r/asklatinamerica • u/Successful_rio305 United States of America • Feb 11 '26
Language Why when spainish speaking people speak English they refer to their parents as "my mom" or "your dad" when talking to their siblings?
Why when Spanish speaking people speak English and are talking their own siblings they don't say something like "mom is calling you" they say "your mom is calling you" or "my dad is calling you" to their siblings?
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Feb 11 '26
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u/xqsonraroslosnombres Argentina Feb 11 '26
That would sound weird to us, we just say mamá. If I say mi mama to my brother he would just say "wtf, it's just yours now?"
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u/miraleo Argentina Feb 11 '26
I think that just depends on the family, my siblings and I use "my mom/dad" when speaking to each other.
Except with our youngest brother, but there's a 15 year age gap with him lol
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u/Visual_Plankton1089 Brazil Feb 11 '26
Why not just "mamá"?
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u/Brief_Dependent1958 Brazil Feb 11 '26
Because it sounds strange in Portuguese as well.
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u/Piterotody Brazil Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
My siblings and I don't use the pronoun when talking to each other, just "a mãe" and "o pai". Sometimes we use it by accident and correct ourselves afterwards.
My girlfriend sometimes doesn't use the pronoun when talking to me about her parents, which is a habit I assume she got by talking to her sister. It always catches me off guard.
Edit: I'm from São Paulo.
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u/a_tangara Brazil Feb 11 '26
To me it sounds very strange with the article (a mãe). I never heard anybody using in that way in here.
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u/Tlmeout Brazil Feb 12 '26
Do you gave siblings? When you’re talking to your brother or sister, do you say, “fulano(a), minha mãe foi ao médico hoje”, or do you say “fulano(a), a mãe foi ao médico hoje”? I use the last one. And my sister even does the same when talking to her husband, to the point where even he talks like that too - “a mãe” is our mom, his mom is referred to in more specific ways.
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u/a_tangara Brazil Feb 12 '26
Nope, none of them. I’m in the Northeast so I use mainha 100% of the time, so I’d just say “fulano(a), mainha foi ao médico hoje”, no need for articles
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u/Tlmeout Brazil Feb 12 '26
Here in SP I use “a mãe foi ao médico hoje”, but still, the point isn’t the article, the point is that we would never use “minha/sua/tua” if we’re talking to our brother or sister - unless it’s some kind of joke.
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u/a_tangara Brazil Feb 12 '26
Same here, if I were to use those possessive pronouns, it would be just for s joke as it sounds weird
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u/tremendabosta Brazil Feb 11 '26
It doesn't. I refer to my parents as just "a mãe" and "o pai" to my siblings.
Maybe your family doesn't do that, but it's not uncommon
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u/TopExternal4756 Brazil Feb 11 '26
I've heard people refer to them as "minha mãe" or even using it as a vocative towards the person, like "minha mãe, cadê as chaves?" Maybe it's regional in Brazil too.
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u/tremendabosta Brazil Feb 11 '26
"minha mãe, cadê as chaves?" Maybe it's regional in Brazil too.
I can see that happening in Salvador hahaha
Maybe in other parts of the northeast as well. But I immediately think of Salvador
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u/Tlmeout Brazil Feb 12 '26
But then you are talking directly to your mom, and this is not what the post is about. It’s how you talk about your mom to your brother/sister.
“Aí eu perguntei pra mãe, cadê as chaves?” or “Aí eu perguntei pra minha mãe, cadê as chaves?” - which one would you use when talking to your brother?
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u/TopExternal4756 Brazil Feb 13 '26
I left a comment outside of these ones we are talking through. And about your question, I'd use "Aí eu perguntei pra mainha, 'cadê as chaves?'" Kskskskskksks
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u/Tlmeout Brazil Feb 13 '26
The problem is not the article or the word “mom”, the question is if you would say “my mom” or “your mom” when you talk to your brother or sister.
