buen intento
/bwen intento/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "good effort" is translated as buen intento.
The phrase is used to praise someone for trying hard, even if they did not succeed. While a literal translation of "good effort" might be buen esfuerzo, it is much more natural in Spanish to use buen intento to acknowledge a failed attempt.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of buen, meaning "good" and intento, meaning "attempt" or "try".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of Mexico and Central America, you may encounter different informal expressions to show appreciation for a significant effort. You can use Se la rifó to say "He/she gave it their all" or Te botaste to say "You went all out".
Did you know?
- In Mexico, the expression Se la rifó uses the verb rifar, which originally means 'to raffle'. It evolved from the idea of putting something at risk in a lottery to describe someone taking a big risk or effort.
- If you use the phrase buen intento in a competitive sports context in Spain, it can sometimes carry a sarcastic undertone, similar to saying 'nice try' in English when someone fails spectacularly.
- The Spanish word intento and the English word 'intent' are distant cousins. Both can be traced back to the Latin word intentus, which originally described something being 'stretched' or 'strained'.
Examples in context
- Fue un buen intento, pero no funcionó.It was a good attempt, but it didn't work.
- Fue un buen intento, pero no ganamos.It was a good effort, but we didn't win.
- No te rindas, fue un buen intento.Don't give up, it was a good effort.
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are playing a video game.
- Lucía¡No pude pasar el nivel final!I couldn't pass the final level!
- DanielBuen intento, Lucía, estuviste muy cerca.Good effort, Lucía, you were very close.
- LucíaLo intentaré una vez más.I will try one more time.
- DanielClaro, yo te ayudo.Sure, I will help you.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries buen, intento, CC BY-SA 4.0.
