HOW DO YOU SAY CHILD IN COLOMBIA? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

How do you say child in Colombia? Although the word child is accepted in all countries, in Colombia they are also known in different ways. The different jargons have given rise to multiple words to refer to children. Not only within Colombia but throughout Latin America.

You have to know that Colombia is the second Spanish-speaking country in the world. More than 47 million people practice Spanish in the nation. It is a very diverse country in culture and accents. The ways of speaking between one region and another change a lot.

Ways to say child in Colombia

In Colombia there are at least 3 different ways of saying children. Without leaving aside the use of this formal and accepted word. But all refer to children as those individuals who go through the first stage of their life, known as infancy or childhood.

However, the words used to point to children can also be extended to certain stages of youth.

Although formally it is considered a "child" who is under 14 years of age, then it becomes adolescents and enters the stage of puberty.

Ways to say child in Colombia

1- Peeled, peeled, peeled, peeled, peeled, peeled

This term refers to a young person in general or a child. Its different variables come from the orla use of the word. The faster and louder pronunciation has ended up discarding the "d" in the articulation of the word.

Therefore, it is the same to say “peeled” as “pelao”. But in reality, the second way is more used.

This variation of the word child is more common in Barranquillero Spanish, a variant of the Colombian coastal dialect.

Its origin comes from the fact that young people do not have pubic hair, and therefore are "bare" or hairless.

The origin of the word pelado is associated with the stage prior to adolescence, or childhood. But it can be used to refer generally to people under the age of 20.

In its diminutive, peladito, it is used when it refers to younger children, less than 10 or 12 years old.

However, it is also used as an affectionate appellation with someone older than that age.

Examples

• The pelao goes to the park
• Come on, Pelao, come eat
• The peeled must go to school
• That little girl behaves very well

2- Chinese, china

This form is most used in the Cundiboyacense highland region and in the interior Andean region of Colombia.

It is used to refer to boys and girls, but its use is considered more derogatory and a bit offensive in certain regions.

Its use has spread to other Andean regions of Venezuela and Ecuador.

The origin of this term comes from the chinned features that Colombian children usually present, due to their indigenous ancestry.

Other explanations suggest that it is used because when the little ones smile their eyes become slanted, resembling Chinese features.

Examples

• That Chinese is very crying
• The Chinese on the corner fight a lot

3- Guambito

This is another synonym for child, used more than anything else in Tolima. A region close to Bogotá.

Example

The guambitos want to eat ice cream

Themes of interest

7 Characteristics of Colombia: Social, Political and Economic.

References

1. Civita, A. (2015). Colombian slang; What the Colombian does not say. Recovered from aboutespanol.com.
2. Colombianisms. (2017). Recovered from wiktionary.org.
3. Galeano, D: (2016). In Colombia, what is a "pelada" or "peladita"? Recovered from spanish.stackexchange.com.
4. Alvarado, S. and Patiño, J. (2013). Young researchers in childhood and youth.
5. CINDE-Childwatch Editorial Center, University of Manizales. Recovered from repository.cinde.org.co.
6. It is only said in Colombia. (2016). Recovered from aiesec.org.mx.