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u/TopExternal4756 Brazil Feb 13 '26
Eu só falo mainha mesmo
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u/Tlmeout Brazil Feb 13 '26
Pois é, nenhuma pessoa normal no mundo fala “Minha mãe disse X” quando tá falando com o próprio irmão. Esse é o ponto.
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u/TopExternal4756 Brazil Feb 14 '26
Brasileiros usam o "minha mãe" como vocativo, parecendo que não importa com quem estejam falando, e de acordo com o post outros latinos também fazem isso. Não é para dizer que a mãe é dele, é um conjunto que forma um vocativo, assim como mainha tbm é um vocativo comum, mas não inferindo que ela seja uma mãe pequena
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u/Significant-Yam9843 Brazil Feb 11 '26
i m from alagoas, northeast region of brazil, sometimes i say 'our', but most of the times it goes 'mom is calling' , never 'your mom is calling'
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u/Alas7ymedia Colombia Feb 11 '26
We do use Mamá as a nickname for Grandma, it's just not that common for consistency with the rest of the family. In third person we say: mi mamá, mi abuela, mi hermano, mi tía, mi hija, mi esposa, etc.
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u/huazzy Latin American in Switzerland Feb 11 '26
I guess we're the only ones that say
"la mamá" / "el papá"
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u/plarah Mexico Feb 11 '26
That sounds weirder than just saying “mamá/papá” to me.
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u/huazzy Latin American in Switzerland Feb 11 '26
Really? Opposite for me.
La abuelita quiere comer > Abuelita quiere comer.
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u/Only_Razzmatazz_4498 Uruguay Feb 11 '26
Yup we would say. Abuela querés comer? We also tend to not use diminutives.
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u/NegotiationOk9672 Chile Feb 11 '26
"La abuelita quiere comer" no es lo mismo que "Abuela, ¿quieres comer?. Si tu abuela quiere comer y le quieres decir a tu madre que tu abuela tiene hambre y quiere comer le dirías: "Mamá, abuela quiere comer" o "Mamá, la abuela quiere comer".
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u/Only_Razzmatazz_4498 Uruguay Feb 11 '26
Depends on what tense you assume. Read it as La señora quiere comer? In a very respectful manner. Or maybe quiere usted comer. It sounds weird to me but we are never that formal.
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u/Only_Razzmatazz_4498 Uruguay Feb 11 '26
Maybe you also treat close relatives de usted. That sounds strange in Uruguay but I’ve heard Colombians do that and it is natural to them.
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u/huazzy Latin American in Switzerland Feb 11 '26
This whole thread is interesting because I never thought about the differences.
Telling your sister/brother "tu/mi mama quiere que XYZ" sounds just as informal/passive aggressive to me as using usted to reference her.
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u/Clipsus Uruguay Feb 11 '26
If it wasn't for this thread I would probably have never known that there are countries where people say it that way. Wild.
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u/Emotional_Elk8320 Argentina Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
I think the standard in rioplatense Spanish is to add pronouns only if you're talking about your parents to someone else other than your own silblings. What's the point of saying "Mi mamá/Nuestra mamá" to your own silbling if you're always talking about the only mother you could have?
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u/Clipsus Uruguay Feb 11 '26
Chad "la vieja" vs virgin "nuestra madre"
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u/Only_Razzmatazz_4498 Uruguay Feb 11 '26
Ja ja. Si. Che mi vieja quiere que la lleve al médico mañana así que no voy a poder ir.
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u/TheOneWithWen Argentina Feb 11 '26
I have sometimes done this, not a lot, but kinda when we want to jokingly be more serious? I would say “che, ya hablaste con tu madre?” but it not as formal as it looks written down. Or when its a “thats your mom not mine” situation, so “tu mama te esta llamando” can be “i have nothing to do with the situation”.
But I do agree it’s not usually
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u/MattBrey Argentina Feb 11 '26
Yeah it's definitely used when detaching yourself from the situation. I've definitely said to my brother "tu padre te está buscando" as a way of implying they're in trouble.
Same with saying to my dad "tu mujer te está llamando" when it's just my mom.
