Spanish Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies for Kids
Spanish nursery rhymes are short traditional verses that children across the Spanish-speaking world grow up with: Arroz con leche, Aserrín, aserrán, Sana, sana, colita de rana, Que llueva, the lullaby Arrorró, mi niño, Estaba la pájara pinta and Al pasar la barca. All seven are below, with plain English meanings.
Each one comes with what it’s for (bedtime, a hand-clap game, a bumped knee) and one way to use it tonight, even if you don’t speak Spanish and don’t sing. The free rhyme cards put all seven on paper for the fridge or the bedside table.
Arroz con leche
Hand-clap game · Traditional, anonymous (public domain)
Arroz con leche,
me quiero casar
con una señorita
de San Nicolás,
que sepa coser,
que sepa bordar,
que sepa abrir la puerta
para ir a jugar.
Con esta sí,
con esta no,
con esta señorita
me caso yo.
What it means
Rice pudding, I want to marry a young lady from San Nicolás who knows how to sew, who knows how to embroider, who knows how to open the door to go out and play. This one yes, this one no, this is the young lady I will marry.
How to use it tonight
Sit facing your child and clap each other's hands on the beat. On the last verse, point around the room (at a teddy, at the cat) and land on someone for me caso yo.
Arroz con leche is rice pudding. The song has nothing to do with dessert; the first line is there for the rhyme and the beat.
Aserrín, aserrán
Knee-bounce and sawing game · Traditional, anonymous (public domain)
¡Aserrín! ¡Aserrán!
Los maderos de San Juan
piden queso, piden pan;
los de Roque, alfandoque;
los de Rique, alfeñique;
¡los de triqui, triqui, tran!
What it means
Sawdust, saw-saw (the sound of sawing). The woodcutters of San Juan ask for cheese, ask for bread; Roque's get a cane-sugar sweet, Rique's get a sugar candy, and Trique's get triqui, triqui, tran (just a happy sound).
How to use it tonight
Hold hands facing each other and rock forward and back like two people sawing a log. On triqui, triqui, tran, give a big bounce or a gentle tickle.
This is one common traditional version. Many families sing a different ending; the first two lines are the same everywhere.
Sana, sana, colita de rana
Bump-and-comfort rhyme · Traditional, anonymous (public domain)
Sana, sana,
colita de rana,
si no sana hoy,
sanará mañana.
What it means
Heal, heal, little frog's tail; if it doesn't heal today, it will heal tomorrow.
How to use it tonight
Say it softly while rubbing a bumped knee or elbow. By the third bump of the week, your child will say it with you.
Colita means little tail. It's silly on purpose: the giggle is half the medicine.
Que llueva, que llueva
Rainy-day circle game · Traditional, anonymous (public domain)
Que llueva, que llueva,
la vieja está en la cueva,
los pajaritos cantan,
las nubes se levantan.
¡Que sí, que no,
que caiga un chaparrón!
What it means
Let it rain, let it rain, the old woman is in her cave, the little birds are singing, the clouds are rising. Yes! No! Let a big shower come down!
How to use it tonight
Walk in a little circle holding hands. On que caiga un chaparrón, both of you crouch down fast like falling rain. Save it for the next rainy afternoon.
The ll in llueva sounds like the y in yes: YWEH-ba.
Arrorró, mi niño (Duérmete, mi niño)
Bedtime lullaby · Traditional, anonymous (public domain)
Arrorró, mi niño,
arrorró, mi sol,
arrorró, pedazo
de mi corazón.
Duérmete, mi niño,
duérmete, mi amor,
duérmete, pedazo
de mi corazón.
What it means
Hush-a-bye, my little one, hush-a-bye, my sunshine, hush-a-bye, little piece of my heart. Go to sleep, my little one, go to sleep, my love, go to sleep, little piece of my heart.
How to use it tonight
Hum or whisper it slowly at the very end of bedtime, lights already off. Swap niño for niña for a girl. The same words every night is the point.
Arrorró is a lullaby sound, like hush-a-bye. Many families open with the arrorró verse; the second verse is sung in many Spanish-speaking countries.
Estaba la pájara pinta
Circle game (ronda) · Traditional, anonymous (public domain)
Estaba la pájara pinta
sentadita en el verde limón;
con el pico recoge la rama,
con la rama recoge la flor.
¡Ay, ay, ay! ¿Cuándo vendrá mi amor?
What it means
The painted bird was sitting in the green lemon tree; with her beak she picks up the branch, with the branch she picks up the flower. Oh, oh, oh! When will my love come?
How to use it tonight
One person sits in the middle as the pájara pinta while the others walk around. On ¡Ay, ay, ay! everyone flaps their arms, then swap who sits in the middle.
