estoy bien
/estoi bjen/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'I am well' is expressed as estoy bien.
estoy bien is a response used to indicate that you are in good health or feeling okay. It is also the most common way to say 'I am fine' when responding to the question 'How are you?'
How does it change in a sentence?
The word estoy is the first-person singular present indicative form of the verb estar, which is used for temporary states such as health or mood.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use soy bien by translating 'I am' literally. However, because bien describes a state, you must use the verb estar rather than ser.
Did you know?
- In certain contexts, estoy bien can specifically mean 'I am safe' or 'I am out of danger' rather than just feeling healthy.
- The root of bien traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root *dewh₂-der, which is a distant relative of the concept of 'goodness' shared across many languages.
- Adding the word muy to make estoy muy bien is common, but in some dialects, repeating the word as bien bien is used for extra emphasis.
Examples in context
- Estoy bien.I am well.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase estoy bien.Tatoeba #455952 by lukaszpp, translation #574624 by Zac2333
- No, gracias, estoy bien.No, thank you, I am well.
Example conversation
Alejandro and Elena meet at a local café.
- Alejandro¿Cómo estás, Elena?How are you, Elena?
- ElenaEstoy bien, ¿y tú, Alejandro?I am well, and you, Alejandro?
- AlejandroYo también estoy bien.I am also well.
- ElenaMe alegra mucho saberlo.I am very glad to know that.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
