abuela y abuelo
/abwela i abwelo/from spelling rules
The phrase for "grandma and grandpa" in Spanish is abuela y abuelo.
This phrase is used to refer to the parents of a person's father or mother.
Which one should you use?
In the phrase abuela y abuelo, the gender of each noun is specific: abuela is female and abuelo is male.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Using the diminutive forms abuelita y abuelito is a common, affectionate way to say "grandma and grandpa" in informal settings.
How does it change in a sentence?
The masculine plural form abuelos is used to refer to both grandmothers and grandfathers together to mean "grandparents".
Did you know?
- In some Latin American countries, children might call their grandparents nonno and nonna due to the influence of Italian immigration.
- While abuela means 'grandmother', it is common in some regions to use the term la abuela to refer to the matriarch of a household regardless of her biological relation.
- The feminine form abuela is derived from the Late Latin diminutive aviola, showing that the word has been treated as a 'small' or 'dear' version of the root for much of its history.
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are looking at old family photos.
- LucíaMira, aquí están mi abuela y abuelo.Look, here are my grandma and grandpa.
- AlejandroSe ven muy felices en esta foto.They look very happy in this photo.
- LucíaSí, ellos siempre sonríen mucho.Yes, they always smile a lot.
- AlejandroTienes mucha suerte de tenerlos.You are very lucky to have them.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries abuela, abuelo, y, CC BY-SA 4.0.
