reina
standard, Mexico
In Mexican Spanish a queen is a reina. The word is the same everywhere in Spanish, and Mexico uses it for royalty, beauty pageants and playing cards.
Mexican schools and towns often choose a reina for fairs and festivals, such as a reina de la primavera. In chess, the queen piece is the reina or the dama.
Meaning: female monarch (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
Reina is feminine and the plural is reinas. The king is rey.
How do you pronounce it?
It sounds like "RAY-na", with the ei in the first syllable like the English "ay".
Did you know?
- In Mexico the word reina also appears in the title of local beauty contests, such as reina del carnaval in several coastal cities.
Examples in context
- La reina saludó a la gente.The queen greeted the people.
- Eligieron a Ana como reina del festival.They chose Ana as queen of the festival.
- Me comió la reina en el ajedrez.My queen was captured in chess.
Example conversation
Grandfather Don Pedro explains the chess pieces to his granddaughter Valeria in Puebla.
- ValeriaAbuelo, ¿cuál pieza es la reina?Grandpa, which piece is the queen?
- Don PedroEsta, la más poderosa del tablero.This one, the most powerful on the board.
- ValeriaEntonces la voy a cuidar mucho.Then I am going to take good care of her.
