The 12 Days of Christmas in Spanish

Here are Spanish lyrics for The 12 Days of Christmas, a carol that has been sung in the English-speaking world since at least the 16th century. Los 12 dà ­as de Navidad El primer dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³una perdiz picando peras del peral. El segundo dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El tercer dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El cuarto dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El quinto dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El sexto dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³seis mamà ¡ gansas, cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El sà ©ptimo dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³siete cisnitos, seis mamà ¡ gansas, cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El octavo dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³ocho lecheritas, siete cisnitos, seis mamà ¡ gansas, cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El noveno dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³nueve bailarinas, ocho lecheritas, siete cisnitos, seis mamà ¡ gansas, cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El dà ©cimo dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³diez seà ±ores saltando, nueve bailarinas, ocho lecheritas, siete cisnitos, seis mamà ¡ gansas, cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El undà ©cimo dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³once gaiteritos, diez seà ±ores saltando, nueve bailarinas, ocho lecheritas, siete cisnitos, seis mamà ¡ gansas, cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. El duodà ©cimo dà ­a de Navidad, mi amor me mandà ³doce tamborileros, once gaiteritos, diez seà ±ores saltando, nueve bailarinas, ocho lecheritas, siete cisnitos, seis mamà ¡ gansas, cinco anillos dorados, cuatro pajaritos, tres gallinitas, dos tortolitas y una perdiz picando peras del peral. Grammar and Vocabulary Notes Primer, segundo, tercer, etc.:  These are the words for  first, second, third, etc.  Primer  is a  shortened form  of  primero, and  tercer  is a shortened form of  tercero. They are shortened in this manner when appearing before a singular masculine noun. The forms used here for 11th and 12th are not common in spoken in Spanish.Dà ­a:  Dà ­a, meaning day, is an  exception  to the rule that nouns ending in  -a  are masculine.Navidad: This word can refer not only to Christmas Day but also to the season in general.Amor:  This is the word for love. It can refer not only to the emotion but also to a person such as a sweetheart. It is related to the verb  amar. The noun  remains masculine even when it refers to a girl or woman.Mandà ³:  Mandà ³Ã‚  is a past-tense form of  mandar, which most often means to mandate or to order, but in this case means to send.Perdiz:  a partridge or ptarmiganPicando:  This is  present participle  of  pica r, which can mean to bite or to peck at. A literal translation of this line would be a partridge pecking at pears of the pear tree. Note that here,  the present participle functions as an adjective. In standard Spanish, the present participle acts as an adverb, but adjectival use such as this is sometimes seen in poetry, journalistic writing, and translations from English.Pera, peral:  a pear or pear tree. The  suffix  -al  often refers to a tree or grove of trees. For example, an orange is a  naranja, while an orange grove is a  naranjal.Tortolita:  a name for numerous types of doves and related birds. Tortolita is a diminutive form of tà ³rtola, which can also refer to a turtledove. Diminutives such as this, while common in childrens music and literature, are not used extensively in serious contexts.Gallinita:  a  diminutive  form of  gallina, meaning hen.  Ã‚  A rooster is a  gallo.Pajarito:  a  diminutive  form of  pà ¡jaro, meaning bird. Th is could be translated as birdie.Anillo:  a ringDorado:  golden. The word comes from ​dorar, a verb that means to coat something with gold or to turn something brown. The word for gold is oro.Mamà ¡ gansas:  This song is about the only place youll find this phrase in Spanish. It means mother geese, but you normally wouldnt say it this way (one way would be  gansas madre).  Mamà ¡ Gansa  and  Mamà ¡ Ganso, however, are common ways of translating Mother Goose.Cisnito:  a  diminutive  form of  cisne, swan.Lecherita:  a diminutive form of lechera, which refers to a female who works with milk. It usually means someone who sells milk, but could be one who milks cows in this context.Bailarina:  a female dancer, frequently referring to a ballet dancer. It is derived from bailar, the verb meaning to dance.Seà ±or:  Although this word is often used now as a courtesy title translated as Mr., it can also refer to a lord.  Saltando:  the  present part iciple  of  saltar, to jumpGaiterito:  a  diminutive  form of  gaitero, a piper. The related word gaita can refer to instruments such as flutes and bagpipes.Tamborilero:  a drummer. The related words tambor and tambora can also be used to refer to drums and drummers.