Same thing, eight ways to say it
How to say “a kid” in Spanish (informal) — country by country
The dictionary word is niño / niña — DEM: «Persona que está en la primera época de su desarrollo… hasta los 14 años»; everywhere it is the neutral word, but the everyday informal word differs by country. Here is what you'll actually hear in eight cities, with a cited source for every filled cell.
What people actually say
| Where | They say | Also · notes |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Buenos Aires | pibe | Slang Also: chico/a (most common neutral); nene/a (small kids); pendejo (rude) Feminine piba. Colloquial, affectionate. |
| Chile Santiago | cabro chico | Slang Also: cabro; cabrito; niño (formal) Colloquial; cabro chico is the unambiguous little-kid form. |
| Colombia Medellín | pelao | Slang Bogotá: chino Also: pelado (full spelling); culicagao (paisa, affectionate-teasing); sardino Colloquial, affectionate. Bogotá says chino/china. |
| Dominican Republic Santo Domingo | carajito | Slang Also: chamaco (DAMER RD); muchacho Feminine carajita. Colloquial; DAMER marks it desp. |
| Spain Madrid | chaval | Regional usage Also: crío/a, niño/a, chiquillo/a, nene/a, peque Feminine chavala. Colloquial but neutral; skews older-child/teen. |
| Mexico Mexico City | chamaco | Slang Also: chavo/a (any young person incl. kids); escuincle (teasing/annoyed); north: morro/a, huerco, buqui Feminine chamaca. DEM: Popular. |
| Peru Lima | chibolo | Slang Also: niño; chamaco (DAMER Pe) Feminine chibola. Colloquial. |
| Puerto Rico San Juan | nene | Regional usage Also: chamaquito, muchachito Feminine nena. The general PR word for a child. |
Grey = the pan-Hispanic dictionary word is what people really say there. Blank = we couldn't source it yet.
Watch out
- cabro (CL kid) = «Pe. Hombre homosexual. vulg.» and «ES. Chulo de una prostituta» per DAMER — do not use the Chilean word in Lima. In Chile cabro chico is the unambiguous little-kid form (WR Maihue, scouseland: «cabro, cabrito, cabro chico pero eso ya es más informal»). [1][2]
- pendejo = child or adolescent (Ch, Ar, Ur, Py) but foolish/cowardly person in Mx, Cu, RD, Co, PR etc. per DAMER; in Buenos Aires it is used for kids but is «vulgar y despectivo» (Irama, Argentina) — Martoo: «pendejo… tono ofensivo». Do not put it on the card as a neutral word. [1][2]
- nene in PR is both the general word for child AND «I. 1. m. PR. Pene. prost.» (DAMER; Tesoro nene²: «Pene», Altieri de Barreto 1973). Same word, same island; the child sense is overwhelmingly dominant (Álvarez Nazario). In Argentina nene is also used but «es un localismo» (Chulls, WR boy-chico thread). [1]
- chavo (MX) = «I.1 m. pl. Cu, RD, PR. Dinero, moneda corriente» (DAMER) — in the Caribbean chavos is money, not kids. In Mexico DAMER: «2. Mx, Bo. Muchacho, niño que aún no es adolescente»; DEM chavo: «(Popular) 1 Niño o joven». [1]
- chaval is instantly heard as Spanish-from-Spain: jorgema (Peruvian): «'chaval' es una de esas palabras que identifica a la primera a los españoles»; Peón (AR): «En la Argentina nada de nada»; Vampiro (Chile): «puedo decir con seguridad que no». Mexico has the cognate chavalo («sigue siendo muy común», mirx). [1][2]
- carajito is marked desp. (despective) in DAMER and DED gives sense 2 «Persona inmadura, infantil»; DAMER 2: «RD, Ve. insignificante, inútil, poco madura». Also heard in Venezuela (oa2169) and Puerto Rico (zumac, boy-chico thread). It is built on carajo, so it reads as crude outside the Caribbean. [1][2]
- culicagao (Medellín) = literally «shit-bottomed»; paisas insist it is affectionate («No son vulgares, más bien son cariñosos», BETOREYES; «coloquial mas no vulgar») but beatrizg (Colombia) calls it «entre despectiva y divertida» and a Colombian in the culicagada thread reported it taken as an insult. Keep it as also, not the headline. [1][2]
- pelao/pelado means something else elsewhere: in Colombia it also means «sin dinero» (WR you-perve thread: «persona joven o alguien… sin dinero»); in Spain pelao is a vocative like tío/chaval, not child (Jonno). Also used for kids in Panama (Mirlo, Piotr1988). [1]
- chino = kid in Bogotá/Colombia and Venezuela only (DAMER III.1 «Co, Ve. Persona joven o de corta edad. pop.»); everywhere else it means Chinese. JCA- (Colombia): «nuestros pelado / pelada, sardino / na y, en Bogotá y alrededores chino / china». [1]
- morro = kid is NORTHERN Mexico (DEM: «III s y adj (NO) (Popular) Niño, joven»; DAMER «V (morro, -a) Mx:N. Muchacho») plus Cuernavaca per lepus; tigger_uhuhu (Mexico) called it «qué horror». Not the CDMX headline word.
- escuincle (Nahuatl) is what a Mexican parent says when annoyed: Yuribear (Mex): «Escuincle… cuando uno está enojado con el niño» (boy-chico thread); DEM: «2 adj y s inexperto o inmaduro».