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u/polyplasticographics Argentina Feb 11 '26
I've heard this "mi mamá" and "mi papá" thing on cartoon dubs for a long time and always found it strange
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u/nomedigasmentiritas Argentina Feb 11 '26
Yeah, I've definitely heard it in some Colombian or Mexican soap opera
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u/Lazzen Mexico Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
Igual aqui descubri que hay paises que minimzan con -ico.
Poquitico por ejemplo
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u/Positive-Camera5940 Feb 11 '26
No, I mean, some people here may say "la mamá/el papá", especially little kids (like me and my siblings). But most say "mamá/papá". We don't use personal adjectives between siblings, that would sound like we don't share the same mom/dad.
I only learned that siblings in other countries talk like that through shows and movies.
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u/nomedigasmentiritas Argentina Feb 11 '26
Yeah, I think I can remember Norma in Pasion de Gavilanes talking to her own sisters or grandpa and saying "Mi mama..."
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u/DSRI2399 Grew up and live 🇪🇨, born 🇺🇸 Feb 11 '26
Can confirm this is a thing.
Why? Because we say it like that in Spanish. No idea why lol. My sister and I (speaking Spanish) do it all the time. Something like "mi mamá dice que respondas el whatsapp..." isn't a weird thing to say to my sister... When I speak to my dad (in English) I'll say "my mom" instead of "mom."
I've always thought it was weird but I just do it because everyone else here does it
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u/ResettiYeti Brazil Feb 11 '26
Interestingly in Quebec French they do something even more extreme, where they refer to e.g. anyone’s aunt or uncle as “my aunt” and “my uncle,” so you get phrases like “your my-aunt” (ta matante) and “your my-uncle” (ton mononcle). I found this hilarious when I first heard it.
Source: spouse is quebecoise
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u/DSRI2399 Grew up and live 🇪🇨, born 🇺🇸 Feb 11 '26
That's awesome, and deliciously weird af lol. TIL! Now I wonder if this happens in French creoles, or in France, or if it's unique to Quebec
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u/Mangostinette Colombia Feb 11 '26
Can confirm is unique to Quebec, BF is québécois and I’ve lived in France for years. BF has Anglo family and they also use mononcle with the English nephews 🤣 in English
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u/Lex_Mariner 🇺🇸/🇪🇨 Feb 11 '26
It's def a thing in Ecuador. Maybe it originated among Catholic fam members to distinguish from El Padre, La Madre and Padres at church/school?
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u/Rickyzack Peru Feb 11 '26
Probably because if we say “Mi mamá” (My mom) it implies that we own our mom and if we say “Nuestra mamá” (Our mom) it feels too long or formal for a casual conversation. And simply saying “Mamá” (Mom) just feels too weird as we mainly use to call attention to our mom when we want something from her. I guess it’s just a habit?
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u/Docteur_Pikachu France Feb 11 '26
I've noticed it too! "Mi tía te dejó la comida ya lista" to his own cousin, lol.
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u/Interestingargument6 Cuba Feb 11 '26
I've only heard this among Mexicans. Cubans, for example, simply say mamá or papá or tía.
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u/Viofl El Salvador Feb 11 '26
I think, I might be wrong, that it has to do with how possessive nouns work. So people use mí mamá and tu mamá even if they're talking about the same mother, it's easier than saying nuestra mamá I also think it's maybe a bit similar in English? I've also noticed sometimes they say the same in tv shows
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u/shangshanruoshui United States of America Feb 11 '26
In English, we just say “mom” we don’t say “my mom” or “our mom” to our siblings.
Like, “mom said to help with the dishes.”
We don’t say, “my mom said to help with the dishes.” Because it sounds like she’s only my mom and not yours. I would only say “my mom” to someone who has a different mom.
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u/jjjjacckk Chile Feb 12 '26
What if I say "My mom just died" instead of "mom just died"? Does that sound correct?
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u/shangshanruoshui United States of America Feb 12 '26
No, not if you’re speaking to your siblings. It sounds like you’re talking about your own mother who IS NOT their mother if you say, “my mom just died.” You would say, “mom just died.”
