mucho gusto
/mut͡ʃo ɡusto/from spelling rules
To say it is nice to meet you in Spanish, use mucho gusto. It is the standard polite phrase when you meet someone for the first time.
Say it while shaking hands or right after hearing someone's name. Es un placer conocerle. is a longer formal version meaning it is a pleasure to meet you.
What does it mean word for word?
mucho gusto literally means much pleasure.
Which one should you use?
Encantado(a) de conocerle. means delighted to meet you, and Encantado(a) de conocerte. is its informal version. Gusto en conocerte. is another informal option.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Saying encantado if you are male or encantada if you are female is a slightly more formal way to say nice to meet you.
How does it change in a sentence?
You can add en conocerlo for formal speech or en conocerte for informal speech, as in mucho gusto en conocerlo.
How do you pronounce it?
The IPA is /mutʃo ɡusto/. The ch sounds like the ch in church.
When do people say it?
A common reply is el gusto es mío, the pleasure is mine. You can also answer igualmente, which means likewise.
Did you know?
- The word encantado comes from the verb encantar meaning to cast a spell. When you use it to say 'nice to meet you', you are literally saying you are 'enchanted'.
- The root of mucho can be traced back to a Proto-Indo-European word meaning 'crumbled' or 'crumpled'. Over millennia, this evolved into the Latin 'multus' and eventually the Spanish word for 'much'.
- When using the phrase Encantado or Encantada, your choice of ending depends entirely on your own gender, not the gender of the person you are meeting. A man should say Encantado even if he is speaking to a woman.
Examples in context
- Es un placer conocerle, Señor GarcíaIt is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. García
- ¡Mucho gusto! Soy María, y tú, ¿cómo te llamas?Nice to meet you! I'm María, and you, what's your name?
- Mucho gusto.Nice to meet you.
- Hola, mucho gusto.Hello, nice to meet you.
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are meeting at a friend's party.
- MateoHola, soy Mateo. Mucho gusto.Hello, I am Mateo. Nice to meet you.
- LucíaMucho gusto, Mateo. Soy Lucía.Nice to meet you, Mateo. I am Lucía.
- Mateo¿Eres la amiga de Elena?Are you Elena's friend?
- LucíaSí, así es.Yes, that is right.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gusto, mucho, CC BY-SA 4.0.
