Have you ever wondered what cariño means in English? You're not alone! This is one of the most searched Spanish words by English speakers, and for good reason. The truth is, cariño is one of those beautiful Spanish words that simply doesn't have a direct English translation. It occupies a unique emotional space that English just can't capture with a single word.
If you've been struggling to understand what cariño means or how to use it properly, you've come to the right place. Today, we're diving deep into this wonderful word that reveals something beautiful about the Spanish language and culture.
So, what does cariño mean exactly? The word cariño refers to a warm, tender feeling of affection that flows between love and care. It's more than simple fondness but not as intense as passionate love. Think of it as that sweet spot of human connection - intimate yet gentle, caring yet not overwhelming.
When Spanish speakers use cariño, there's an understanding of exactly what kind of emotion they mean. It's applicable to family members, close friends, romantic partners, and even beloved pets, but it carries a particular warmth that's neither casual nor overpowering.
English tends to compartmentalize emotions when it comes to love and affection. We have "love" (which often feels too strong), "like" (too weak), "fondness" (too formal), "affection" (clinical), and "care" (not quite right either). But cariño flows seamlessly between all these categories.
This is similar to how other languages have untranslatable emotional concepts - like Portuguese saudade or Danish hygge. These words capture entire emotional experiences that other cultures recognize but don't have compact ways to express.
Let's look at how cariño is actually used in everyday Spanish conversations:
One of the most common uses of cariño is as a term of endearment, similar to "honey," "dear," or "sweetheart" in English. As we can see in these two clips from our popular series Extr@: Extra en español:
Hola, Pablo, cariño. -Hola.
Hello, Pablo, honey. -Hello.
Caption 9, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 8: La prima de la dueña - Part 5
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Notice how natural it sounds when used between people who care about each other. You can also use the diminutive form cariñito to make it even more affectionate:
¿A que sí, cariñito?
Right, honey?
Caption 15, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 8: La prima de la dueña - Part 5
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You can also use cariño to express your feelings of fondness toward someone or something. For example, when talking about a beloved tree:
Es un árbol al que le tenemos muchísimo cariño.
It's a tree that we're very fond of.
Caption 51, Estepona Orquidario - Part 1
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The word also appears when talking about doing something with love and care, like in this example about handmade crafts:
que es hecho con mucho cariño, hecho a mano.
which is done with lots of love, handmade.
Caption 57, Otavalo Bisutería Kinty
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Cariño is commonly used when sending emotional support to someone:
Te mando mi cariño y muchos ánimos
I send you my love and a lot of encouragement
Caption 19, Aprendiendo con Silvia Pésame y condolencias - Part 2
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You'll also hear cariño used to express warm hospitality:
a la ciudad de Pasto y que los recibimos con todo cariño
in the city of Pasto, and we welcome you with all our affection,
Caption 11, Pipo Carnavales de Pasto - Part 2
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There are several related words and expressions that complement cariño in Spanish:
Cariñoso/a - This adjective means "affectionate" or "loving"
Con cariño - This phrase means "with love" or "with affection" and is commonly used when signing cards or letters
Tener cariño - This expression means "to have affection for" someone
Understanding cariño reveals how Spanish-speaking cultures have remarkably nuanced emotional vocabulary. While there are English words that can come close to its meaning - like "affection," "fondness," or "love" - none quite captures the complete essence of cariño.
These approximations can serve as helpful guidance for understanding the concept, but they miss the specific warmth and tenderness that makes cariño unique. This is one of the most compelling reasons to learn Spanish: accessing emotional territories that English doesn't map precisely. So when someone asks "what does cariño mean in English," you can explain that while we can approximate it with several English words, it's a beautiful Spanish concept that's best understood in its original form.
What other untranslatable Spanish words would you like to explore? We'd love to hear from you with your questions and comments!
Have you heard of the "no fault se" construction in Spanish? Do you know the "no fault se" formula and how to use it? Do you know which verbs are most commonly seen with the "no fault se"? Today's lesson will touch upon all of these topics!
If you lose a lot of things, like many of us, you'll be happy to hear that, unlike English, the Spanish language doesn't think it's our fault! It tends to describe certain things happening "to us" rather than us carrying them out. For example, instead of saying Yo perdí el libro (I lost the book), it would be more common for a native Spanish speaker to say, Se me perdió el libro (literally "The book got lost to me"). And, instead of saying directly "I dropped the eggs," you might say Se me cayeron los huevos, which literally translates to something like "The eggs fell from me."
