ñam ñam
/ɲam ɲam/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "yum yum" is expressed as ñam ñam.
ñam ñam is an exclamation used to describe the sound of eating or to express that food tastes delicious.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Different regions have specific ways to express that food is delicious: in Mexico, you can say ¡Está para chuparse los dedos! to mean "It's finger-licking good!" and in Spain, the colloquial expression ¡Está de rechupete! is used to describe a particularly delicious dish.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɲam ɲam/
Did you know?
- While ñam ñam mimics the sound of chewing, Spanish speakers often use ¡qué rico! to express that food is delicious, even if the food is not actually sweet.
- The use of ñam ñam is strictly informal and is considered a child's way of speaking, so using it in a formal restaurant setting might seem slightly silly to adults.
- While English speakers use the 'y' sound in 'yum', the Spanish ñam relies on the palatal nasal sound ñ, which requires pressing the middle of the tongue against the hard palate.
Examples in context
- ¡Este postre está delicioso!This dessert is delicious!
- ¡El pollo asado está muy sabroso!The roasted chicken is very tasty!
- ¡La paella está rica!The paella is delicious!
- ¡Prueba este pastel, está buenísimo!Try this cake, it's extremely delicious!
- ¡Mira estos tacos, qué ricos!Look at these tacos, they're so yummy!
- ¡Este gazpacho está de rechupete!This gazpacho is absolutely delicious!
- ¡Prueba los tacos al pastor, están para chuparse los dedos!Try the tacos al pastor, they're finger-licking good!
- ¡Ñam ñam! Este pastel es increíble.Yum yum! This cake is incredible.
- La sopa está muy rica, ñam ñam.The soup is very tasty, yum yum.
- Mira la pizza, ¡ñam ñam!Look at the pizza, yum yum!
Example conversation
Daniel and Lucía are eating lunch together.
- DanielPrueba este pastel, Lucía.Try this cake, Lucía.
- Lucía¡Ñam ñam! Está muy rico.Yum yum! It is very tasty.
- DanielMe alegra que te guste.I'm glad you like it.
- LucíaEs el mejor pastel del mundo.It is the best cake in the world.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
