nací aquí
/naθi aki/from spelling rules
To say "I was born here" in Spanish, use nací aquí.
This phrase is used to state that a person's place of birth is the location where they are currently located.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the verb nací (I was born) and the adverb aquí (here).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word nací is the first-person singular preterite indicative form of the verb nacer (to be born). You can change the subject of the sentence by altering the verb: use naciste aquí for "you (informal singular) were born here" and nacimos aquí for "we were born here".
Did you know?
- While English uses the passive voice 'was born', the Spanish nací is an active verb, meaning the speaker is the one performing the action of being born.
- The word aquí is a linguistic 'mash-up' of two ancient Latin words, eccum meaning 'this' and hīc meaning 'here'.
- Spanish uses a specific category of nouns called gentilicios to describe people born in a particular place, which are often more precise than English demonyms.
Examples in context
- Nací aquí.I was born here.This sentence is useful for stating that you were born in the current location using nací aquí.Tatoeba #2011173 by Shishir, translation #1887918 by CK
- Nací aquí, en este pequeño pueblo.I was born here, in this small town.
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are walking through their old neighborhood.
- Sofía¿Tú también eres de este barrio?Are you also from this neighborhood?
- AlejandroSí, nací aquí hace muchos años.Yes, I was born here many years ago.
- Sofía¡Qué coincidencia! Yo también nací aquí.What a coincidence! I was born here too.
- Alejandro¡Es verdad! Somos vecinos de toda la vida.It's true! We've been neighbors our whole lives.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aquí, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
