alguien se ve bien
/alɡjen se be bjen/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase for "someone looks good" is alguien se ve bien.
This phrase is used to say that a person has an attractive or healthy appearance. For example, you might say someone looks "handsome" or "beautiful" using alguien se ve guapo/a, where guapo is used for a man and guapa for a woman.
Which one should you use?
alguien se ve bien focuses specifically on a person's appearance. If you were to say está bien instead, you would likely be referring to a person's health or emotional state rather than how they look.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you can use the phrase Te ves chido/a to say "You look cool."
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb verse is used reflexively in this context to indicate how someone appears to others.
Did you know?
- While alguien se ve bien describes a general appearance, using the verb estar instead of verse often implies a person looks good specifically because of a temporary change, like a new haircut or a fancy outfit.
- The word ve in this phrase is a direct descendant of the Latin 'vidē', which is the same ancestor for the English word 'video'.
Examples in context
- Te ves muy guapo/a hoyYou look very handsome/beautiful today.
- Luces extremadamente eleganteYou look extremely elegant.
- Te ves realmente radianteYou look truly radiant.
- Tu madre se ve bien.Your mother looks good.
- Creo que alguien se ve bien en esa foto.I think someone looks good in that photo.
Example conversation
Elena and Mateo are talking about a friend's new style.
- ElenaMira a Juan, alguien se ve bien hoy.Look at Juan, someone looks good today.
- MateoTienes razón, tiene un corte nuevo.You're right, he has a new haircut.
- ElenaLe queda muy bien ese estilo.That style suits him very well.
- MateoSí, se nota que está muy saludable.Yes, you can tell he is very healthy.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries alguien, bien, se, ve, CC BY-SA 4.0.