Pinta means painted or speckled. It's a ronda, a singing circle game, that came from Spain long ago.
Al pasar la barca
Rocking-boat or jump-rope rhyme · Traditional, anonymous (public domain)
Al pasar la barca
me dijo el barquero:
las niñas bonitas
no pagan dinero.
Yo no soy bonita
ni lo quiero ser,
arriba la barca,
una, dos y tres.
What it means
As the boat went by, the boatman told me: pretty girls don't pay money. I'm not pretty and I don't want to be; up goes the boat, one, two and three.
How to use it tonight
Sit your child on your lap facing you and rock side to side like a boat. On una, dos y tres, lift them up on each number.
The counting at the end is a free numbers lesson: una, dos y tres.
How to share a rhyme when you don’t sing
- 1
Say it like a chant. A steady beat is enough. Clap, pat your knees or rock; the rhythm does the work a tune would do.
- 2
Tie one rhyme to one moment. Sana, sana for every bump, Arrorró at every lights-out. The moment reminds you both.
- 3
Explain it once in English, then stop translating. Your child knows what the rhyme is about; after that, let it be Spanish.
- 4
Leave off the last word. Pause before mañana or corazónand let your child fill it in. That’s the moment it becomes theirs.
Lullabies lead to bedtime stories
If Arrorró becomes part of lights-out, a short story before it is the natural next step. Our Spanish bedtime stories are gentle, printable and bilingual, and the emotions chart gives you the bedtime check-in question.
Rhymes carry first words
Sana, sana goes with the words on our body parts chart; una, dos y tres from Al pasar la barca leads straight into numbers, and the rhymes’ birds and frogs meet the animals chart.
Get the free rhyme cards
Four printable pages: all seven rhymes as cards, two to a page, each with the traditional words, our plain English meaning and one “how to use it” line, plus a short parent note. Cut them apart and keep one where it gets used: Sana, sana in the first-aid drawer, Arrorró by the bed.
Download the Rhyme Cards (Free PDF)Questions parents ask
What are some traditional Spanish nursery rhymes?
Seven that children across the Spanish-speaking world still hear: Arroz con leche (a hand-clap song), Aserrín, aserrán (a knee-bounce rhyme), Sana, sana, colita de rana (for bumps), Que llueva (for rainy days), the lullaby Arrorró, mi niño, Estaba la pájara pinta (a circle game) and Al pasar la barca (a jump-rope rhyme). All are traditional, with no known author.
What is a popular Spanish lullaby?
Arrorró, mi niño is the one many families sing: Arrorró, mi niño, arrorró, mi sol, arrorró, pedazo de mi corazón (hush-a-bye, my little one, my sunshine, little piece of my heart). Its second verse starts with duérmete, mi niño (go to sleep, my little one) and is sung in many Spanish-speaking countries.
What does "sana, sana, colita de rana" mean?
Word for word: heal, heal, little frog's tail; if it doesn't heal today, it will heal tomorrow. Parents say it while rubbing a small bump or scrape. It's comfort: the silly frog makes a crying child laugh.
What is Arroz con leche about?
Arroz con leche means rice pudding, but the song is about someone who wants to marry a young lady from San Nicolás who can sew, embroider and open the door to go out and play. Children sing it as a hand-clap or circle game; the pudding is just there for the rhyme.
Are there bilingual versions of these nursery rhymes in Spanish and English?
We give the Spanish words exactly as sung plus a plain English meaning, not a singable English version. Rhyming translations have to change the words to fit the tune. Sing it in Spanish, tell your child in English what it means once, then let the Spanish carry it from there.
Do you have recordings of these rhymes?
No, this page is text only. You don't need a recording: each rhyme works spoken in a steady beat, like a chant, with clapping or rocking. If you know a Spanish-speaking grandparent or neighbor, ask them to sing one for your child. That is how these rhymes have always traveled.
Where the rhymes lead next
A rhyme gives your child the sound of Spanish; a story gives them the meaning. When the rhymes feel easy, try a short printable story from our stories library.
Spanish Bedtime Stories
Short, calm, printable stories for the minutes before Arrorró.
Get the Free Starter Story Pack
A short printable Manuel y Lola story with a parent guide in English.
Spanish Basics, one word family at a time
Sources
Every rhyme on this page is traditional and anonymous, in the public domain. The English meanings are our own.
- Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes: Lírica popular de tradición infantil, a scholarly collection on the traditional children’s songbook of Spain and Latin America
- Maguaré, Ministerio de Cultura de Colombia: La pájara pinta, describing the song as a ronda of Spanish origin