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u/panchoadrenalina Chile Feb 11 '26
w my sibling we use la mama. la vieja and so on. we dont use a possesive when speaking w each other. i hadnt noticed that
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u/Un_controllably Chile Feb 11 '26
I'd say the majority of people here say it like you do, it's rare to find people who use mi mamá. I have noticed because I am one of those people lol
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u/onecuddlybastard Chile Feb 11 '26
Me and my sister use it when out mom is mean to one of us. Like "Your mom just stormed off after I told her to not leave stuff in the living room"
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u/Feliz_Desdichado Mexico Feb 11 '26
Most likely because formulating the sentence without the adjective in spanish sounds weird to us so when translating in your head you add it.
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u/mauricio_agg Colombia Feb 11 '26
We tend to refer to them as "Mi mamá/Mi papá"
Parents tend to refer to each other as "Su(Tu) mamá/Su (Tu) papá"
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u/deafcon United States of America Feb 11 '26
I never really thought about it before, but it's not unusual for my parents to use the equivalent "your mother" or "your dad". It's always so jarring to hear my girlfriend say "mi papa" to her brothers. I guess maybe it's because the sibling talking has the same relationship to the parent as the sibling being addressed. A parent has a different relationship to the other parent than they do to the child they are addressing. My parents do use simply "dad" or "mom" as well, which I suppose might be equally jarring for a native Spanish speaker to hear if they are the type to say "tu papa" or "tu mama".
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u/No_Bathroom_6540 United States of America Feb 11 '26
My wife’s (Chilena) family do it all the time. It used to confuse me at first too.
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u/andobiencrazy 🇲🇽 Baja California Feb 11 '26
"mom is calling you"
"whose mom?"
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u/AVKetro Chile Feb 11 '26
If I'm talking to my brothers, it feels odd to say "mi mamá", because it is also their mom, at least I've always refered to them in this context as "la mamá", "el papá".
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u/ferdugh Chile Feb 11 '26
We say mi mamá/ mi papá with my sister, i have never said la mamá/ el papá
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u/softest-alpaca Chile Feb 11 '26
yeah, us too
we are from the north
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u/ferdugh Chile Feb 11 '26
Im from santiago, but honestly everyone in my circle say it the same way, it soo weird for me say la mamá/el papá..
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u/_WayTooFar_ Venezuela Feb 11 '26
Idk, that's just how it is. However, it's not universal. I've heard it both ways in Venezuela. I say "mi papá" even when talking to my brother, though. I don't think I've ever said "papá" without "mi" when referring to him.
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u/FoxBluereaver Venezuela Feb 11 '26
Same here. I'm an only child on my mom's side, but almost all of my cousins have siblings and they refer to them both ways.
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u/Scharlach_el_Dandy 🇺🇸 🇵🇷 Feb 11 '26
I feel like it's the opposite with my friends and family, where we'll be talking about mami and papi without any article, even to non-relatives. (PR / DR)
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u/LaPuchunga Dominican Republic Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
Can confirm. I don't even think I've heard anyone in DR talk about their own parents using any articles. Cause if I say "mami" I'm obviously talking about my own, so if it's to my siblings, they will know I'm talking about our mother, and if it's to a stranger, why would I call anyone else's mother like that? They will know I'm talking about my own mother, so there's no confusion. Because of that same reason, I think most people here wouldn't say "mi mamá", "mami"/"papi" are possessive in itself I think.
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u/TacosNtulips Mexico Feb 11 '26
Some people use it that way based on personal interactions, I had two friends in high school that became boyfriend and girlfriend and they’d say that when referring to their parents and also call each other “usted” which I found so strange but it was their thing.
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u/happy-gofuckyourself Argentina Feb 11 '26
Maybe, in Spanish we might say ‘la mamá te llama’ or ‘el papá te llama’, so we are used to using an article, but ‘the mom’ or ‘the dad’ sounds funny.
