mañanas

Mañana is a Spanish word with two primary senses. As a noun, it designates the first part of the day, from dawn or early morning until midday, and it is often used in phrases like por la mañana to specify morning hours. In this usage, mañanas refers to multiple morning periods when talking about recurring days, for example las mañanas de verano or mis mañanas suelen ser tranquilas. As an adverb or temporal noun, mañana also means tomorrow, the day after today; in this sense it is used to indicate a future action, as in Lo haré mañana. In many contexts, mañana can convey vagueness or a non-committal tone, similar to “soon” in English.

The plural mañanas is most common when talking about mornings repeatedly or in recurring contexts. When referring to tomorrow as a specific day, the word is used in the singular: mañana. The expression hasta mañana means “see you tomorrow.” The phrase por las mañanas means “in the mornings” (as a routine) and por la mañana refers to a general morning time.

Etymology: Mañana comes from Latin mane, meaning in the morning, with development in medieval Spanish that produced the modern form mañana meaning morning. The sense “tomorrow” arose through a metaphorical shift, referring to the morning of the next day.

Cultural notes: In Spanish-speaking cultures, mornings are commonly associated with routine, work and school start times, and coffee. The word appears in many everyday expressions and idioms, illustrating the close ties between daily rhythms and language.