él está bien
/el esta bjen/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "he is fine" is translated as él está bien.
This phrase is used to say that a person is in good health or a satisfactory state.
Which one should you use?
While él está bien means he is fine or okay, it differs from él es bueno, which means he is a good person (character-wise).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the phrase Él está bien is often used.
How does it change in a sentence?
In many contexts, the subject pronoun él can be omitted and saying just está bien is a natural way to say "he is fine".
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use 'es' instead of 'está' because both translate to 'is', but él es bien is grammatically incorrect for describing a state of being.
Did you know?
- While está bien means he is fine, changing the verb to está bueno can imply that a man is physically attractive.
- The word bien shares a common ancestor with the English word 'bonus', which stems from the same Proto-Italic root meaning 'good'.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, if someone asks how a person is and you reply está bien, it can be a polite way of saying they are merely 'tolerable' rather than truly great.
Examples in context
- Él está bien. Gracias por preguntar.He is fine. Thanks for asking.
- Él se siente bien. Está en casa recuperándose.He is feeling fine. He is at home recovering.
- No te preocupes, él está bien.Don't worry, he is fine.
- Gracias por preguntar, él está bien ahora.Thanks for asking, he is fine now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, él, CC BY-SA 4.0.