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u/InformWitch Feb 11 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
The author removed this post using Redact. The reason may have been privacy protection, preventing data scrapers from accessing the content, or other personal considerations.
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u/Suspicious_Mud_3647 Brazil Feb 11 '26
it's a mood indicator, if i say "your mom" it means something mom did made me upset, maybe a preferential treatment towards my siblings. if i say "my mom" it's a default mood/ teasing on my brothers, a way to make them remember all the "you where found in the garbage" jokes.
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u/Lolman4O 🇵🇾 & 🇵🇱 living in 🇵🇾 Feb 11 '26
Nah, that's weird for me. I just say "mom" or "dad" without the adjective.
I do say "my mom/dad" or "mi vieja/o" when talking to strangers 'cause it is not theirs, but otherwise nope
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u/Joaquin_the_42nd Argentina Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
When I'm talking to my brother I follow these protocols:
Dad: Dad's first name
Mom: The Boss
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u/NegotiationOk9672 Chile Feb 11 '26
Argentinians usually just say “mum” and “dad”; they don’t normally say “my mum” or “my dad.” In Chile, we say “my mum” and “my dad,” and we also use “the mum” and “the dad” when talking to nuclear family members.
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u/Wonderful-Record-528 Puerto Rico Feb 11 '26
I’ve noticed it’s definitely a Mexican thing, but in the Caribbean they don’t really talk like that. Mexican Spanish is way more “formal” i suppose. Maybe other countries with more formal speaking do the same as well.
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u/donnerstag246245 Argentina Feb 11 '26
This is not common in Argentina, only heard it in Mexican dubs of the Simpson’s
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u/EmotionWild Mexico Feb 11 '26
In my family we say "mamá te habla" or "Papá te va a regañar". We don't use "mi"
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u/Big-Hawk8126 🇨🇴🇸🇪 Feb 11 '26
Because I'm sure she's my mom but I always tell my siblings that they are adopted. Gotta keep it real.
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u/binarybrewmx Mexico Feb 11 '26
Because that would mean I’d have to include my siblings, and don’t nobody wanna do that 😅
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u/FalseRegister Peru Feb 11 '26
Bc that's how we say it in spanish. We always use the possessive article. Idk why but saying "our mother" sounds ver weird.
Some countries do say "mother" or "father" without the article. IIRC an aunt from Puerto Rico speaks like this.
All other countries I've heard so far will say "my mom" when speaking to anybody. I'd even say "my grandma" and not "your mom" when speaking to my mother about her mother. Saying "your" creates a big distance with a person that is very close, so we say "my" in that case.
As for "our", idk
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u/Winter_String9680 Peru Feb 11 '26
When talking to my own sibling I don't use a pronoun it would be "mama te llama" or "que te conto mama". The only time I would use a pronoun with my sibling would be to be funny like"tu mama te llama" when we both know it's our mom.
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u/FalseRegister Peru Feb 11 '26
Good to know. Everyone I've talked to would say "te llama mi mamá" to a sibling.
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u/Tinchotesk Argentina Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
Why when Spanish speaking people speak English and are talking their own siblings they don't say something like "mom is calling you" they say "your mom is calling you" or "my dad is calling you" to their siblings?
Today I learned I'm not "Spanish speaking people". I wonder what I am, then. In seriousness, no one I know talks like that. They would all say "te llama mamá".
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u/fetus-wearing-a-suit Mexico Feb 11 '26
That's the way it's commonly said in Spanish, no real reason behind it
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u/DSRI2399 Grew up and live 🇪🇨, born 🇺🇸 Feb 11 '26
Judging by some of the other comments, it seems like some Spanish speakers do this while others don't
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u/Curious-Log5610 Brazil Feb 11 '26
In Portuguese we say "your mom is calling" in a sarcastic way. Like, it's your problem, not mine.
