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Nino vs. muchacho | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| psy88 Senior Member United States Joined 5582 days ago 469 posts - 882 votes  Studies: Spanish*, Japanese, Latin, French | Message 1 of 10 21 May 2012 at 1:50am | IP Logged | |||||
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Can anyone explain the difference, if any between nino and muchacho? Is it related to age? Or, is it a regional difference? Thanks in advance for the help. (Note, every time I typed the word nino with the Spanish accent over the second "n", I lost the posting. What's up with that?)
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| jdmoncada Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5025 days ago 470 posts - 741 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Finnish Studies: Russian, Japanese | Message 2 of 10 21 May 2012 at 6:38am | IP Logged | |||||
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My understanding is that while both mean boys/young males, that muchacho has a wider age range. It could include teens and even adults while hombre is for adult males.
Something like: niño = boy muchacho = male, usually over puberty including adulthood hombre = adult males If I am wrong about this, I'll gladly take correction. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Camundonguinho Triglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 4740 days ago 273 posts - 500 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Spanish Studies: Swedish | Message 3 of 10 21 May 2012 at 1:56pm | IP Logged | |||||
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In Argentina, NIÑO and MUCHACHO don't belong to the everyday language register.
NIÑO is a formal/technical word for a child (CHICO is normally used instead in conversation), and MUCHACHO is used for a guy whose name you don't want to mention (it would mean ''a guy'')., but it would sound old-fashioned if used in a sentence: Jorge es un muchacho inteligente. MUCHACHO is more of a Mexican word, these days. So, in Argentina it's like this: bebé (1-2 years) nene (2-6 years) chico (it can mean a child, a boy, a guy or even a man) pibe (it can mean a child or a boy, or a guy, more informal than CHICO). [pibe was imported in Spain from Argentina, it's a Canary regionalism and a slang word in other parts of Spain) varón / hombre (male) tipo (guy) [tío in Spain] flaco, flaquito (dude or pal) (tronco in Spain) chango, gurí are Argentinian regionalisms CHICO is the safest bet. It's used from the age 0 up into 50ies. ;) Edited by Camundonguinho on 21 May 2012 at 2:00pm 6 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| IronFist Senior Member United States Joined 6428 days ago 663 posts - 941 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Korean | Message 4 of 10 21 May 2012 at 7:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
Doesn't "tio" also mean "uncle" (I'm guessing here because "tia" means aunt)? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| PillowRock Groupie United States Joined 4725 days ago 87 posts - 151 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 5 of 10 21 May 2012 at 8:22pm | IP Logged | |||||
Yes, the literal meaning of "tio" is "uncle". 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| psy88 Senior Member United States Joined 5582 days ago 469 posts - 882 votes Studies: Spanish*, Japanese, Latin, French | Message 6 of 10 22 May 2012 at 2:54am | IP Logged | |||||
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Thanks to those who helped. It really clarified things for me. I know I can always count on the members of this forum for help. Thank you again!
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| Ogrim Heptaglot Senior Member France Joined 4630 days ago 991 posts - 1896 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, French, Romansh, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Catalan, Latin, Greek, Romanian | Message 7 of 10 22 May 2012 at 4:48pm | IP Logged | |||||
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In Spain, niño and muchacho certainly belong to the everyday register. They are almost synoymous, although "niño" only refers to a young child, while muchacho can also be used for a teenager. As in Argentina, the word chico in Spain is more general.
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| psy88 Senior Member United States Joined 5582 days ago 469 posts - 882 votes Studies: Spanish*, Japanese, Latin, French | Message 8 of 10 23 May 2012 at 2:46am | IP Logged | |||||
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Do the same distinctions apply to nina and muchacha?
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