Do not say “Estoy bien”, say this instead
So, if you read my article about 8 alternatives to saying ÂżCĂłmo estĂĄs? (How are you?) in Spanish, then this article is the perfect complement, as I will be teaching you the formal, informal and Mexican ways to reply to that question.
Always replying with the same âEstoy bien, Âży tĂș?â is boring!
Estoy bien, ÂĄgracias! ÂżY tĂș? (I am fine, thank you! And you?) This reminds me about the way we used to reply to our English teacher every time s/he would come into class saying âGood morning! How are you?â And the whole salĂłn de clases (classroom) would reply as a choir at the same time âFine, and you?â.
But honestamente (honestly), this is how they teach us, but in real life, no contestamos SIEMPRE lo mismo (we donât always reply the same). For that reason, I think that this video is muy importante (very important) for you to start growing your knowledge of chunks.
This article has three sections: respuestas formales (formal answers), respuestas informales (informal answers) and respuestas a la mexicana (Mexican answers), so I advise you to stay until the end of this video if you want to hear how Mexican natives express themselves.
1. Replying in formal situations
First, I am going to teach you how to reply in formal situations, that is, replying to people who are not your friends or to whom you donât need to give a lot of information about âel dĂa terribleâ (terrible day) that you just had:
- # 1 – Nada mal (Not bad)
So you are not giving away a lot of information, but good enough to not use the same answer âEstoy bienâ.
- # 2 – Excelente (excellent)
To express that everything is going really well, and there is no need to give more details.
- # 3 – Todo bien (All good)
A variant of estoy bien is todo bien (all good). It works perfectly in most contexts.
Speaking of bien, there are a lot of nouns and adjectives that you can add to the word bien to make it a different answer. You could reply to someone:
- Hola, ÂżcĂłmo estĂĄs?
- Bien, bien (Good, good)
- Muy bien (Very good)
- Todo bien (All good)
- SĂșper bien (Super good)
- Bastante bien (Pretty good)
2. Replying in informal situations
Alternatively, in informal situations, or with your acquaintances you may use different replies that can refer to your dĂa maravilloso (amazing day) or even your dĂa horroroso (awful day).
- #1 – ÂĄAhĂ vamos! or ÂĄAhĂ voy!
This one is like saying âWe are goingâ or âI am goingâ, which tends to be a sentence referring to âWe are holding things together, nothing bad, nothing wrong, just going with the flow,â which reminds me about:
- #2 – MĂĄs o menos or, like we say in Mexico, the short version âMasoâ
This one is more like saying âSo, soâ or âneither good nor badâ.
- #3 – You could also say He tenido dĂas mejores (Iâve had better days) âsimilar to the English answerâ to express that you have been better, and today you are definitely not in your best shape.
But after long time not seeing the same person that saw you at your lowest energy and now you are feeling amazing, then you must reply:
- #4 – Mucho mejor, muchas gracias (Much better, thank you very much)
- Hola, ÂżcĂłmo vas?
- Mucho mejor, muchas gracias.
This one is âthank you for caring about meâ in perfect Spanish.
- #5 – No me puedo quejar (I canât complain)
Well, you donât want to brag, but come on, you have had some good days; therefore, feel free to use this chunk.
3. Replying in Mexico
Now, letâs get to our Mexican replies.
PG ADVISORY: The following answers can ONLY be used in a Mexican context with friends and natives as some words might not make sense or could be rude to other nationalities.
Los mexicanos tenemos formas muy raras de expresarnos (We, Mexicans, have really weird ways to express ourselves), but if you have Mexican friends, family or acquaintances, then please feel free to use them and prepare to surprise them with:
ÂĄHola, compa! ÂżCĂłmo estĂĄs?
- #1 – Estoy poca madre or estoy a toda madre
I donât think I can even translate this, but this means being âReally goodâ. I donât know why we use MADRE for everything, and depending on the context could be a good or a bad thing.
- #2 – Estoy de huevos
Literally translated, it doesnât really mean anything ⊠something related with eggs, and it doesnât make sense, but being truly honest with you, this phrase is actually commonly used by Mexicans⊠and surprisingly is feeling AMAZING.
- #3 – Al tiro or de lujo
This means âI am at my highest levelâ. There is nothing beyond this, you are literally on your luxury side, feeling chingĂłn (I will leave this word for another video).
- #4 – Ando en chinga or Ando en friega
Are you tired and overwhelmed by work? Then, this is exactly what you need to say. Itâs perfect to use when you are ârunningâ and at this moment you have no time for anything else.
And the worst that you can say in Mexican Spanish is:
- #5 – Estoy que me lleva la fregada
This is when things are going so bad, that you are in the worst mood.
Imagine you just broke up, you have no job or you just lost it, nobody wants to hang out with you…
- Amigo, ÂżcĂłmo andas?
- Estoy que me lleva la fregada.
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So, mis amigos, ÂżcĂłmo estĂĄn HOY? (How are you TODAY?) Tell me in the comments below how you are doing today with your favorite reply from this video. I am excited to see what you learned.
If you want to take your Spanish to the next level, feel free to check out the Free Spanish Training that we created to explain to you how our method works to learn Spanish faster without cramming word lists nor grammar drills that lead nowhere.