Muy Bien in Spanish: 10 Alternatives Spanish Native Speakers Use
If you want to sound more like a native speaker it’s time that you stop answering muy bien in Spanish everytime someone asks “how are you?”
I’m Paulísima, Spanish teacher at Spring Spanish, and in this lesson I’m going to teach you 10 alternatives to “muy bien” and also I’m going to teach you some ways that for sure are going to make your friends laugh!)
1 ¡Súper bien! (Really well!)
I don’t know why, but Mexicans love to use the word super.
This is a very simple way to change your typical “muy bien”.
María Fernanda, my fellow teacher here at Spring Spanish has talked about this and even more ways to answer the question cómo estás.
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
¡Súper bien!
(Really well!)
2. ¡Genial! (Brilliant!)
It’s like brilliant or excellent.
This way of answering seems to me to be more common among young people. Both from age and from spirit!
Qué onda, ¿cómo vas?
(What’s up, how’s everything going?)
¡Genial!
(Brilliant!)
I’m sure you’ve noticed that I asked ¿cómo estás? to ask how you are. Cómo estás is a great Spanish chunk, a premade phrase that you can use at all times and will help you speak with confidence.
By the way, make sure to download our free Spanish Essential Chunking Kit with all the most important chunks in Spanish you’ll need to sound like a native speaker!
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3. Aquí + verbo en gerundio (Here + gerund of verbs)
With this way of answering you can also practice the gerund of verbs.
What?! The continuous form, that’s what I mean. Pay attention to the endings -ando and -endo.
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
Aquí, trabajando. Ya sabes.
(Here, working. You know.)
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
Aquí, descansando. Ya sabes.
(Here, resting. You know.)
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
Aquí, yendo al súper. Ya sabes.
(Here, going to the supermarket. You know.)
These answers can also be used when we’re asked the question: ¿Qué estás haciendo? (What are you doing?)
Add that little ya sabes (you know) for extra “native speaker” credits.
4. Todo en orden (All in order)
Everything is in order. It’s all good. This phrase “all in order” not only works for when they ask you: how are you? But also for when they ask you: “how is everything going?
Regarding a project or a situation. Just learn this:
¿Cómo va todo?
(How is everything going?)
Todo en orden.
(All in order.)
Por cierto (by the way), a good way to imprint all the alternatives to “muy bien” from this lesson on our brain is with flashcards.
We create flashcards for this lesson and all our other lessons in the Inner Circle! If you’re serious about improving your Spanish, you might want to join. Ya sabes! 😉
5. Funny alternatives for muy bien in Spanish
Now let’s see some funny phrases to answer the question “how are you”?
¡Pero ojo! (But attention!) Only use them with friends or people you can banter with.
Pay attention to the way the phrases rhyme.
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
Como Santa Elena… cada vez más buena.
(Like Saint Elena… hotter by the day.)
Like Saint Elena, everytime más buena! O sea, hotter. Hotter by the day, indeed!
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
Como Santa Eduviges… buena por donde te fijes.
(Like Saint Eduviges… hot from every angle.)
Like Saint Eduviges. Hot from every way you at me? Yes! En español rima. (It rhymes in Spanish.)
6. Pop culture inspired
Una frase que se volvió inmensamente popular en México la dijo la princesa del pop latino; la hermosa y talentosa Belinda. ¡Te amo Beli! (A phrase that became immensely popular in Mexico was said by the Latin pop princess — the beautiful and talented Belinda. I love you Beli!)
Just watch her killing it when they asked her how she was doing, while she was actually not having an amazing time:
Apréndase esta frase mi gente. Esta buenísima. Imagínense a ustedes diciendo:
¿Yo? Súper bien. Todo perfecto. ¡Ganando como siempre!
(Me? Really well. All perfect. Winning as always!)
¡Esa es mi Beli!
(That’s my Beli.)
Ganando como siempre.
(Winning as always!)
Surprise your Mexican friends with this one. I love it! Casi tanto como amo a Belinda. (Almost as much as I love Belinda.)
7. La verdad… (To be honest…)
Sometimes we don’t want to tell the other person that we’re having a fucked up, shitty day.
Yo personalmente no recomiendo comentar las cosas negativas a menos que estemos teniendo una conversación íntima. Pero tampoco recomiendo mentir. (I personally don’t recommend talking about negative stuff unless we’re having an intimate conversation. But also, I don’t recommend lying.)
So, a good way to convey the fact we’ve had better days without going into details is simply saying: la verdad… and then leave it at that and revert the question to the other person:
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
La verdad…. Amigo, mejor cuéntame tú cómo estás.
(To be honest… Friend, better tell me how you are.)
¿Vieron? (Did you notice?)
Your tone and your body language will be enough for the other person to realize that there is something off, but that you don’t want to talk about it. If you are asked again, you can say “nothing, nothing, I’ll tell you later.
Paulísima, ¿cómo estás?
(Paulísima, how are you?)
La verdad…. Mejor dime tú, amigo, cómo estás.
(To be true… Better tell me how you are my friend.)
No, ¿cuéntame qué pasa?
(No, tell me what’s going on?)
Nada, nada, luego te cuento. ¿Cómo estás?
(Nothing, nothing, I’ll tell you later. How are you?)
¿Vieron? (Did you notice?)
