedy.This sentence is useful for specifying the time of a particular event using the madrugada.Tatoeba #2135160 by hj66, translation #2135175 by MethodGT
- Tendremos una reunión importante en la madrugada.We will have an important meeting early in the morning.
- Voy a salir a primera hora para llegar antes del tráfico.I'm leaving early to get there before the traffic.
- Salimos de fiesta hasta las tres de la madrugada.We partied until three in the early morning.
- Suelo salir a correr en la madrugada.I usually go for a run in the early morning.
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are talking about their flight.
- MateoNuestro vuelo sale mañana en la madrugada.Our flight leaves tomorrow in the early morning.
- Sofía¿A qué hora tenemos que estar allí?What time do we have to be there?
- MateoDebemos llegar a las tres de la madrugada.We must arrive at three in the early morning.
- SofíaEntonces voy a dormir ahora mismo.Then I am going to sleep right now.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry madrugada, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
