# What countries besides Germany refer to their country as "father"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-besides-germany-refer-to-their-country-as-father/146060>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 1, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-besides-germany-refer-to-their-country-as-father/146060 "2003-01-01T17:27:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-besides-germany-refer-to-their-country-as-father/146060/41 "2003-01-18T15:25:01Z")

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Is it too late to bump this thread?

I just remembered that I have heard many Latin Americans, not only my fellow citizens use _patria chica_ to refer to the region/province/town where they were born within their own country. I wonder how spread the expression is.

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**Author:** ![universe.zip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@universe.zip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/universe.zip)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-besides-germany-refer-to-their-country-as-father/146060/42 "2003-01-18T16:11:31Z")

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_patria chica_ is used in Spain as well. I´ve always wondered where the “chica” comes from, I take it it´s chica as in small, not as in girl?

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