9 Ways of Translating ‘Very’ to Spanish

Very is one of most overused words in English. In fact, there are editors and teachers who routinely eliminate each very they come across because the word that has become so routine that it can often be left out without much change in meaning. Similarly, the Spanish equivalent, muy, is easy to overuse, especially for beginning Spanish students who dont know many alternatives. Next time youre thinking of using muy in something youre writing, consider the following alternatives. Note that with most, if not all, examples, the Spanish word could be translated ​to English in multiple ways. Using the Suffix -à ­simo for ‘Very’ The suffix -à ­simo is probably the most common alternative to muy. Sometimes a type of superlative, -à ­simo and its plural or feminine forms are added to the end of an adjective that ends in a consonant. So the modified form of azul (blue) is azulà ­simo (very blue). If the adjective ends in a vowel, which accounts for most adjectives, the vowel is dropped first. So the modified form of feo (ugly) is feà ­simo (very ugly), and caro (expensive) becomes carà ­simo (very expensive). In a few cases, a spelling change is needed for pronunciation reasons. For example, if the final consonant is a z, the z changes to c. So the modified form of feliz (happy) is felicà ­simo (very happy). Some examples: Està ¡ alegrà ­sima en saber que sus padres tienen salud. (She is very happy to know that her parents are healthy.)Pocas horas antes tenà ­amos  un debilà ­simo frente frà ­o. (A few hours earlier we had a very weak cold front.)Mi madre tiene tristà ­simos recuerdos de la ciudad. (My mother had very sad memories of the city.)Me parece patetiquà ­simo que me mientas todo el tiempo. (It seems very pathetic to me that you are lying to me all the time. Note the spelling change from the unmodified adjective patà ©tetico.)Era una casa de cinco dormitorios, con piscina azulà ­sima en medio de un cà ©sped verdà ­simo. (It was a home with five bedrooms and a very blue swimming pool in the middle of a very green lawn.) The suffix -à ­simo can also be used with some adverbs:  ¡Esperemos llegar prontà ­simo! (I hope we arrive very soon!)Tengo que comer rapidà ­simo porque para ir a mi clase. (I have to eat very quickly in order to go to my class.)He formateado el ordenador y funciona lentà ­simo. (I formatted my computer and it is running very slowly.) Prefixes Meaning ‘Very’ The prefixes archi-, super-, and requete- are used sometimes, most often in informal speech. El senador es archiconservativo. (The senator is very conservative. Note that this prefix doesnt necessarily have the negative connotation that arch- does in English. One common archi- word is archipopular for someone or something extremely popular.)Mi novio es superguapo. (My boyfriend is very good-looking. Super is also often used by itself, rather than as a prefix, in much the same way as super can be.)Este pastel es requetebueno. (This cake is very good.) Using Bien to Mean ‘Very’ Usually translated as the adverb well, bien is sometimes used as a mild form of very, usually with a positive connotation. Sometimes the closest English equivalent is pretty as in hes pretty happy, està ¡ bien feliz. Other examples: La mejor hora es bien temprano en la maà ±ana. (The best time is fairly early in the morning.)Eso es bien tonto. (Thats quite silly.)Quisiera un tà © bien caliente. (Id like a nice warm tea.) Using the Adverbs Sumamente and Extremadamente Sumamente is stronger than very and can be translated as extremely or highly. Fue sumamente exitosa la campaà ±a de desobediencia civil. (The civil-disobedience campaign was extremely successful.)Sus nià ±as son sumamente inteligentes. (Her daughters are highly intelligent.) A synonym for sumamente is extremadamente: El hotel tiene un baà ±o extremadamente pequeà ±o. (The hotel has an extremely small bathroom.)Me siento extremadamente feliz que encontrà © la parada de bus. (Im extremely happy that I found the bus stop.) Tan Tan is an adverb most often used in phrases such as tan rica como yo (as rich as I am), but it can also stand alone without the como, when it usually is translated as so. Tus abuelos son tan carià ±osos. (Your grandparents are so caring.)El carro es tan hermoso. (The car is so beautiful.) Tan is used this way most often in exclamatory sentences:  ¡Quà © dà ­a tan terrible! (What an awful, terrible day!) ¡Quà © estudiante tan inteligente! (That student is so intelligent!) Key Takeaways The Spanish adverb muy is the most common way of saying very.The suffix -à ­simo can often be used to increase the intensity of adverbs and adjectives.Prefixes used to mean very include archi-, super-, and requete-.