Hola, papá.
Hi, Dad.
At the airport, a grown man greets his father as he arrives, which shows that adults keep saying papá too.
From Guerra de papás 2 · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "dad" in Spanish
el papá
nounmasculineplural: los papás
"Dad" in Spanish is papá, stressed on the last syllable: pa-PÁ. It's masculine, el papá, and the more formal word for father is el padre. Little kids often say papi.
Hear "papá" in a real movie scene
A grown son says hello. The video starts and stops on that line.
Papá, padre, papi: the dad words
They all point to the same man. The tone and the situation decide which one fits.
| Spanish | English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| papá | dad | The everyday word, to talk to your father or about him. |
| padre | father | More formal. In Spain many adults say mi padre when they mention their dad to others. |
| papi | daddy | Very affectionate. Small children use it most. |
| los padres | parents | Mother and father together, the standard word everywhere. |
| los papás | parents, or dads | In Latin America mis papás often means my mom and dad. |
| el Día del Padre | Father's Day | The holiday uses the formal word, padre. |
Tip: Watch the accent mark: el Papa, with no accent and stress on the first syllable, is the Pope.
Grammar: el papá, los papás
Four points for talking to and about your dad.
Ends in -a, still masculine
It's el papá because it refers to a man. The final -á doesn't make it feminine.The plural keeps the accent
papá becomes papás: los papás de mis amigos (my friends' dads, or their parents).Talking to him or about him
When you call him, use the word alone: ¡Hola, papá! When you talk about him, add a possessive: mi papá, tu papá.Age takes tener
Spanish says how many years someone has: Mi papá tiene cincuenta años. My dad is fifty.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Sí, sí, es mi papá.
Yes, yes, he's my dad.
Al final, mi papá está con nosotros.
In the end, my dad is here with us.
¡Sí! Y mi papá también.
Yes! And so is my dad.
¿Ese es tu papá?
Is that your dad?
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗papa (meaning dad)
✓papá
Without the accent and with the stress on the first syllable, papa is a potato in Latin America.
✗la papá
✓el papá
The word names a man, so the article is el even though it ends in -a.
✗Mi papá es cincuenta años
✓Mi papá tiene cincuenta años
For age, Spanish uses tener, to have, never ser.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
Free, and you don't need an account.
1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 33 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Say papá like a cheer when your dad walks in the door: the voice goes up on the last beat, pa-PÁ.
Questions about "dad" in Spanish
How do you say dad in Spanish?
Papá, said pa-PÁ. For the more formal father, use padre.
What's the difference between papá and padre?
Papá is the warm, everyday word, like dad. Padre is father: you see it on forms, in formal speech, and in phrases like el Día del Padre.
Does papá have an accent?
Yes, on the final a. It tells you to stress the last syllable, and it keeps the word apart from papa (potato) and el Papa (the Pope).
How do you say "my dad" in Spanish?
Mi papá, or mi padre in a more formal tone. For both parents, say mis padres.
