Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Duck in Spanish: Pato, Pata, and Patito
Pato · noun (masculine) · PAH-toh
Duck in Spanish is pato (PAH-toh), masculine. A female duck is pata, and a duckling is patito (the diminutive). Pato also appears in the phrase hacerse el pato, meaning to play dumb or avoid responsibility.
Pato is PAH-toh, two syllables, stress on PAH.
Los patos nadan tranquilamente en el lago del parque.
The ducks swim calmly in the park lake.
Duck in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for duck, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| pato | duck | PAH-toh | Default, widely understood |
| pata | duck | female duck | |
| patito | duck | duckling |
How Native Speakers Use Pato
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
At the park
Mi hija les da pan a los patos en el estanque.
My daughter feeds bread to the ducks in the pond.
Patos is the plural; estanque is a pond.
Duckling
La pata cruzó la calle con sus patitos detrás.
The mother duck crossed the street with her ducklings behind her.
Patito is the affectionate diminutive for a duckling.
Duck as food
El restaurante sirve pato a la naranja como plato especial.
The restaurant serves duck à l'orange as a special dish.
Pato is both the animal and the meat.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Pato
Confusing pato with pata (leg/foot)
Incorrect: Me duele el pato. (meaning leg/foot)
Correct: Me duele la pata.
Pata (feminine) also means an animal's leg or foot, or colloquially a human leg. Pato (masculine) is the duck. The gender flip changes the meaning entirely.
Forgetting the idiom
Incorrect: Taking hacerse el pato literally.
Correct: Hacerse el pato means to play dumb, not to become a duck.
This idiom is common in Latin America and means to pretend you don't know something or avoid a topic.
Lock in Duck Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Pato used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using pato in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Los patos nadan tranquilamente en el lago del parque. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
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Common Questions About Duck in Spanish
- How do you say duck in Spanish?
- Duck is pato (PAH-toh). A female duck is pata, and a duckling is patito.
- What does hacerse el pato mean?
- Hacerse el pato means to play dumb or feign ignorance. It's an informal expression used across Latin America.
- How do I say rubber duck in Spanish?
- A rubber duck is un patito de hule (Mexico) or un patito de goma (Spain and most of Latin America).