estuvo bien
/estubo bjen/from spelling rules
The English phrase "was good" is translated into Spanish as estuvo bien.
The phrase estuvo bien is used to describe a completed event or a specific period of time that has ended.
Which one should you use?
Use era bueno instead of estuvo bien if you are describing a permanent characteristic of a person or thing in the past rather than a specific event or state. Additionally, while estuvo bien means 'it was okay/fine', estuvo bueno is more commonly used to say that food or a drink tasted good.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Latin American Spanish, the phrase ¿Qué tal estuvo? is more commonly used to translate "How was it?"
Did you know?
- In some Latin American countries, saying estuvo bueno about a person instead of a thing can be a slang way to say they were physically attractive.
- The word bien is a distant relative of the English word 'bonus'. Both trace their roots back to the Proto-Italic word *dwenos.
- In some dialects, estuvo bien can be used ironically to describe a situation that was actually a disaster.
Examples in context
- Estuvo bien trabajar contigo.It was good working with you.Tatoeba #3519031 by teskmon, translation #3518505 by CK
- Afortunadamente estuvo bien el tiempo.Fortunately, the weather was good.Tatoeba #4477152 by cueyayotl, translation #240769 by CK
- ¿Cómo estuvo su día?How was your day?
- ¿Qué tal estuvo su viaje?How was your trip?
- ¿Cómo estuvo tu fin de semana?How was your weekend?
- ¿Qué tal estuvo la película?How was the movie?
- El examen estuvo bien.The exam was good.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Javier and María are talking about a recent movie.
- Javier¿Qué te pareció la película?What did you think of the movie?
- MaríaLa verdad que estuvo bien.To be honest, it was good.
- JavierMe alegra que te gustara.I'm glad you liked it.
- MaríaSí, fue una buena experiencia.Yes, it was a good experience.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bien, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
