Spanish Conversation · Level 19
90 words
Spanish word
niña
Pronunciation
IPA/ˈniɲa/
Meaning
- feminine noungirl
Example
La niña juega en el parque.
The girl is playing in the park.
More examples
La niña escuchó atentamente a la profesora.
The girl listened attentively to the teacher.
Core concept
Child who is female and not yet adolescent.
Common phrases
la niña del barrio
the neighborhood girl
la niña estudiosa
the studious girl
Similar words
chica: Young female often an adolescent or teenager.
muchacha: Young female in informal, everyday contexts.
hija: Female child regarded as a parent's daughter.
Definition in Spanish
Persona de sexo femenino que se encuentra en la etapa infantil, antes de la adolescencia.
Word origin
It derives from an early family of nursery words (ninna/ninnus) and represents the feminine form of niño through the feminine ending -a.
Usage tips
- The tilde on ñ marks a palatal nasal so niña sounds like ny rather than nina, and affectionate forms such as niñita are frequent in conversation but can seem informal in formal settings.