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In English, we have pet terms for mother and father. For example: Mom, Dad, Mummy, Daddy, Mamma, Papa
In Spanish, they have madre/padre. But do they have any pet terms as well? Does it vary between Spanish speakers in Spain and Hispanic speakers in America?
Edit: Ideally, I am looking for terms used by children primarily in America (USA). The most common ones.
In Spain we use "madre" and "padre" when you refer to your parents (or somebody else's parents).
Mi padre le ha regalado a mi madre un collar por su cumpleaños.
Tu padre está un poco loco Juan.
El padre de Luis es muy estricto; la madre un poco menos.
We call then "papá" and "mamá" when addressing directly to them or when talking about them with our siblings.
Papá, ¿qué hay para cenar?
Mamá, papá quiere saber dónde has puesto sus revistas.
(Talking to my brother or sister) Ayer papá y mamá me echaron la bronca por llegar tarde.
There is also "papi" and "mami" (daddy, mamma/mammy), but they sound so cheesy that only small kids would use it.
I noticed that here in the States, where I live, people would say "My dad...". In Spain we use "Mi padre...". I think that some Latin American countries would use "Mi papá..." but in Spain saying "Mi papá...", unless you are a toddler, sounds like if you were saying "My daddy..." in English (little cultural differences).
I have heard many speakers from different Latin American countries use "papá" and "mamá" to refer to their parents to others, but I'm not sure if this is due to an influence of being in an English speaking country where they constantly hear "My dad..." of if it is also to norm in their own countries.
You could also use "papaíto" and even "mamaíta", but as with "papi" and "mami" only small children (or cheesy young adults) would use these terms.
The US spanish has variations. The main ones are Mexican Spanish, and Caribbean Spanish (Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican):
In Mexico there are some words to adress parents:
Mamá and papá (papás for both): These are the main words in every day speech in every place you are, even with your boss at job.
Ma and pa (mom and dad): Normal pet term for adressing your parents
Jefa and jefe (litteraly boss, jefes for both): Another form, pretty common but not everyone uses this.
Mami and papi (mommy and daddy, papis for both): Normal for toddlers and to add a childish touch to your speech. "Hijo de papi o mami" is for someone who depends a lot of his parents, or is rich.
Madre and padre (Mother and father): These words sound too formal, it feels as if a character from a soup opera were talking. These are the formar words for thw written Spanish (you can say mamá to your boss but you can't write that in a letter, it's necessary the word "madre"). These words are commonly used to adress kids, especially parents for their children, but always as "mi padre" or "mi madre". And it's also used adress elder people "Dígame madre qué necesita.".
In other countries as Republica Dominicana i've heard:
Mai and pai (mom and dad)
Depends on country of origin of people.
In Puerto Rico it's not uncommon for people to use "mami" and "papi" into adulthood when speaking to someone who is friends or related to them as well. In public we would just use "mamá" or "papá" and "madre" and "padre" are more formal for us, like how "father" and "mother" are in English. We also use "ma/mai" and "pa/pai", which is usually used between young people from tweens to young adults in their 20s.
Sort of a sidebar here, I noticed that amongst relatives Mexicans will say "mi mamá/amá" "mi papá/apá" to thir brothers/sisters which I find a little odd. Does anyone know why that is? 🤔
I think the most common terms in the US (although most of my experience is in Mexico) would be «mamá» and «papá», and some slight variations such as «mami» or «papi». But every time I hear the latter I'm reminded of the part of the Will Smith song Miami where they say
¡Ay, papi!
I have heard and use "amá" and "apá".
Just like @diego said you can use madre and padre when referring to your parents.
For example:
Mi madre es bonita
Mi padre es gordo.
Other ways could be "mama" and "papa", "pa" and "ma", and "mamá" and "papá"
In Baja California, I've often heard "mi amá" in the third person and "má" in the second. For father/dad I wasn't paying attention, or else I've forgotten.
Where I live we refer to our mom with ma' (from mamá) or jefa. With dads you can say pa' or jefe. Also , where I'm from, we do call our moms mamacita and our dads (papacito) but its usually when you want something back. For example: You're in a store with your mom and you see something that you want this is how that conversation would go "Mamacita bonita, could you buy me this, please?
