muy bien
/ˌmui ˈbjen/
muy bien is the Spanish phrase for "very well".
muy bien is used to indicate that something is very good or that a person is doing well. It can function as a standalone exclamation to express agreement, show approval or to acknowledge that you have understood an instruction.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of muy (very) and bien (well).
Which one should you use?
While muy bien means "very well" (an adverb), muy bueno means "very good" (an adjective). Use muy bueno to describe the quality of a noun rather than an action or a state of being.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌmui ˈbjen/
When do people say it?
When someone asks you ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?), responding with muy bien is a standard and positive way to indicate that you are doing well.
Did you know?
- In a classroom setting, a teacher might say muy bien with a falling intonation to signal that a student should stop speaking because the correct answer has been reached.
- The word muy shares a distant ancestry with the English word 'much', both tracing back to roots meaning 'many' or 'much'.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, saying muy bien while slightly nodding can be used as a 'filler' in conversation to show active listening, even if the speaker does not fully agree.
Examples in context
- Jorge, ¡tus informes están muy bien elaborados!Jorge, your reports are very well done!
- ¡Escuché tu canción nueva y suena fenomenal!I listened to your new song, and it sounds phenomenal!
- ¡Muy bien! Lo hiciste.Very good! You did it.
- Todo salió muy bien en la reunión.Everything went very well in the meeting.
- Lo hiciste muy bien, ¡felicidades!You did it very well, congratulations!
- El examen me salió muy bien.The exam went very well for me.
Example conversation
Sofía and Daniel are discussing a recent work presentation.
- Sofía¿Cómo te fue en la presentación?How did your presentation go?
- DanielMe fue muy bien, gracias.It went very well, thank you.
- Sofía¡Qué bueno! Me alegro mucho por ti.That's great! I'm very happy for you.
- DanielEres muy amable, Sofía.You are very kind, Sofía.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry muy bien, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, muy, CC BY-SA 4.0.
