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Children and family life

Spain is a country where children stay up late and eat with the adults, and the vocabulary of playgrounds and school gates comes up quickly.

Quick answer

¿Cuántos años tiene tu hija?

How old is your daughter? Age uses tener, so a child "has" years rather than "is" them.

The words

SpanishEnglish
el niñothe boy
la niñathe girl
el bebéthe baby
el hijothe son
la hijathe daughter
el juguetethe toy
el parquethe park
el columpiothe swing
el pañalthe nappy
el carritothe pushchair
la guarderíathe nursery
el cuentothe story
la meriendathe afternoon snack
jugarto play
cuidarto look after

The phrases you will actually say

¿Cuántos años tiene tu hija?How old is your daughter?
Los niños están jugando en el parque.The children are playing in the park.
Tengo que llevarlo a la guardería a las nueve.I have to take him to nursery at nine.
Le leo un cuento antes de dormir.I read him a story before bed.
¿Quieres merendar algo?Do you want an afternoon snack?

Worth knowing

La merienda has no real English equivalent: it is the late-afternoon snack around five or six, usually bread with chocolate or fruit, and it exists because dinner will not appear until nine or ten. That late schedule explains why you see small children in restaurants at eleven at night without anyone blinking. Grammar to get right: age is tener, so tiene seis años, and estar embarazada means pregnant while estar embarazado is a classic false friend trap for "embarrassed", which is avergonzado. The mixed plural is masculine, so los hijos can mean sons or children of both sexes. Diminutives do heavy lifting with children: un ratito, un besito, despacito. In Spain nursery is la guardería; in parts of Latin America you will hear el jardín infantil or el kínder.

Practice

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