Today we’re looking at the uses of chico and chica (and also contrasting these words with a few other Spanish terms for the younger ones among us).
You can listen to how they are pronounced here:
chico
chica
Chico and chica are both nouns referring to a child or young person. The difference between them is that un chico (masculine) is a child or young person who is male – a boy (or sometimes a guy), while una chica (feminine) is a child or young person who is female – a girl. When los chicos refers to a mixed group rather than to boys only, its equivalent in English might be the children (or more informally the kids) or else the young people.
Está enamorada de un chico de otra escuela.
She’s in love with a boy from another school.
Es un chico algo antisocial.
He’s a rather antisocial boy.
una chica de 15 años
a 15-year-old girl
Era madre de dos chicas adolescentes.
She was the mother of two adolescent or teenage girls.
Los otros chicos de su dormitorio también recibieron apodos.
The other boys in his dormitory were also given nicknames.
Hay chicos de 10 y 11 años que nunca habían venido a la escuela y hoy están asistiendo.
There are children or kids of 10 and 11 who had never come to school and are now attending.
The nouns chico and chica may also be used to refer to a related or else a romantically linked young person –son and daughter or boyfriend and girlfriend:
Les dijo a sus chicos que se fueran a la cama.
She told her children/sons or boys to go to bed.
Mi chico y yo nos vamos mañana de vacaciones.
My boyfriend and I are going on holiday tomorrow.
Te presento a mi chica.
Let me introduce you to my girlfriend.
Chico and chica (like other similar people words) are sometimes used as a form of address to both adults and children. In this sense, in English there’s often no translation:
Oye, chico. ¿Estás bien?
Hey. Are you OK?
¿Y qué ha pasado, chica?
So what’s happened?
¿Qué pasa, chicos?
What’s going on, guys?
Moving on to another part of speech, chico (together with its inflected forms chica, chicos and chicas) is an adjective used to describe people or things of a small size – small, little. This use sounds a little informal in Spain, where pequeño (with its inflected forms pequeña, pequeños and pequeñas) would be your go-to word.
Con sus ahorros compró dos propiedades que las denominó la casa chica y la casa grande.
With her savings she bought two properties which she called the little house and the big house.
Planeaban construir un hotel más chico que el actual.
They had been planning to build a smaller hotel than the current one.
Cuando les quedó chico el espacio, decidieron cambiarse de casa.
When the space became too small for them, they decided to move house.
El hospital nos queda un poco chico para la demanda que tenemos de pacientes.
We find the hospital a little small for the patient demand we have.
The adjective chico can additionally be used to describe those who haven’t yet reached adulthood – young:
El jugador más chico tenía 17 años y el mayor no sobrepasaba los 24.
The youngest player was 17 and the oldest wasn’t more than 24.
Desde muy chica estudió danza clásica.
She studied classical dance from a very young age.
Commonly used diminutive forms are chiquito and chiquitín:
Desde muy chiquita practicó gimnasia.
She did gymnastics from a really young age.
una radio muy chiquitina
a really tiny radio
DID YOU KNOW?
The English word boy can be translated into Spanish as either niño or chico, depending on age and context. The same is true of girl, which can be either niña or chica.
Niño and niña are generally used when referring to a young boy or girl – typically a child who has not yet reached their teens; the word clearly positions them within their niñez (feminine) – childhood:
Es un niño muy inteligente.
He is a very intelligent boy or child.
La niña tiene cinco años.
The girl is five years old.
Chico and chica, on the other hand, are terms which cover a broader age range and can refer to a boy or girl, a teenager or even a young man or woman; this makes them a more natural choice when the young person is older or when the context is informal and conversational:
Es un chico muy simpático.
He’s a very nice boy or guy.
¿Quién es esa chica?
Who’s that girl?
A fifteen-year-old or a twenty-year-old would typically be called a chico or chica, whereas niño or niña might sound awkward or even condescending in such cases. So saying, in some regions as well as in informal speech, niño and niña are sometimes used in a broader, more affectionate sense, much like chico and chica.
In short, while both words can be equivalent to boy/girl, niño/niña emphasizes youth and childhood, while chico/chica is more flexible, used with a much wider range of ages.
For more tips on Spanish usage, come back next week.
