era una niña pequeña
/eɾa una niɲa pekeɲa/from spelling rules
The English phrase "I was a little girl" is translated into Spanish as era una niña pequeña.
This phrase is used by a female speaker to describe herself during her childhood. You can substitute niña with chiquilla to mean little girl. If you want to add a sense of endearment, you can use the form niñita. Additionally, in many contexts, simply saying era una niña is sufficient to convey the meaning of being a little girl without needing the adjective pequeña.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of era (I was), una (a), niña (girl) and pequeña (small/little).
Which one should you use?
The default form era una niña pequeña uses the imperfect tense to describe a continuous state or characteristic in the past, such as childhood. In contrast, using the preterite tense fui una niña pequeña would imply a completed period of time or a specific event during childhood.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb era is the imperfect tense of ser. This tense is typically used for ongoing or repeated actions, and it is used here to describe ongoing states or characteristics in the past, such as childhood.
How do you pronounce it?
/eɾa una niɲa pekeɲa/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, niña is used to refer to a daughter regardless of her age, meaning a 40-year-old woman might still be called mi niña by her parents.
- In certain Caribbean dialects, the word niña is occasionally replaced by carajita to refer to a young girl in a very informal or cheeky way.
- In Spain, the phrase niña can be used as a slightly condescending or affectionate way to address a woman, similar to saying 'honey' or 'dear' in English.
Examples in context
- Ése ha sido mi sueño desde que era una niña pequeña.It's been my dream since I was a little girl.This sentence shows how to use era una niña pequeña to describe a dream held since childhood.Tatoeba #1319968 by Shishir, translation #1113723 by Scott
- Yo era una chiquilla traviesa y llena de energía.I was a mischievous and energetic little girl.
- Era una niña pequeña y muy traviesa.I was a little girl and very naughty.
- Cuando era una niña pequeña, vivía en el campo.When I was a little girl, I lived in the countryside.
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are looking at old childhood photos.
- SofíaMira, yo era una niña pequeña aquí.Look, I was a little girl here.
- Javier¡Qué linda eras, Sofía!How cute you were, Sofía!
- SofíaSí, me gustaba mucho jugar con arena.Yes, I really liked playing with sand.
- JavierSe nota que te divertías mucho.It shows that you had a lot of fun.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
