Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Many informal alternatives are used in daily conversation. For example, guay is a common informal way to say "cool" in Spain and muy chévere is an informal phrase used widely across many Spanish-speaking countries. In Argentina, the informal expression re copado/a is frequently used to mean "really cool".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, people often say muy padre to mean "pretty cool" and the word chido is also a common way to say "cool". In several South American countries, including Chile, Colombia and Peru, bacán is a common way to say "cool". In Spain, the informal expression súper guay is more common.
How does it change in a sentence?
When using the adverb bastante in the phrase bastante genial, it does not change its form to agree with the gender of the noun it modifies.
Did you know?
- The term bacán used in Chile and Colombia is thought by some historians to be a corruption of the English word 'bacon' from the era of early trade.
- If you use muy padre in Mexico to mean 'pretty cool', you are using a word that literally translates to 'very father'.
- While genial is used in Spanish to mean 'cool' or 'great', its Latin ancestor geniālis actually referred to things that were 'festive' or related to 'marriage'.
Examples in context
- ¡Tu presentación fue increíblemente genial!Your presentation was incredibly cool!
- Esa película está muy chévereThat movie is pretty cool
- La fiesta estuvo súper guayThe party was pretty cool
- ¡El concierto estuvo re copado!The concert was really cool!
Example conversation
María and Daniel are looking at a new gadget.
- MaríaMira este reloj inteligente.Look at this smartwatch.
- Daniel¡Wow! Es bastante genial.Wow! It is pretty cool.
- MaríaSí, tiene muchas funciones útiles.Yes, it has many useful functions.
- DanielMe gustaría tener uno igual.I would like to have one just like it.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bastante, genial, CC BY-SA 4.0.
