nació
/naθjo/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "he was born" is expressed as nació.
The phrase is used to state the time or place of a person's birth. While you can say Él nació en España to mean "He was born in Spain", you might also encounter the more poetic expression Él vino al mundo, which translates to "He came into the world" and is used to highlight the significance of a person's birth.
What does it mean word for word?
The word nació is a single conjugated verb. It is not a combination of multiple words, but rather a single unit meaning "he/she was born".
How does it change in a sentence?
The form nació is the third-person singular preterite of the verb nacer (to be born). Because it is the third-person singular form, it can mean both "he was born" or "she was born".
How do you pronounce it?
/naθjo/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using the construction fue nacido. While "was born" is a passive construction in English, Spanish uses the active voice of the intransitive verb nacer instead.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, you can use nacer to describe a plant sprouting from the ground, whereas English typically uses 'grow' or 'spring up'.
- The verb nacer shares a common root with the English word 'nascent', which describes something just coming into existence.
- While nacer means to be born, the word naciente is often used to describe the 'rising' sun, as if the sun is being born every morning.
Examples in context
- Él nació en Ohio.He was born in Ohio.This sentence is useful for stating the location of a birth using nació.Tatoeba #940795 by Shishir, translation #289429 by CK
- Él nació en 1960.He was born in 1960.This sentence is useful for stating the year of a birth using nació.Tatoeba #1388928 by hayastan, translation #1388964 by CK
- Él nació en Suiza.He was born in Switzerland.Tatoeba #878453 by Rafp, translation #684746 by notrwanda
- Él nació en 1990He was born in 1990
- Él nació en una pequeña ciudadHe was born in a small town
- 49 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are talking about a mutual friend's childhood.
- Alejandro¿Sabes dónde nació tu hermano?Do you know where your brother was born?
- ElenaÉl nació en un pequeño pueblo de España.He was born in a small town in Spain.
- Alejandro¡Qué interesante!How interesting!
- ElenaSí, nació en un lugar muy bonito.Yes, he was born in a very beautiful place.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
