affectionate terms for daughter

Question

What are affectionate terms a mother or father would call a daughter (like in English we'd use "darling", "honey", "sweetheart" etc"')

Is there anything regional about this? This is for a book and my character is from Argentina. Thanks!

Answer 1

I lived in Argentina for two years. Someone could really call a loved one almost anything. Depending on the tone of voice, even things that we would consider offensive were actually terms of endearment. There is no such thing as "politically correct" in Argentina. As a disclaimer, I only lived in and around Buenos Aires, so, the term may change depending on whether or not they are "Porteños" or "Campesinos"

Gorda/gordita/flaca - Fat/chubby/thin - girl
Blanca/Negra - Pale/Black (anyone with what is considered a light tan in the US could be called Negra or Negrita in Buenos Aires)
Mi querida - my dear.

I hope that this helps a little.

Answer 2

I will investigate.

Answer 3

sure!

informal terms would be great

Answer 4

Hi ecri, are you interested in more terms'

Answer 5

Thanks, that's really helpful.

Answer 6

Not specific to Argentina, but I think the most common way for Spanish speakers to refer affectionately to their daughters would be to use mija. As you probably know, this is a contraction of mi hija, but it seems to be used as a term of endearment in Spanish. I also sometimes hear mothers use these: mi vida, mi pequeña, mi reina.

Here is what one Argentine said in another forum, in response to this same question:

'Perhaps "mi pequeña", "mi amor" (my love, but no not so usual)
"corazoncito" but it is use in lower clases.
I'm from Argentina perhaps in other countries there are more ways.'

Answer 7

Hija de mi alma - Hija preciosa - my precious daughter