la vida es bella
/la bida es beʝa/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "life is beautiful" is said as la vida es bella.
This phrase is used to express that existence is wonderful and worth appreciating.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "the life is beautiful" because Spanish requires the definite article la before vida.
Which one should you use?
While 'bella' is used here, one could also say la vida es hermosa or la vida es linda, but bella often carries a more poetic or cinematic connotation.
Is it said differently in some regions?
chida is a Mexican colloquial term that means cool or awesome.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, abstract nouns like vida (life) almost always require a definite article.
Did you know?
- The Spanish word es is a cognate of the Sanskrit word अस्ति, showing that the way Spanish and English express existence dates back to a shared prehistoric language.
- The 1997 Oscar-winning film 'Life Is Beautiful' is titled La vida es bella in Spanish, reflecting the poetic weight of bella over more common words for 'beautiful'.
- While bella is poetic, in many Spanish-speaking countries, calling a person bella is much more common in formal or romantic contexts than calling them linda.
Examples in context
- La vida es bella.Life is beautiful.This sentence is useful for stating the basic sentiment of la vida es bella.Tatoeba #2936 by Shishir, translation #1829 by CK
- La vida es bella. Nadie ha dicho que sea sencilla.Life is beautiful. No one said it was simple.This sentence uses la vida es bella to provide a contrast between the beauty of life and its lack of simplicity.Tatoeba #11045831 by carlosalberto, translation #6976965 by shekitten
- Cuando veo a mi nieta sonreír, pienso que la vida es hermosa.When I see my granddaughter smile, I think that life is beautiful.
- ¡Vamos a disfrutar del día! La vida es chida.Let's enjoy the day! Life is awesome.
- A veces olvido que la vida es bella.Sometimes I forget that life is beautiful.
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are watching the sunset at the beach.
- LucíaMira este atardecer, la vida es bella.Look at this sunset, life is beautiful.
- DanielTienes razón, Lucía, es un momento perfecto.You are right, Lucía, it is a perfect moment.
- Lucía¿No te sientes afortunado, Daniel?Don't you feel lucky, Daniel?
- DanielMuchísimo, la verdad.Very much, truly.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries es, la, vida, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
