qué gusto verte
/ke ɡusto beɾte/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for "happy to see you" is qué gusto verte.
This is a friendly expression used to tell someone that you are glad to be in their company. While a literal translation like estoy feliz de verte is possible, using qué gusto verte is a more common and natural way to express this feeling in Spanish.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "what a pleasure to see you".
Which one should you use?
The choice of the verb ending changes based on who you are addressing: qué gusto verte is the standard form, but you can adjust the ending to match the person or group you are speaking to.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the pronoun te attached to the end of the infinitive ver to mean "to see you" in an informal way. To adapt the phrase, you can change the ending: use verlo or verla to address a single person formally (addressing a male or female respectively) or use verlos to address a group of people.
How do you pronounce it?
/ke ɡusto beɾte/
Did you know?
- The word gusto originally referred specifically to the sense of taste. Over time, it evolved from the physical sensation of tasting food to the abstract feeling of 'pleasure' or 'delight' used in this phrase.
- If you are meeting someone for the first time, you would change the phrase to mucho gusto, dropping the qué and the verb verte entirely.
- While English speakers often use 'happy' to express joy, using the word feliz in this specific context can sometimes sound overly dramatic or heavy, as if you are describing a life-changing state of being.
Examples in context
- Me alegra verlo, Sr. García. ¡Hace mucho tiempo que no nos vemos!I'm happy to see you, Mr. García. It's been a long time since we last saw each other!
- Es un placer verla, Sra. López. ¿Cómo ha estado?It's a pleasure to see you, Mrs. López. How have you been?
- ¡Qué alegría verte, amigo! ¿Cómo te ha ido?What joy to see you, friend! How have you been?
- ¡Me alegra verte!I'm happy to see you!
- ¡Hola, Juan! Qué gusto verte.Hello, Juan! Happy to see you.
- ¡Qué gusto verte después de tanto tiempo!It is so good to see you after so much time!
- ¡Qué gusto verte por aquí!So good to see you around here!
- Hola, qué gusto verte hoy.Hello, it is good to see you today.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía run into each other at a local cafe.
- Mateo¡Hola, Lucía! ¡Qué gusto verte!Hello, Lucía! It is so good to see you!
- Lucía¡Mateo! ¡Qué gusto verte a ti también!Mateo! It is so good to see you too!
- Mateo¿Cómo has estado?How have you been?
- LucíaMuy 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 gusto, qué, CC BY-SA 4.0.
