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Fundamentals of Spanish (pt. 9/10) – Lesson 69
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(Lesson summary)
Spanish fundamentals part 9: everyday phrases like me parece bien, ¡qué pena!, suena bien, todavía no and the filler word o sea.
- Me parece bien, estoy seguro
- Una pena, suena bien
- ¿Cierto?, sin duda, todavía
- Me doy cuenta, o sea
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(The full lesson)
Spanish fundamentals: part 9
Part 9 of 10: we’re almost done with the green fundamentals! Today is a shorter one, with phrases you’ll hear in pretty much every conversation. They don’t have much to do with each other, but they’re all very common, so learn them by heart.
Me parece bien: sounds fine to me
Me parece… It seems to me… / I think…
Me parece bien. Sounds fine to me. / I’m fine with that.
¿Mañana a las ocho? — Me parece bien. Tomorrow at eight? — Sounds good to me.
Me parece literally means “it seems to me”. The English translation changes with the context: “I think”, “sounds good”, “I’m fine with that”.
Estoy seguro: I’m sure
Estoy seguro. I’m sure. (said by a man)
Estoy segura. I’m sure. (said by a woman)
Remember to change the ending if you’re a woman: segura. And it’s estoy, from estar, because being sure is a state.
Una pena: a shame
Es una pena. It’s a shame.
¡Qué pena! What a shame!
Careful with the spelling: pena with a normal n, not peña (that’s a group of friends or a rock!).
Suena bien: sounds good
Suena bien. Sounds good.
Suena (it sounds) + bien (good). Exactly like in English.
¿Cierto? and sin duda
¿Cierto? Right?
Sin duda. Without a doubt.
¿Cierto? works just like ¿verdad? from lesson 52: put it at the end of a sentence to mean “right?”. It’s especially common in Latin America.
Todavía: still, yet
¿Todavía estás en casa? Are you still at home?
Todavía no. Not yet.
Todavía means “still” in a normal sentence, and “yet” in a negative one: todavía no = not yet. Super useful!
Darse cuenta: to realize
Me doy cuenta. I realize.
¿Te das cuenta? Do you realize?
Me doy cuenta de que es tarde. I realize (that) it’s late.
Literally “I give myself account”. It’s a verb with me / te in front, which we’ll learn more about later. For now, learn it as a phrase. When you add “that”, it’s de que: me doy cuenta de que…
O sea: I mean, in other words
Es caro, o sea, muy caro. It’s expensive, I mean, really expensive.
O sea (two words!) literally means something like “that is”. People use it constantly to explain or clarify what they just said: “I mean…”, “so…”, “in other words…”. Sometimes it’s just a filler without much meaning. I heard it all the time in Spain!
(Wes’s tip)
O sea, pues and bueno are the filler words you’ll hear most. Use them while you think, and you’ll instantly sound more natural.
Recap: Spanish fundamentals (part 9)
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me parece bien. | Sounds fine to me. |
| Estoy seguro / segura. | I’m sure. |
| Es una pena. / ¡Qué pena! | It’s a shame. / What a shame! |
| Suena bien. | Sounds good. |
| ¿Cierto? | Right? |
+ 5 more words & phrases
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Get the free PDF ↓Practice: fundamentals
Say it out loud first, then click to check.
1. Your friend suggests dinner at nine. Say it sounds fine to you.
Me parece bien.
2. Say “I’m sure” (as a woman).
Estoy segura.
3. Your friend can’t come to the party. React.
¡Qué pena!
4. Ask a friend if they’re still at work. (el trabajo)
¿Todavía estás en el trabajo?
5. Have you eaten? Say “Not yet”.
Todavía no.
6. Say “Without a doubt!”
¡Sin duda!
Quiz: Spanish fundamentals (part 9)
8 questions. ¿Listo? O sea… ¡vamos!
Before you go to the next lesson
Just one more fundamentals lesson to go! Practice these phrases until they come out naturally. Grab the free reference sheet below. ¡Hasta la próxima!
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