Letra (Lyrics)
La letra completa de «Los Pollitos Dicen» con traducción al inglés.
Los pollitos dicen, pío, pío, pío, cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frío. La gallina busca el maíz y el trigo, les da la comida y les presta abrigo.
#English translation
The little chicks say cheep, cheep, cheep, when they are hungry, when they are cold. The hen looks for the maize and the wheat, gives them their food and keeps them warm.
#Los Pollitos Dicen at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇪🇸 Spain
- Sung in
- Spanish
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- traditional; a 1907 attribution is disputed
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- lullaby, traditional
- Last updated
- 25 July 2026
Meaning and origin
For millions of Spanish-speaking children, this is one of the very first songs they ever hear. Its picture could not be simpler or gentler: the little chicks cheep — pío, pío, pío — when they are hungry and when they are cold, and their mother hen goes searching for maize and wheat to feed them and tucks them under her wing to keep them warm. Sung slowly, it is really a lullaby about being cared for, which is exactly why it soothes.
It belongs to the whole Spanish-speaking world rather than to any one country, carried by ear across Spain and Latin America in countless small variations. Its authorship is genuinely unsettled: most treat it as anonymous folk, but some sources credit the Chilean writer Ismael Parraguez, who published a version in his 1907 Poesías Infantiles, and others name an Ecuadorian poet — none of it proven. What is certain is its warmth. Behind the chicks and the hen is the oldest reassurance a small child can be given: that when you cry out, someone will come with food and shelter.
Common questions
- What does "Los pollitos dicen" mean?
- The little chicks say "pío, pío, pío" (cheep, cheep, cheep) when they are hungry and when they are cold. The mother hen searches for maize and wheat, gives them their food and keeps them warm. It is a tender picture of a mother caring for her babies, which is why it doubles as a lullaby.
- Where is "Los Pollitos Dicen" from, and who wrote it?
- It is a traditional song sung all over Spain and Latin America, passed down by ear. Its authorship is uncertain: it is usually treated as anonymous folk, though some sources credit the Chilean writer Ismael Parraguez (who published a version in 1907) and others an Ecuadorian author — none of which is settled.
- How is "Los Pollitos Dicen" usually sung?
- Softly, as a cradle song, with the "pío, pío, pío" imitating the chicks. It is one of the first songs many Spanish-speaking children learn, and its question-and-answer shape (why do they cheep? because they're hungry or cold) makes it easy to remember.
