Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish
How to say "father" in Spanish
"Father" in Spanish is padre, pronounced PAH-dreh (stress on the syllable in capitals). It is a masculine noun (el padre, plural los padres).
| Spanish | padre |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | PAH-dreh |
| Meaning | father |
| Gender | masculine: el padre |
| Plural | los padres |
| Frequency | #83 in the Palabra list of common Spanish words |
Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice. Gender and plural: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
How to pronounce padre
Padre is pronounced PAH-dreh, in IPA /ˈpadɾe/. Padre has two syllables, PAH-dreh, with the stress on the first. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a vowel, -n or -s are stressed on the second-to-last syllable.
Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Is padre masculine or feminine?
Padre is masculine, so it takes el (the) and un (a): el padre. The plural is los padres. The ending does not tell you the gender here, so learn the word together with its article: el padre.
Example sentences
Mi padre trabaja
my father works
Su padre trabaja mucho
His father works a lot
Mi padre me quiere
My father loves me
"Father" in Spain and Latin America
In Mexico ¡qué padre! means "how cool!".
Other words you will hear
- papá — dad, the everyday word
Regional words and roots: Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE). Spanish varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.
How to remember padre
padre [PAH-dreh] sounds like the English “padre”. Picture this:
The padre from the western rides in: it's just dad in a hat, back from the store.
A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.
Practice padre
Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.