¡qué emocionante!
/ˈke emoθjoˈnante/word by word
The Spanish phrase for "how exciting" is ¡qué emocionante!
This exclamation is used to express enthusiasm or pleasure regarding a piece of news or a future event.
Which one should you use?
While ¡qué emocionante! describes the quality of an event, you can also use ¡qué emoción! to describe the feeling of excitement itself.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can express this sentiment using the adjective emocionante or by using the noun emoción (emotion/excitement) in the phrase ¡qué emoción!
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈke emoθjoˈnante/
Did you know?
- In some contexts, ¡qué emoción! can be used ironically to signal boredom or sarcasm, a nuance that relies entirely on a falling intonation rather than the words themselves.
- While ¡qué emocionante! expresses excitement, Spanish speakers often use the word estresante for things that are 'exciting' in a nerve-wracking way, as the line between excitement and stress is thinner than in English.
- If you say ¡qué emocionante! to describe a person, you are describing their personality as someone who provokes excitement in others, rather than someone who is feeling excited.
Examples in context
- ¡Qué emocionante es visitar este museo tan famoso!How exciting it is to visit this famous museum!
- ¡Qué emocionante es esto! Acabo de ganar un premio.How exciting this is! I just won an award.
- ¡Qué emoción! Mañana comenzamos nuestras vacaciones.How exciting! Tomorrow we start our vacation.
- ¡Qué emocionante! Voy a viajar a España.How exciting! I am going to travel to Spain.
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are talking about a concert next week.
- LucíaDaniel, ya tengo las entradas para el concierto.Daniel, I already have the tickets for the concert.
- Daniel¡Qué emocionante! No puedo esperar.How exciting! I can't wait.
- LucíaSerá una noche inolvidable.It will be an unforgettable night.
- DanielSí, estoy muy feliz de ir contigo.Yes, I am very happy to go with you.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (qué, emocionante) and can differ in connected speech.