Now that we have some idea about the "no fault se" construction, which might also be referred to as the "involuntary se," let's learn the necessary elements to create sentences that employ it:
1. The pronoun se.
2. An indirect object pronoun (me, te, le, nos, os, or le) that indicates "to whom" the action "is happening" (or, depending on perception, who "did" it!).
3. A verb in the third person that is conjugated in either singular or plural in accordance with the subject (as in passive constructions).
4. Optional: a (to) plus a prepositional pronoun (mí (me), ti (you), él (him), ella (her), usted (formal "you"), nosotros/as (we), vosotros/as (plural "you"), or ustedes (formal plural "you")), or a direct object to emphasize "the victim" of the action (see verbs like gustar).
Let's take a look at a couple of examples:
y se le cayó el trozo de carne.
and he dropped the piece of meat.
Caption 13, Club de las ideas La zorra y el cuervo
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In terms of our formula, we have 1. the pronoun se 2. the indirect object pronoun le to indicate that it happened "to him" (since le corresponds to the subject pronoun él (him)), and 3. the verb caer (to fall) conjugated in third person singular because la carne (the meat) is singular. Optionally, a él could have been added to emphasize the action's "victim" (a él se le cayó...). Let's see another example:
El martes se me perdieron las llaves de casa,
On Tuesday, my house keys got lost,
Caption 14, El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: El pronombre "se"
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Here, we see: 1. the pronoun se 2. the indirect object pronoun me to point towards the first person, yo (I), and 3. the verb perder (to lose) conjugated in third person plural to agree with the plural las llaves (the keys). A mí could be an optional addition before "se me perdieron..."
In terms of the translation of the examples above, while the "no fault se" construction with caer is most often translated as "to drop," our second example might also have been communicated with "I lost my house keys" since this is the more common way of talking about losing things in English— although "got lost" might arguably convey this idea of "no fault" more effectively. That said, because there is not always an equivalent of every "no fault" construction in English, their translations may vary, and we will thus attempt to give you various English options for the following examples.
Now, let's examine some additional verbs that commonly appear in the "no fault se" construction.
Although a Spanish speaker could potentially say "Me olvidé" (I forgot), the idea of "forgetting" is more commonly expressed with the "no fault se" construction.
Por si se te olvidó, ¡soy tu madre! No, no se me olvidó. -Y si salí...
In case you forgot, I'm your mother! No, I didn't forget. -And if I went out...
Captions 41-42, Muñeca Brava 8 Trampas - Part 12
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Or, to emphasize this "involuntary" aspect, you might choose the alternative translations: "In case it slipped your mind/It didn't slip my mind."
While the verb ocurrir means "to happen," when used in the "no fault se" construction, common translations include both "to occur to" and "to think of":
No sé, se me ocurre que igual nos podríamos encontrar en otros sitios.
I don't know, it occurs to me that we could also meet in other places.
Captions 21-22, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa Capítulo 3 - Part 9
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Se me ocurrió una gran idea.
I thought of a great idea.
Caption 28, Guillermina y Candelario El paseo sobre el mar
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Whereas in English, one might confess that he or she "ran out of money," the money literally runs out on the person in Spanish!
Porque se me acabó el dinero y...
Because I ran out of money, and...
Caption 59, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 7: La gemela - Part 2
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Of course, one might also translate this construction as "my money run out."
Similarly, "I burned the cake" is most often expressed with the "no fault se" construction, as translated quite literally in the following example:
¡Dejé el pastel mucho tiempo en el horno y se me quemó!
I left the cake in the oven for too long and it burned on me!
Caption 25, Guillermina y Candelario Experimentos en la cocina
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To talk about the idea of "leaving something behind" in the sense of "forgetting it" somewhere, native Spanish speakers frequently employ the "involuntary se" construction with the verb quedar:
Se te quedó esto. -Espera.
You left this behind. -Wait.
Caption 55, Salvando el planeta Palabra Llegada - Part 6
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These are just some of the verbs that are commonly utilized in the "no fault se" in Spanish. To see many more, check out El Aula Azul La Doctora Consejos: El pronombre se as well as Clase Aula Azul- Se involuntario, which explores this topic in depth... and don't forget to leave us your suggestions and comments.
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