sorprendido
/soɾpɾenˈdido/
sorprendido is the Spanish word for surprised.
sorprendido is used to describe the state of being surprised.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender with the person who is surprised. Use sorprendida for a feminine subject, sorprendidos for a masculine plural subject and sorprendidas for a feminine plural subject. The form must also agree in number with the people who are surprised.
How do you pronounce it?
/soɾpɾenˈdido/
When do people say it?
In Spain, the phrase ¡Vaya sorpresa! is used to convey surprise and ¡No me lo esperaba! is commonly heard. To informally convey amazement or disbelief, you can say No me lo puedo creer.
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, if something is incredibly surprising, people might say they are de piedra, which translates to being 'of stone'.
- The root of the word, prender, also means 'to turn on' an appliance or 'to arrest' a criminal, showing how the concept of 'catching' evolves into 'surprising'.
- While sorprendido means 'surprised', the verb sorprender can also mean 'to catch someone doing something' in a secret or forbidden way.
Examples in context
- Después de escuchar las noticias, estoy sorprendido por los recientes descubrimientos científicos.After hearing the news, I am surprised by the recent scientific discoveries.
- Me ha sorprendido la organización del evento. Todo fue perfecto.I have been surprised by the organization of the event. Everything was perfect.
- Estoy sorprendido por la noticia.I am surprised by the news.
- Estoy muy sorprendido por la noticia.I am very surprised by the news.
- Él parecía sorprendido al ver el regalo.He seemed surprised to see the gift.
- El cliente quedó sorprendido con el servicio.The customer was surprised with the service.
Example conversation
Elena tells Daniel that she won a prize.
- Elena¡Daniel, gané el concurso de fotografía!Daniel, I won the photography contest!
- Daniel¡No lo puedo creer, estoy muy sorprendido!I can't believe it, I am very surprised!
- ElenaYo también estoy sorprendida, fue una sorpresa.I am surprised too, it was a surprise.
- Daniel¡Te lo mereces mucho, felicidades!You really deserve it, congratulations!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry sorprendido, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
