Today’s Spanish word of the day is “cariño”.
It’s a masculine noun that can be used to mean “affection” or “care” generally, or be used as a term of endearment similar to English “dear”, “darling” or “sweetheart”. You’ll also see “con cariño” in letters or messages, meaning “with love”.
Despite being a masculine noun, “cariño” is used to refer to both men and women when used as a term of endearment, so you don’t change the word to “cariña” when referring to a woman.
The etymology of “cariño” is disputed, but it’s generally thought to come from Latin carere meaning “to lack”, so it’s thought the word originally referred to the feeling of yearning experienced when separated from someone or something one holds dear.
Example sentences
Le tengo mucho cariño a ese lugar.
I have a lot of affection for that place.
El cariño de mi gato es directamente proporcional a la comida que le doy.
My cat’s affection is directly proportional to the food I give him.
Te extraño cariño.
I miss you darling.
Se despidió con cariño.
He said goodbye with love.
El niño abrazó a su perro con cariño.
The boy hugged his dog tenderly.
