¿está bien?
The English phrase "is it okay?" is translated into Spanish as ¿está bien?
¿está bien? is used to ask if a situation, an action or a piece of information is acceptable, correct or alright. It is also the standard way to ask if something is correct.
Which one should you use?
¿está bien? is the form used to ask if a situation or thing is okay. If you want to ask if a person is feeling okay, you should use the second person form ¿estás bien? instead.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the verb estar to refer to a state or condition, which is used to ask whether something is currently "okay". Note that if you are asking about a person's well-being, you must switch to the second person form ¿estás bien?
Did you know?
- The word bien shares a common ancestor with the English word 'bonus'. Both evolved from the Proto-Italic word *dwenos meaning 'good'.
- In some Spanish dialects, repeating the phrase as ¿está bien, está bien? can signal that the speaker is losing patience or wants to end the conversation.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying está bien with a specific falling intonation can act as a filler word similar to 'anyway' or 'well then' to transition between topics.
Examples in context
- Si te lo envío hoy, ¿está bien?If I send it to you today, is it okay?
- No quiero molestar, ¿está bien?I don't want to bother you, is it okay?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, CC BY-SA 4.0.