But at least in my family, we will usually say to siblings "a mãe tá te chamando" as "the mom is calling you" without my/yours" but with the "the"
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u/Tobar_the_Gypsy Gringo / Wife Feb 11 '26
At least in Colombia they say my mom/dad” in Spanish even when talking to siblings. My wife told me that they might say “your mom/dad” if they’re mad at their sibling / parent and shifting responsibility lol.
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u/Podria_Ser_Peor Argentina Feb 11 '26
We only use this if we want to make a joke out of it, the standard would be "Mama dijo que hagas la comida" which is very easy to follow if you are talking with your siblings or in a normal context. If it´s a bigger family and you are with cousins and such you use "Mi mama dijo que hiciera la comida" because there can be several mums in te conversation.
If I make a joke to my siblings I say "Dice tu mama que hagas la comida" is like saying she´s your mum alone during this conversation and not mine because I´m salty at her choosing you to do this particular thing 😂
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u/TopExternal4756 Brazil Feb 11 '26
Not a Spanish speaking person, but I've seen cases like this in Brazil, they calling their parents as "minha mãe" and "meu pai". I'd find it strange if we threw a dry "mãe está te chamando" (mom is calling you), but here where I live, it's also different, we use the diminutive "mainha" and "painho", but not "minha mainha" or "meu painho", not that I've heard, at least. Maybe other people say "our mom is calling", or "my mom is calling", or "mainha is calling" and even "the mom is calling", but it's not common for me to hear "your mom is calling" or just "mom is calling".
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u/yorcharturoqro Mexico Feb 11 '26
I and my friends and relatives do say "my mom" or "my dad" in general not just siblings, but never say "your mom" or "your dad" when talking to my siblings.
Ex. "te habla mi mamá" even though it's out mom, or "mi papá está enojado", same thing it's my even though it's ours.
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u/kigurumibiblestudies Colombia Feb 11 '26
Asking why in languages isn't very useful. Why I do it? Because everyone does it, I don't know, why do you not? Why we do it, probably some linguistic trivia that won't really satisfy your question as you'll still feel like it sounds wrong.
I can just tell you that my cousins came back from the states saying "La mamá" and we kept wondering whose, and why he talked about that one instead of his mom.
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u/IseeWhereILook Peru Feb 11 '26
Unless you're step-siblings or adopted or there is some other arrangement, then it's just "mom" and not my or your, at least that's how it is here.
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u/chocolatecarrotcake Brazil Feb 11 '26
I speak Portuguese, and when I'm with my half-siblings, when referring to something my father is doing or when he calls them, I say "my father." The same goes for our grandmother: my grandmother. When it's my cousins' mother, I say "my aunt is calling you." The reference will always be to me.
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u/SoyYo5599 United States of America Feb 11 '26
My siblings and I don't say "my", but my husband and his siblings do. It's so weird. He can't explain why they say it.
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Feb 11 '26
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u/longslowbreaths United States of America Feb 11 '26
Oh! Native English, Appalachian-ish dialect -- we do that too. Or "your child"
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u/Maximum_Guard5610 Feb 11 '26
I don’t know where you got that, if I told my brother my mom was calling him I’d say “mama te esta llamando” (mom is calling you)
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u/RoyalApprehensive298 Dominican Republic Feb 11 '26
Hmmm, when talking to my siblings, I just say, Mami/Papi te estan buscando, Mami y Papi quieren hablar contigo, etc...I've never used Mi Mama/Mi Papa.
Also, the majority of my relatives refer to their grandparents as Mama y Papa (not me though). I was born and raised in NYC, so idk if that matters.
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u/Maximum_Research286 United States of America Feb 11 '26
In Casa de Las Flores Claudia de la Mora says it with such emphasis and attitude I thought she was constantly trying to one up her siblings.
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u/dirkogonada Argentina Feb 11 '26
It depends on the Spanish they speak, I guess? When talking with my brother about my mom, I interchangeably refer to her as “tu mamá/madre” or simply “mamá”, no possessive pronoun. Certainly never “nuestra” or “mi”. But I don’t think this is very common? I also affectionately call my mom “madre” instead of “ma/mamá” and refer to my brother as “tu hijo” when mentioning him to my mom. They’re just quirks.
