niñito
/niˈɲito/masculine
A toddler in Spanish is a niñito, a little child who has just started walking. If unsure, use niñito. Wiktionary also lists nené and nene.
Meaning: young child who has started walking but not fully mastered it (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| niñito | /niˈɲito/ | masculine |
| nené | /neˈne/ | feminine, masculine |
| nene | /ˈnene/ | masculine |
| chiquilín | /t͡ʃikilin/ (from spelling rules) | masculine |
| chipilín | /t͡ʃipiˈlin/ | masculine |
| chiwchi | /ˈt͡ʃiwt͡ʃi/ /ˈt͡ʃiut͡ʃi/ |
feminine, masculine |
| párvulo | /ˈpaɾbulo/ | masculine |
niñito is the diminutive of niño, and the small size it suggests fits a toddler better than the general word for child.
Which one should you use?
nene is a common, casual word for a very young child or a baby. Peque is informal and affectionate. párvulo is a formal term used in education for very young children.
Is it said differently in some regions?
chiquilín is used in the Río de la Plata region, in Uruguay and Argentina. In Spain you may hear chiquitín.
How does it change in a sentence?
niñito is masculine. For a girl, say niñita.
How do you pronounce it?
The IPA of niñito is /niˈɲito/.
Did you know?
- While niñito uses the diminutive suffix -ito to show affection, it can also be used ironically to describe a grown man acting like a child.
- The word nene is believed to be an onomatopoeic term, mimicking the repetitive sounds a baby makes when learning to speak.
- While párvulo refers to a toddler in a formal school context, the word is a direct relative of the English word 'parvulous', though that term is now obsolete.
Examples in context
- El niñito está aprendiendo a caminar.The toddler is learning to walk.
- Vi a un niñito tropezando con sus pies.I saw a toddler tripping over his feet.
Example conversation
Daniel and María are at a park.
- DanielMira, hay un niñito corriendo hacia nosotros.Look, there is a toddler running towards us.
- MaríaEs muy tierno cuando intentan caminar.It is very sweet when they try to walk.
- DanielSí, parece que se va a caer.Yes, it looks like he is going to fall.
- MaríaNo te preocupes, Daniel, ya se equilibró.Don't worry, Daniel, he already balanced himself.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “toddler” translations and entries niñito, nené, nene, chiquilín, chipilín, chiwchi, párvulo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nene, nené, niñito, CC BY-SA 4.0.
