cuándo nació
/kwando naθjo/from spelling rules
To ask or say when someone was born in Spanish, use cuándo nació, as in asking when he or she was born.
It is used to ask about a person's date or year of birth, or in statements reporting it.
What does it mean word for word?
cuándo means when and nació means was born, the past tense of the verb meaning to be born.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The IPA in the pack shows the pronunciation of Spain, where the c in nació sounds like th in think. In Latin America it sounds like s.
How does it change in a sentence?
nació is the third person form, so it fits he, she or formal you. For informal you the verb ending changes to the you form. In a direct question cuándo keeps its accent, while in a plain statement the word for when is written without it.
How do you pronounce it?
cuándo is stressed on its first syllable and nació on its last, as the accent marks show.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not translate was born with the verb for to be plus a participle. Spanish uses the single past form nació.
Did you know?
- In Spanish, if you want to say someone was 'born with a silver spoon in their mouth', you use the phrase nació en cuna de oro, meaning they were 'born in a golden cradle'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to celebrate the 'cumplemes' during a baby's first year, marking the date they nació every single month.
- The word cuándo is a distant relative of the English word 'cue', as both trace their roots back to the Latin word quandō.
Examples in context
- ¿Cuándo nació el bebé?When was the baby born?
- No recuerdo cuándo nació mi abuelo.I don't remember when my grandfather was born.
- Dime cuándo nació tu hermana.Tell me when your sister was born.
Example conversation
Mateo and María are looking at an old family photo.
- Mateo¿Sabes cuándo nació ella?Do you know when she was born?
- MaríaNo estoy segura de cuándo nació la niña.I am not sure when the girl was born.
- MateoEs una foto muy antigua.It is a very old photo.
- MaríaSí, pero parece una foto bonita.Yes, but it looks like a pretty photo.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cuándo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