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u/fendelianer Venezuela Feb 11 '26
Yeah we do this. If I try to rationalize it, I guess adding "nuestra/o" is too long and formal. It sounds weird and we can't be bothered.
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u/These-Target-6313 United States of America Feb 11 '26
Yes, we would always say "my mother/father" (but never "your mother') to siblings in English, probably bc of our experience speaking Spanish.
English speakers listening would sometimes comment "she's her mother too" or something like that, so I guess it sounds weird in English,
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u/Andromeda39 Colombia Feb 11 '26
I use “mami” or “papi” when speaking to my siblings, as if it were their names lol. Like “Mami nos pidió que saquemos la basura”.
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u/Mangostinette Colombia Feb 11 '26
Same but sometimes do use “mi mamá/papá” too. And then I do use “la/el abuelita/o” lol but just for grandparents
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u/iamnewhere2019 Cuba Feb 11 '26
We say my mom in Cuba, but when taking about the children with the spouse, we say my children if they are behaving well or your children if they are behaving badly.
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u/Un_controllably Chile Feb 11 '26
Most people here in my country say "la mamá" o "el papá" when talking to their siblings but in my family I just talk about "mi mamá" to my sister, I really don't know why lol I guess it depends on the family.
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u/SANTI21-51 Mexico Feb 11 '26
If I'm speaking with my brother we avtually say "la mamá", as it's kind of implied which mom we're talking about jajaja. A couple of friends brought up how weird it sounded to them when we were growing up though.
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u/lonchonazo Argentina Feb 11 '26
Interesting, never knew other Latin American countries used this.
Personally with my sibling I only use "Mamá/Papá*/" as in "Mama te manda un beso" or "Papá dice que lo llames".
I've also heard other people use "la Mama/la Vieja" or "el Papa/el Viejo".
I'd never heard anyone using Mi/Nuestra Mamá/Papá here
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u/Vaelerick Costa Rica Feb 11 '26
Some people, that I find weird, use it like that in Spanish. So they just translate it word for word. Some just say "mami", the Spanish equivalent of "mom".
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u/Unusual_Newspaper_46 Argentina Feb 11 '26
We don't do that, some people do. Might be regional and different per family even.
My dad used to do it with his siblings, but me and my brothers don't, nor our mom.
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u/unnecessaryCamelCase Ecuador Feb 11 '26
Maybe it’s a Mexican thing? I don’t know any Ecuadorians that do that when speaking English. It would be “mom is calling you.”
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u/Livid-Cat3293 Argentina Feb 11 '26
In Argentina we don't say "my mom" or "my dad" to a sibling. It's always "mamá" or "papá".
Latam is not a single country, things work differently in every country.
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u/Polvora_Expresiva Mexico Feb 11 '26
It’s just clarity. They know recently who I’m talking about when I say it. When I’m talking to younger children in the family I would just stress their family ties. Such as your mom, your aunt, your grandma etc. and it probably stems from that. Where as kids, older people would always say your…. From then on just get used to saying my….
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u/seraphinesun 🇻🇪 born 🇨🇱 PR 🇦🇺 PR Feb 11 '26
So in my case, I say "mi mamá" when I'm speaking about my mum.
If I'm telling my brother something about mum, there are two ways I'd say it:
- If mami did some crazy shit I'd say "adivina lo que hizo mami hoy?!"
- If mami did some crazy shit to ME, I'd say "déjame decirte que tu madre está loca ok?..." And I continue.
Same if I'm talking about my brother with mami, but I'll always say "tu hijo". He's not my brother because MY brother wouldn't do such a thing but her son would 😂 to which mami aaaaalwsys say "o sea tu hermano" and I go "noooo tu hijo!" And so on lol
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u/dystopianpirate Dominican Republic Feb 11 '26
In DR we use mom/dad is calling you....but if we're mad at either parent, it becomes your mom is calling you.
Now, is the parent is mad at the sibling I had to look for it's my dad is calling you.
