How to Say ‘Great’ in Spanish: Genial, Estupendo and More

Hola! I’m Mónica, a Spanish teacher from Madrid. “Great” is one of those words you use twenty times a day, so it’s worth knowing which Spanish version fits each moment, from your boss’s email to a bar with your friends.

12 ways to say “great” in Spanish

Spanish	Register	Example
Genial	Everyday, everywhere	¡Genial, nos vemos mañana!
¡Qué bien!	Everyday, everywhere	¿Te han dado el trabajo? ¡Qué bien!
Estupendo	Polite, a bit formal	Estupendo, le envío el contrato hoy.
Fenomenal	Warm, enthusiastic	—¿Qué tal? —¡Fenomenal!
Perfecto	Agreeing, confirming	¿A las ocho? Perfecto.
Gran (before a noun)	Neutral	Es una gran idea.
Guay	Informal, Spain	¡Qué guay tu chaqueta!
Mola / mola mucho	Informal, Spain	Este bar mola mucho.
De puta madre	Very informal, Spain (a swear word!)	La fiesta estuvo de puta madre.
Chévere	Informal, Colombia, Venezuela…	¡Qué chévere!
Padre / chido	Informal, Mexico	¡Qué padre!
Bacán / copado	Informal, Chile & Peru / Argentina	¡Qué bacán!

“Great” as in big or important: gran vs grande

This one changes the meaning, so pay attention:

• Un gran hombre = a great man (important, admirable).
• Un hombre grande = a big man (physically).

Grande becomes gran before any singular noun, masculine or feminine: una gran ciudad (a great city), un gran día (a great day). That’s why we say Gran Bretaña (Great Britain) and la Gran Muralla (the Great Wall). Never un grande hombre.

Common “great” phrases

English	Spanish
That’s great!	¡Qué bien! / ¡Genial!
Great job!	¡Muy bien! / ¡Buen trabajo!
Great to see you!	¡Qué alegría verte!
I feel great.	Me siento genial. / Estoy fenomenal.
We had a great time.	Lo pasamos genial. / Lo pasamos muy bien.
A great deal of…	Mucho / mucha…
Great-grandmother	Bisabuela
Oh, great… (sarcastic)	¡Genial…! / ¡Lo que faltaba!

“Lo pasamos genial” is the one my students love most: it’s how Spaniards say they had a great time, and it sounds 100% native.

Careful with these

• “Grande” for “great job”: ¡grande! exists as slang praise for a person (¡Eres grande! = you’re the best), but “great job” is ¡buen trabajo!
• De puta madre is positive, but it contains a swear word. Perfect with friends in Spain, a disaster in a job interview. More in my guide to Spanish swear words.
• Guay and mola are Spain only. In Mexico they’ll understand you, but they’ll know you learned Spanish in Madrid. Which is great, obviously.

Heard a Spaniard say ¡eres la leche!? It means “you’re amazing” (or “you’re unbelievable”): here’s what “eres la leche” really means.

Want more slang from Spain? Read what mola means, what tío means and 20 Madrid slang words.

FAQ

Is “genial” masculine or feminine?

Both. Genial doesn’t change: un plan genial, una idea genial. Plural: geniales.

What’s the most common way to say “great” in Spain?

In everyday speech: genial, ¡qué bien! and, among younger people, guay and mola.

How do you say “great” in a work email?

Perfecto or estupendo: Perfecto, muchas gracias.

The words are easy. Saying them at the right moment is the trick.

You can know twelve ways to say “great” and still freeze when a Spaniard tells you good news. That reflex only comes from real conversation. If you want to know exactly what’s stopping you from speaking, book your Spanish Speaking Roadmap call below.

— Monica Bernabe Perez

Live in Australia? Practise real Spanish with me, a native teacher from Madrid and DELE examiner: Spanish classes in Sydney, Spanish lessons in Adelaide or Spanish classes in Perth.