niña bonita
/niɲa bonita/from spelling rules
The English phrase 'beautiful girl' is translated into Spanish as niña bonita.
The phrase is used to describe a girl who is physically attractive or pretty.
Which one should you use?
While niña bonita is common, niña guapa is often used to emphasize physical attractiveness or being 'good-looking'.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In more formal situations, you can use Bella Señorita to mean 'beautiful young lady'. Using chica instead of niña is a common way to refer to a girl or a young woman in a more colloquial or informal way, as in chica guapa, which means 'pretty girl'.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase niña bonita, the adjective bonita must agree in gender with the noun niña by ending in -a.
How do you pronounce it?
/niɲa bonita/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying niña bonito. English speakers often mistakenly use the masculine bonito with the feminine niña, but the adjective must match the noun's gender.
Did you know?
- In some Caribbean dialects, a girl might be called mami or mamita as a slang term of endearment, which is unrelated to being a mother.
- The word bonito is also the name of a common type of tuna fish in Spanish.
- The word bonita shares a Latin root with the English word 'bonus', as both derive from concepts of goodness and quality.
Examples in context
- Esa niña bonita es muy inteligente.That beautiful girl is very intelligent.
- ¡Qué niña bonita tienes!What a beautiful girl you have!
Example conversation
Alejandro and María are looking at a photo of a niece.
- AlejandroMira esta foto de la niña bonita.Look at this photo of the beautiful girl.
- MaríaEs una niña muy bonita, Alejandro.She is a very beautiful girl, Alejandro.
- AlejandroSí, es la hija de mi prima.Yes, she is my cousin's daughter.
- MaríaSe parece mucho a su madre.She looks a lot like her mother.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
