buen juego
/bwen xweɡo/from spelling rules
The English phrase "good game" is translated into Spanish as buen juego.
The phrase is used to express sportsmanship and praise the quality of a match after it has finished. While buen juego is a direct translation, you might also use excelente partida to mean "excellent game".
Which one should you use?
Depending on the context, other phrases may be more natural. For competitive sports such as soccer or tennis, buen partido is a more natural way to say "good game" or "good match". Additionally, you can use the informal phrase buena partida to acknowledge performance in a friendly and relaxed way.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective bueno shortens to buen when it is placed immediately before a masculine singular noun like juego.
Did you know?
- The word juego shares a common ancestor with the English word 'joke', meaning they both stem from the Latin 'jocus', which originally referred to play or sport.
- In some Latin American countries, saying buen juego can sometimes sound slightly formal or even sarcastic if the tone is not carefully controlled, whereas buen partido feels more organic.
- The word juego is also the root for the Spanish word for 'toy', which is juguete, showing the linguistic link between play and objects used for amusement.
Examples in context
- ¿Me puede recomendar un buen juego?Can you recommend a good game to me?This sentence shows how to use buen juego when asking for a recommendation.Tatoeba #2411567 by wallebot, translation #1345322 by tboronczyk
- Ha sido una excelente partida.It has been an excellent game.
- ¡Buen juego, chicos!Good game, guys!
- Buena partida, amigas.Good game, friends.
- ¡Jugaste bien, tío!You played well, dude!
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier have just finished a tennis match.
- SofíaBuen juego, Javier.Good game, Javier.
- JavierGracias, Sofía. Tú también jugaste muy bien.Thanks, Sofía. You played very well too.
- SofíaFue un partido muy emocionante.It was a very exciting match.
- JavierSí, nos vemos la próxima semana.Yes, I'll see you next week.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries buen, juego, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
