Son – hijo

(Pronounced ee-hoh)

To remember that son is pronounced ee-hoh (hijo) in Spanish, use the following mnemonic:

He had a way of dealing with his naughty son – he hosed (hijo) him down.

Hijo is masculine, so it's el hijo. Imagine someone's son invites a friend home – and it turns out to be an elephant!

NOTE: There's a feminine equivalent of hijo – hija (pronounced ee-hah), which means daughter. So if you're talking or writing about a daughter rather than a son, use la hija.

Examples of hijo (son) in a sentence

Mi hijo estudia mucho en la universidad.

(My son studies a lot at the university.)

El hijo de María es muy simpático.

(María's son is very nice.)

Tengo un hijo y una hija.

(I have a son and a daughter.)