Which one should you use?
While sorprendido is the past participle used as an adjective to describe a state, the verb sorprender is used to describe the action of surprising someone.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you might hear the informal expressions ¡Estoy flipando! or ¡Estoy alucinando! to express being extremely surprised or "flipping out". In Mexico, the slang term ¡No manches! is used to say "No way!" or "You must be kidding!", while ¡Estoy en shock! is used to say "I am in shock!" To say "I can't believe it!", the informal phrase ¡No puedo creerlo! is used, though in Latin America specifically, ¡No lo puedo creer! is the common form.
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, sorprendido must agree in gender and number with the person who is surprised. Use the singular masculine sorprendido for a man and the singular feminine sorprendida for a woman. For plural groups, use sorprendidos for a group of men or a mixed group and sorprendidas for a group consisting only of women.
How do you pronounce it?
/soɾpɾenˈdido/
Did you know?
- While sorprendido is a neutral term, the Spanish slang flipar used in ¡Estoy flipando! originally referred to the effects of hallucinogenic drugs.
- The Mexican expression ¡No manches! literally translates to 'don't stain', but is used as a common way to say 'no way' when feeling sorprendido.
- If you are surprised by something a person said in a casual Mexican setting, you might respond with ¡No inventes!, which literally means 'do not invent'.
Examples in context
- No suenas muy sorprendido.You don't sound very surprised.This sentence shows how to describe someone's tone of voice when they are sorprendido.Tatoeba #2882992 by marcelostockle, translation #2283687 by CK
- Noruega me ha sorprendido.Norway has surprised me.This sentence uses sorprendido to describe the effect a country had on someone.Tatoeba #3543094 by marcelostockle, translation #3544529 by polita
- Estaba un poco sorprendido.I was a little surprised.This sentence describes a person's state of being sorprendido.Tatoeba #618620 by Shishir, translation #258665 by CK
- 114 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía tells Mateo about a surprise party.
- SofíaMateo, ¿estás sorprendido por la fiesta?Mateo, are you surprised by the party?
- MateoSí, estoy muy sorprendido, Sofía.Yes, I am very surprised, Sofía.
- SofíaNo sabía que te gustaría tanto.I didn't know you would like it so much.
- MateoFue una gran sorpresa.It was a great surprise.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “surprised” translations and entries sorprendido, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
