vestirse muy bien
/bestiɾse mui bjen/from spelling rules
The English phrase "dress very nice" is translated into Spanish as vestirse muy bien.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the reflexive verb vestirse (to dress oneself), the adverb muy (very) and the adverb bien (well).
Which one should you use?
vestirse muy bien focuses on the action of dressing, whereas ir muy bien vestido is a common way to describe the state of being well-dressed.
How does it change in a sentence?
As a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun must change to match the subject of your sentence. For example, to say "we dress very well," you would say nos vestimos muy bien, using the pronoun nos to match "we".
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid the mistake of saying vestirse muy bueno. English speakers often mistakenly use the adjective bueno (good) instead of the adverb bien (well) when describing how someone dresses.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, if you want to say someone is 'dressed to the nines', you might say they are vestido de punta en blanco.
- The adverb muy comes from the Latin word 'multum', which is the ancestor of the English word 'multitude'.
- While vestirse muy bien is grammatically correct, in many Latin American countries, you might hear people use the word arreglado to describe someone who has put much effort into their appearance.
Examples in context
- ¡Usted se ve muy elegante!You look very elegant!
- Le felicito por vestirse con distinción.I congratulate you on dressing with distinction.
- ¡Vas muy guapa! ¡Ese atuendo te sienta genial!You look very beautiful! That outfit suits you great!
- Te ves muy bien con ese conjunto.You look very good in that outfit.
- Ella suele vestirse muy bien para las fiestas.She usually dresses very nice for parties.
- Es importante vestirse muy bien para la entrevista.It is important to dress very nice for the interview.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena are preparing for a wedding.
- AlejandroElena, ¿debemos vestirse muy bien para hoy?Elena, should we dress very nice for today?
- ElenaSí, es una boda muy elegante.Yes, it is a very elegant wedding.
- AlejandroEntonces buscaré mi mejor traje.Then I will look for my best suit.
- ElenaPerfecto, así vamos a vestirse muy bien.Perfect, that way we are going to dress very nice.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, muy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