- guagua = baby in CL/PE/Ec/NW Ar («Niño de pecho») but = bus in Cu/RD/PR (DAMER). [1]
- pibe is Buenos Aires: luis masci (Argentina): «'pibe'… no es casi usado en el interior, en el norte se dice 'chango'» (boy-chico thread); DAMER also tags pibe for PR («m. y f. PR, Bo, Ar, Ur; m. PR») — no PR native confirmed it, so leave it as an AR word.
- Spain nene exists too (mallujulia, MadGato) but chiefly for very small kids; regional Spain: chavea (Andalusia), zagal (Murcia), nano (Valencia), guacho (La Mancha). [1]
Hear it in the city
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Start speaking — freeSources
Every filled cell above is backed by human-authored lexicography or a native speaker who says where they're from — ASALE's Diccionario de americanismos, El Colegio de México's Diccionario del español de México, the Tesoro lexicográfico del español de Puerto Rico, the Peruvian Academy's DiPerú, and country-stated posts on language forums. Nothing here comes from a model's recall. Spot a mistake? Tell us — corrections from native speakers go straight in.
Read the sources and research notes
- Argentina — pibe
- DAMER:
pibe, -a. I. 1. m. y f. PR, Bo, Ar, Ur… Muchacho, joven. pop + cult → espon ^ afec.
↗ - WordReference · Martoo (Español porteño):
acá sólo se oye chico… nenes/as, chiquitos… También se usan pibe/a
↗ - Chile — cabro chico
- DAMER:
cabro, -a. II. 1. m. y f. Ch. Niño, muchacho. pop + cult → espon.
↗ - WordReference · Maihue (Chile):
En Chile decimos: 'cabro', 'cabrito' ó 'cabro chico'
↗ - Colombia — pelao
- DAMER:
pelado. I.3 Co, Ec, Bo:E. Niño o muchacho. pop.
↗ - WordReference · BETOREYES (Colombia, Medellín):
En Antioquia: Pelaos, Mocosos, Culicagados (No son vulgares, más bien son cariñosos) En Bogotá: Chinos.
↗ - Dominican Republic — carajito
- DED:
carajito 1 m. y f. col. Persona que está en la niñez o en la adolescencia.
↗ - DAMER:
I.1 m. y f. Ho, Ni, Pa, RD, Co, Ve, Bo, Ur. Persona que está en la niñez. desp.
↗ - Spain — chaval
- DLE (search snippet):
chaval: m. y f. coloq. Esp. niño o joven
↗ - WordReference · Anon3210 (Spain):
En España usamos la palabra chaval… chico, muchacho, joven
↗ - WordReference · Adelaida Péndelton (Spain):
Se usa tanto chaval como chavala… muy coloquial es bastante neutra
↗ - Mexico — chamaco
- DEM (COLMEX):
chamaco (Popular) 1 s Niño, adolescente o hijo: 'La plaza estaba llena de chamacos'
↗ - DAMER:
I.1 m. y f. Mx, Gu, ES, Cu, RD, PR, Pe… Niño o adolescente.
↗ - WordReference · lepus (México, variedad del centro):
Chamacos y también morros (morritos, morrillos), en Cuernavaca
↗ - Peru — chibolo
- DiPerú:
chibolo, la. m. y f./adj. «coloq.». Persona que está en la niñez o adolescencia.
↗ - DAMER:
I.1 m. y f. Ec, Pe. Niño de corta edad. 2. Pe. Muchacho, joven.
↗ - WordReference · rauljms (Castellano):
En Perú es muy conocida la palabra Chibolo.
↗ - Puerto Rico — nene
- Tesoro PR:
La voz nene, na… sustituye corrientemente en Puerto Rico a niño, ña en el habla general rural y urbana (Álvarez Nazario 1990)
↗ - WordReference · aurilla (Puerto Rico):
En Puerto Rico usamos nene, chamaquito, muchachito.
↗
Where we're less sure
- AR (pibe): high — DAMER + two porteño posters. Card should probably say pibe (chico is the plain word).
- CL (cabro chico): high — DAMER + two Chilean posters; but DUECh could not be consulted online.
- CO (pelao): high for Antioquia (native Medellín poster + DAMER Co); Bogotá = chino is well attested (two Colombians + DAMER). Have a paisa confirm whether pelao or culicagao is what they'd put first for a little boy.
- DO (carajito): medium — solid lexicography (DED + DAMER) but NO Dominican forum native found; the desp. tag means a Dominican should confirm it is the everyday neutral-ish word and not rude.
- ES (chaval): high — DLE + three Spain posters. Note chaval skews older-child/teen; for a toddler Madrileños say crío/nene/peque (mariposita, Birke).
- MX (chamaco): high for CDMX (DEM + DAMER + lepus centro + Chipolata heard it in DF); the chamaco vs chavo split (age) is worth a native check; morro clearly north.
- PE (chibolo): high — Academia Peruana DiPerú + DAMER + WR poster (no location tag on rauljms, though the claim is about Peru).
- PR (nene): high — Tesoro (Álvarez Nazario, Vaquero) + PR native aurilla. The nene=pene note comes from prostitution jargon only; a PR native should say whether it matters for a card.
- DLE could not be fetched directly (Cloudflare) — the chaval quote is from a search-engine snippet of dle.rae.es/chaval. DiCol (Caro y Cuervo) was unreachable.