Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| recién nacido | /reˌθjen naˈθido/ /reˌsjen naˈsido/ |
masculine |
| neonato | /neoˈnato/ | masculine |
The term recién nacido refers to a recently born baby. It can function as a noun to mean 'the newborn' or as an adjective to mean 'newborn' when describing a baby. In informal settings, you might hear the endearing term tesoro, which means 'treasure', used when addressing a newborn.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase recién nacido is a compound of recién (recently) and the past participle nacido (born).
Which one should you use?
While recién nacido is the common way to refer to a newborn in everyday speech, neonato is a more technical, medical term used in clinical or scientific contexts.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes to match the gender and number of the baby being described. For a female newborn, use recién nacida. For a group of newborn babies, use the masculine plural form recién nacidos. You can also use the phrase with the word for baby, such as bebé recién nacido and modify it to bebé recién nacida to specifically refer to a newborn girl.
How do you pronounce it?
/reˌθjen naˈθido/
Did you know?
- Spanish speakers may use the phrase recién nacido to describe other things metaphorically, such as a proyecto recién nacido to refer to a brand new project.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, newborns are presented to the community in a ceremony called la presentación, which often takes place in a church to formally introduce the child to the congregation.
- The term neonato is so strictly clinical that using it in a casual family setting would sound strangely robotic or cold to a native speaker.
Examples in context
- Ellos encontraron el cuerpo de un recién nacido en un congelador.They found the body of a newborn baby in a freezer.This sentence describes the discovery of a recién nacido.Tatoeba #1694934 by marcelostockle, translation #1694969 by Benjameno
- El señor Tanaka nos mostró muchas fotos de su bebé recién nacido.Mr. Tanaka showed us many pictures of his newborn baby.This sentence shows how to use recién nacido to describe a baby.Tatoeba #1827313 by marcelostockle, translation #1495979 by CN
- Un niño recién nacido es algo más que la suma de sus padres.A newborn baby is more than just the sum of their parents.This sentence uses recién nacido to describe a single baby.Tatoeba #3239788 by carlosalberto, translation #9870455 by DJ_Saidez
- ¡Felicitaciones por su bebé recién nacido!Congratulations on your newborn baby!
- El recién nacido está en perfectas condicionesThe newborn is in perfect condition.
- ¡Mira qué lindo bebé recién nacido!Look at this adorable newborn baby!
- Hermoso bebé recién nacidoBeautiful newborn baby
- Adorable cría recién llegadaAdorable newborn arrival
- ¡Ven acá, mi vida! Eres un bebé recién nacido muy especialCome here, my life! You are a very special newborn baby.
- La llegada de un bebé recién nacido siempre es motivo de alegría y felicidad en la familia.The arrival of a newborn baby is always a cause for joy and happiness in the family.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are visiting a friend's house to see the baby.
- Alejandro¿Dónde está el recién nacido?Where is the newborn?
- MaríaEstá durmiendo en su cuna, Alejandro.He is sleeping in his crib, Alejandro.
- AlejandroEs un recién nacido muy tranquilo.He is a very calm newborn.
- MaríaSí, es un bebé muy dulce.Yes, he is a very sweet baby.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “newborn” translations and entries recién nacido, neonato, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
