cómo estás, hermosa
In Spanish, how you doing beautiful is expressed as cómo estás, hermosa.
This phrase is used as a flirtatious or highly complimentary greeting toward a woman. The term hermosa means beautiful, though you can also use bella for beautiful, preciosa for precious or beautiful or guapa to mean beautiful or good-looking.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of cómo (how), estás (you are) and hermosa (beautiful).
Which one should you use?
While cómo estás, hermosa is the standard informal version, you can also say ¿Cómo te va, bella? using the informal pronoun te or ¿Cómo andas, preciosa? which uses the verb andar (to walk or to go) to mean how you are doing.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase cómo estás, hermosa, the verb estás is the second-person singular informal form of estar, which is used to express temporary states like well-being. Changing estás to está shifts the greeting from an informal tone to a formal one.
Did you know?
- In many Latin American countries, calling a woman 'hermosa' is a common way to show affection, but if used by a stranger in a street setting, it can be perceived as 'piropos', which are unsolicited compliments.
- While estás refers to a temporary state, using the related verb ser to call someone hermosa would imply that their beauty is an inherent, unchanging essence of their soul.
- The word guapa, often used as an alternative to hermosa, can also be used as an adjective to describe a brave or bold person in certain contexts.
Examples in context
- Dime, ¿cómo estás, hermosa?Tell me, how are you doing, beautiful?
Example conversation
Javier greets María as she enters a coffee shop.
- JavierHola, ¿cómo estás, hermosa?Hi, how you doing, beautiful?
- MaríaHola, Javier. Estoy muy bien, gracias.Hi, Javier. I'm doing very well, thank you.
- JavierMe alegra mucho escucharlo.I'm very glad to hear that.
- MaríaTú eres muy amable.You are very kind.
