What does it mean word for word?
The phrase qué bueno verte de nuevo literally translates to 'how good to see you again', where qué bueno means 'how good' and verte is 'to see you'.
Which one should you use?
You might choose different forms depending on the level of pleasure you want to convey or the level of formality required.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you may hear ¡Qué padre verte de nuevo! to mean 'How cool to see you again!' or ¡Gusto en verte otra vez! for 'Pleasure to see you again!' In Argentina, the phrase ¡Qué lindo verte de nuevo! is used to say 'How nice to see you again!'
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb form changes depending on who you are addressing. Use verte for one person informally, but replace it with verle to be formal (e.g., qué bueno verle de nuevo). When addressing a group of people informally, use veros (e.g., qué bueno veros de nuevo). For addressing a group formally or in Latin American Spanish, use verlos (e.g., qué bueno verlos de nuevo).
Did you know?
- In Spain, this greeting is often accompanied by 'dos besos', which are two light kisses on the cheeks, even between people who are not closely related.
- In Mexico, the word for 'father' padre is used as a slang term for 'cool' in the phrase ¡Qué padre verte de nuevo!
- The word bueno is a linguistic doublet of the English word 'bonus', as both originate from the Latin word bonus.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola, don Juan! Qué alegría verlo de nuevo. Espero que se encuentre bien.Hello, Mr. Juan! What a joy to see you again. I hope you are doing well.
- Sra. González, es un placer volver a verla después de tanto tiempo.Mrs. González, it's a pleasure to see you again after such a long time.
- ¡Hola, Pedro! ¡Qué bueno verte de nuevo! ¿Cómo te ha ido todo este tiempo?Hi, Pedro! How good to see you again! How have you been all this time?
- Hola, María. ¡Me alegro de verte otra vez! Tenemos que ponernos al día.Hi, María. I'm glad to see you again! We need to catch up.
- ¡Hola! ¡Qué gusto volver a verte! Pensé que no te volvería a ver tan pronto.Hi! What a pleasure to see you again! I thought I wouldn't see you again so soon.
- ¡Qué bueno verte de nuevo, amigo!Good to see you again, friend!
- Qué bueno verte de nuevo por aquí.It's good to see you again around here.
- Hola, qué bueno verte de nuevo.Hello, good to see you again.
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía meet at a coffee shop.
- Daniel¡Hola, Sofía! Qué bueno verte de nuevo.Hi, Sofía! Good to see you again.
- Sofía¡Hola, Daniel! Yo también me alegro de verte.Hi, Daniel! I'm glad to see you too.
- Daniel¿Cómo has estado todo este tiempo?How have you been all this time?
- SofíaMuy bien, gracias por preguntar.Very well, thanks for asking.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bueno, de, nuevo, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
