no muy bueno
/no mui bweno/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "not very good" is translated as no muy bueno.
The phrase is used to describe something that is of low quality or is not satisfactory.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of no (not), muy (very) and bueno (good).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you might use the informal expression No está muy chido to mean "it's not very cool." In Spain, the phrase no es muy bueno is used to say "not very good."
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. Use no muy buena for feminine nouns, no muy buenos for masculine plural nouns and no muy buenas for feminine plural nouns.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, instead of saying something is no muy bueno, people might use the word regular to imply it was merely mediocre or underwhelming.
- The word muy actually shares an ancestor with the English word 'much', both tracing back to a way of describing 'many' or 'large' quantities in ancient languages.
- Spanish speakers often avoid saying no muy bueno when being polite, instead using podría estar mejor which means 'it could be better'.
Examples in context
- La fiesta de ayer no fue gran cosa, la música estaba demasiado alta.Yesterday's party wasn't great, the music was too loud.
- El servicio en ese restaurante no es muy bueno, tuve que esperar mucho tiempo.The service at that restaurant is not very good, I had to wait a long time.
- Ese libro no es tan bueno como dicen, le faltan detalles importantes.That book is not as good as they say, it lacks important details.
- No puedo decir que su presentación fue mala, pero podría haber sido más impactante con ejemplos concretos.I can't say that your presentation was bad, but it could have been more impactful with concrete examples.
- La película no es muy buena.The movie is not very good.
- Los resultados no son muy buenos.The results are not very good.
Example conversation
María and Javier are talking about a movie they just watched.
- María¿Qué te pareció la película, Javier?What did you think of the movie, Javier?
- JavierLa verdad es que no muy bueno.Truthfully, it was not very good.
- MaríaEstoy de acuerdo con tí.I agree with you.
- JavierBusquemos otra cosa para ver.Let's look for something else to watch.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bueno, muy, no, CC BY-SA 4.0.
