Madrugada

Today's word is: Madrugada

Clase: sustantivo (noun)

Género: femenino (feminine)

Origen: latín (Latin)

In Spanish, “madrugada” is a feminine noun of Latin origin which means dawn, early morning or sunrise, and could be used as in:

• Al llegar la madrugada (when dawn breaks)

In Spanish, the action word/ verb “madrugar” is a related word meaning to get up early or rise early, and used as in:

• A quien madruga Dios le ayuda (Spanish proverb -see notes below)
• No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano (Spanish proverb -see notes below)

In Spanish, the describing word/ adjective “madrugador”/ “madrugadora” is a related word meaning early-rising, or 'early bird' and used as in:

• Pedro es muy madrugador (Pedro is a very early-riser/ an early bird)
• María es muy madrugadora (María is a very early-riser/ an early bird)

Spanish expressions with the word “madrugada” are:

• A altas horas de la madrugada (very late/ in the wee hours)
  • Llegué a altas horas de madrugada (I arrived very late/ in the wee hours)
  • Estuvimos en casa de Pedro hasta altas horas de la madrugada (we were in Pedro's until very late/ well into the wee hours)
• De madrugada (at dawn)
  • Llegué de madrugada (I arrived at dawn)
• Las tantas de la madrugada (very late/ in the wee hours)
  • Llegué a las tantas de la madrugada (I arrived very late/ in the wee hours)
  • Estuvimos en casa de Pedro hasta las tantas de la madrugada (we were in Pedro's until very late/ well into the wee hours)
  • Nos dieron las tantas de la madrugada en casa de Pedro (it was very late/it was the wee hours and we were still in Pedro's)

Notes

Spanish proverbs

Proverb 1.- A quien madruga Dios le ayuda

Imagine someone ruing an unsuccessful outcome in a recent contest. Success had been up for grabs but he/ she had been pipped to the post by someone else. In your opinion, failure had been mostly due to indecision. He/ she had been too slow and had been beaten by someone more switched on/ smarter. Maybe in English you would remind him/ her that 'the early bird catches the worm'... in Spanish you could say: A quien madruga Dios le ayuda

Proverb 2.- No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano

Imagine someone almost the opposite from the scenario above. Here is someone whose overeagerness and impatience appear to be getting in the way of success. You want to advise patience and suggest that haste does not always guarantee a faster outcome. Perhaps in English you would remind him/ her that 'the early bird doesn't always catch the worm' ... in Spanish you could say: No por mucho madrugar amanece más temprano

Love-Spanish.com loves the word "madrugada" in the YouTube clip: Amaral - Esta Madrugada

For more on the word "madrugada", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Madrugada

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “madrugada”in the link to hear the word pronounced.

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