nació
/naθjo/from spelling rules
The English phrase "she was born" is translated into Spanish as nació.
The phrase nació is used to state the time or place of a female person's birth. The phrase ella vino al mundo means "she came into the world".
How does it change in a sentence?
The form nació is the third-person singular preterite indicative of the verb nacer (to be born).
How do you pronounce it?
/naθjo/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the passive voice construction fue nacida (was born) by translating literally from English, but in Spanish, the intransitive verb nacer is used instead.
Did you know?
- Spanish uses the verb nacer for the beginning of a river, calling the source the nacimiento, which literally translates to 'birth'.
- The word nacido can also be used as an adjective to describe someone's innate nature, such as un líder nacido, meaning a 'born leader'.
- In legal or formal documents, Spanish may use natural de to indicate where someone was born, which relates to the word 'native' rather than the verb nacer.
Examples in context
- Ella nació en Ohio.She was born in Ohio.This sentence shows how to use nació to state a place of birth.Tatoeba #2005615 by Shishir, translation #2908662 by CN
- Ella nació en México.She was born in Mexico.Tatoeba #1686580 by Shishir, translation #1669144 by Spamster
- Nació en Atenas en 1956.She was born in Athens in 1956.Tatoeba #1989422 by Shishir, translation #13652915 by Seael
- Ella nació el 3 de marzo de 1990.She was born on March 3rd, 1990.
- ¡Sabes qué! Ella nació hace veinte años.You know what! She was born twenty years ago.
- Ella vino al mundo en un pequeño pueblo de España.She came into the world in a small town in Spain.
- 31 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are looking at an old photo album.
- Mateo¿Sabes dónde nació tu madre?Do you know where your mother was born?
- LucíaElla nació en un pequeño pueblo de España.She was born in a small village in Spain.
- Mateo¡Qué interesante!How interesting!
- LucíaSí, nació en un lugar muy bonito.Yes, she 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.
