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Slang file #008RisingLove & family

What does cariño mean?

Say itkah-REE-nyoh/kaˈɾiɲo/noun (also a form of address)

Where you’ll hear it
  • Spain
  • Latin America

A Spanish noun for affection or love that people also use to speak to someone they love, like "darling" or "honey."

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

Cariño means "affection" or "love," the warm feeling you have for someone or something. It’s also one of the most common Spanish pet names. Say it to someone and it means "darling," "honey," or "sweetheart." Partners say it to each other, and parents and grandparents say it to kids. You hear it in Spain and across Latin America, and you see it in texts, songs, TV shows, and birthday cards.

Say it kah-REE-nyoh. The r is a quick tap of the tongue, like the tt in "butter" when Americans say it fast. The ñ sounds like the "ny" in "canyon." Cariño is a masculine noun (el cariño), so the pet name stays cariño for everyone, men and women alike. It’s warm and informal, never vulgar. It fits a family dinner much better than a meeting with your boss.

Word stats

How casual
As a pet name, it’s for partners, kids, and family. As a plain noun, "con cariño" ("with love") is fine on any card.
OK at work
The noun is fine at work: "le tengo cariño a este proyecto" means "I’m fond of this project." Calling your manager cariño will make for a very short meeting.
Abuela-safe
Completely safe. Abuela (grandma) is probably the one saying it.
Rudeness
Not rude. The word literally means affection. The worst it can do is make your little brother roll his eyes.
Freshness
More than 500 years old, and more people look it up every year.

Spotted in the wild

Text with your partner · Friday night
  1. Sofíacariño, ¿dónde estás?
  2. Youon my way! 10 min
  3. Sofíaok cariño, te espero 😊

What it means here: "¿Dónde estás?" means "where are you?" and "te espero" means "I’ll wait for you." Here cariño is a pet name, like "honey."

Family group chat · your birthday
  1. Tía Rosafeliz cumpleaños!! muchos cariños de todos 🎂
  2. Yougracias tía!! ❤️
  3. Mamáshe also says call her, cariño

What it means here: "Feliz cumpleaños" means "happy birthday," "gracias" means "thanks," and "tía" means "aunt." Tía Rosa’s "muchos cariños de todos" means "lots of love from all of us," and your mom’s cariño means "honey."

Group chat · friends
  1. Martayou’re STILL driving that car?
  2. Youle tengo cariño
  3. Martathe radio only plays one station 💀
  4. Youstill. cariño is cariño

What it means here: "Le tengo cariño" means "I’m fond of it." Here cariño isn’t a pet name. It’s the plain noun for affection, even for an old car.

How to use it

  • cariño as a pet name in a question or requestOye, cariño, ¿has visto mis gafas? ("Hey, honey, have you seen my glasses?")
  • tenerle cariño a alguien / algo (to be fond of someone or something)Le tengo mucho cariño a mi abuela. ("I’m very fond of my grandmother.")
  • tomarle cariño a alguien (to grow fond of someone)El perro le tomó cariño a mi hermano. ("The dog got attached to my brother.")
  • muchos cariños to send loveRosa te manda muchos cariños. ("Rosa sends her love.")
  • con cariño (with love, with care)Con cariño, Ana. ("With love, Ana." at the end of a card)

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds offBuenas noches, cariña. (to your girlfriend)

    Say thisBuenas noches, cariño. ("Good night, darling.")

    Cariño is a masculine noun, so it doesn’t change for women. Everyone is cariño. There is no cariña.

  • Sounds offMi abuela es muy cariño.

    Say thisMi abuela es muy cariñosa. ("My grandmother is very affectionate.")

    Cariño is a noun. To describe a person, use the adjective: cariñoso for a man, cariñosa for a woman.

  • Sounds off"kuh-RINE-oh," or writing carino

    Say this"kah-REE-nyoh," written cariño

    The i sounds like "ee," the r is a quick tap, and the ñ (an n with a wavy line) sounds like "ny." A plain n is a different sound.

  • Sounds offGracias, cariño. (to your new manager)

    Say thisMuchas gracias. ("Thank you very much.")

    The pet name is for people you’re close to. In Spain you may hear older shopkeepers or waiters call customers cariño, but said to your boss, it sounds far too personal.

cariño or not?

Is each of these cariño? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. A dad tucks in his daughter and says "buenas noches, cariño" ("good night, cariño").

  2. A text says "mi abuela es muy cariño."

  3. A birthday card ends with "Con cariño, Luis."

  4. A man texts his wife "te quiero, cariña" ("I love you, cariña").

The cariño family

  • cariñoso / cariñosaThe adjective "affectionate": cariñoso for a man, cariñosa for a woman.The word for the aunt who hugs you before you’re through the door.
  • cariñitoThe small form of cariño, an even sweeter pet name.Same word, extra sugar.
  • mi amor"My love," another very common pet name for partners and kids.Cariño’s closest friend in Spanish love songs.

Where it came from

  1. 1514Cariño first appears in writing, in works by the playwrights Juan del Encina and Lucas Fernández [3]. Back then it meant "longing" or "nostalgia."
  2. 1542The writer Diego Gracián uses cariño for longing: animals that miss the ones they grew up with [3].
  3. TodayThe RAE’s dictionary lists five meanings and calls the word’s origin disputed [1]. The likeliest story is that it comes from the old dialect verb cariñar ("to miss someone"), from Latin carēre ("to lack"). The etymologist Joan Corominas rejects the older idea that it’s a small form of caro ("dear") [3]. A word that began as missing someone now mostly means loving them.

Is cariño a pet name or a feeling?

It can be either. When someone says cariño straight to you, it’s a pet name, like "darling" or "honey" [2]. Most of the time, though, cariño is a normal noun for affection. The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (the RAE, which sets standard Spanish) lists five meanings [1]:

MeaningExample
Love or a warm feeling for someone or somethingLe tengo cariño a mi barrio. ("I’m fond of my neighborhood.")
A show of affection, usually in the pluralLe hace cariños al perro. ("She pets the dog.")
Longing or nostalgiaThis is the word’s oldest meaning (see the timeline below).
Care put into a job or a taskLo pintó con cariño. ("He painted it with care.")
A gift, mainly in Latin America [2]Un cariño para tu mamá. ("A little gift for your mom.")

The plural cariños also means "love" in greetings, the way English speakers send their love: Rosa te manda muchos cariños ("Rosa sends her love") [2]. In Puerto Rico, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, and Uruguay, people also say ¡cariños! on its own as a goodbye.

A quick way to tell the meanings apart:

  • Said to a person, often with oye ("hey") or gracias ("thanks"): it’s the pet name.
  • After tener ("to have"), tomar ("to take"), or con ("with"): it’s the feeling, or the care put into something.

Sources

  1. cariño | Diccionario de la lengua españolaReal Academia Española
  2. English Translation of “CARIÑO”Collins Spanish-English Dictionary
  3. cariño (Corominas, Diccionario crítico etimológico, mirror)bibliamedieval.es

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