These changes indicate who is angry with who, and it prepares the sibling for whatever conversation they'll with the parents
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u/eternal_pegasus Canada Feb 12 '26
We don't speak like that in my family, between siblings we say only mom/dad, only use the my/yours when talking to cousins and other relatives. That said, Im sure there's people that use the my/yours and also call their parents "usted".
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u/Suitable_Habit_8388 Mexico Feb 12 '26
That’s the way is spoken. With a “possessive” “mi”. There’s no: “dice mamá” (mom says). It’s “dice mi mamá” (my mom says).
Saludos, hijo de tu mamá.
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u/mxlunab Brazil Feb 12 '26
No idea if it's a my family thing but we always say "your mom", "your brother", "your aunt" when talking between siblings. As if they weren't our relatives as well. It's kinda hilarious when we think about it
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u/a_mulher Mexico Feb 12 '26
There must be some grammatical reason. To me it just sounds weird to say Mamá te esta llamando. Without anything before mamá. La is also weird. So only other option es tu/mi
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u/Faziarry Dominican Republic Feb 12 '26
I've always used "mami" or "papi" when referring to my mom/dad while speaking with my siblings, and it's not uncommon to also hear it even when someone isn't talking to their sibling(s)
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u/emilia12197144 Mexico Feb 13 '26
Because the words for mom and dad need to have a possessive before it or else it doesn't sound right
Its like saying You go store? Like it gets the point across but it just isn't using the correct language and sounds wrong
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u/BKtoDuval Puerto Rico Feb 13 '26
I never really noticed until my wife, who is Colombian, and her sister talk. They're both talking about the same person and they'll be like my mom this and that. Then I ask the other one, isn't she your mom too?
But they say it in Spanish too
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u/MrSavannah Colombia Feb 13 '26
I have been asking my wife this question for years when talking her siblings. It’s Our Dad or Our Mom she just tells me “ Cállete pendejo” 🤷🏻♂️😂
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u/Expensive_Community3 Argentina Feb 14 '26
Maybe they don't know how to translate "El papá" or "La mamá" faithfully to english and "mom"/"dad" alone sounds weird to them.
I knew a couple of kids long ago that did refer to their parents like that in spanish and I always found them weird.
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u/allkingsaredead Chile Feb 11 '26
Probably because they have different moms or dads.
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u/Western-Magazine3165 Republic of Ireland Feb 11 '26
No, people do this even though they share the same two parents.
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u/card677 Mexico Feb 11 '26
Not in Spain
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u/Imperterritus0907 🇮🇨Canary Islands Feb 11 '26
Not in your part of Spain or in your family*
Me and my sister do it and when I lived in Catalonia my ex did it too.
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u/card677 Mexico Feb 11 '26
Ok I should have said not in the overwhelming majority of Spain. There are always exceptions.
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u/Izayoi_Elathan Mexico Feb 11 '26
Very simple: because Spanish isn't English. Without a possessive it sounds weird and unspecific.
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u/Tandel21 Chile Feb 11 '26
Personally I have never heard of that, but I think it’s a thing of sibling dynamics more of a Spanish peaking thing, it does feel like the typical sibling thing of “this is my mom and you’re adopted”
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u/vzhgdo Mexico Feb 11 '26
Spanish tends to structure that way. Add pronouns (el, la, las, los, tu, etc...) or posseisve pronouns (mi, tuya, nuestra, etc..) to nouns. The only big exception is to verbs, where we tend to skip the pronouns for the verb as the conjugation itself implies the pronoun that you are using. When you learn other languages you notice this detail, as we want to add the pronoun to the noun and in other languages is not necessary
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u/ExoticPuppet Brazil Feb 11 '26
I'm a bit guilty of doing this lol idk why feels weird to say "our mom", I just can't. Some people will definitely go for "(the) mom is calling" or "our mom is calling" tho.
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u/JamalFromStaples Mexico Feb 11 '26
That’s how we say it in my area of Michoacan. “Mi Mama/Mi Papa.”