Cumplidos, halagos, piropos: Whatever you call them, giving a compliment in Spanish is a great way to connect with Spanish speakers and show appreciation for their appearance, personality, skills, or even sense of style.
As you learn how to give a compliment in Spanish, you’ll want to put the phrases provided in this guide into practice so they become comfortable for you to use in everyday conversation. You can try complimenting a Spanish-speaking friend or acquaintance, or if you’d prefer to practice Spanish compliments in a safer environment, try saying something nice to a Spanish tutor who can give you personalized feedback.
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Compliments on appearance
Spanish offers an abundance of words and phrases for acknowledging someone’s looks and appearance.
Calling someone beautiful in Spanish
Saying someone is “beautiful” is among the most common Spanish compliments to a woman. You’ll hear words like bella and hermosa in friendly exchanges, romantic gestures, and greetings. When you’re traveling around Spain, you may hear men throwing out piropos (compliments) toward women about how beautiful they are, even if they don’t mean anything serious by it.
Here’s to how to compliment a girl in Spanish on her appearance, using some of the most beautiful Spanish words.
| Spanish | English |
| Eres hermosa. | You are beautiful. |
| Te ves hermosa. | You look beautiful. |
| Eres muy bonita. | You are very pretty. |
| Te ves bella. | You look pretty. |
| Te ves linda. | You look lovely. |
| Estás radiante. | You’re glowing. |
You can also give compliments for men in Spanish to comment on their physical attractiveness, using alternatives to Spanish adjectives typically used for women.
| Spanish | English |
| Te ves muy bien. | You look great. |
| Eres guapo. | You’re handsome. |
| Eres bien parecido. | You’re good-looking. |
| Te ves muy apuesto. | You look very handsome. |
Mix and match the verbs eres and te ves with any “beautiful” adjective for more versatile compliments. For example:
- Eres muy mona. = You are very pretty.
- Te ves muy mona. = You look very pretty.
Complimenting someone on a specific feature
From eyes that brillan como un diamante (sparkle like a diamond) to a smile that ilumina una habitación (lights up a room), complimenting someone on their most striking feature is sure to brighten anyone’s day.
| Spanish | English |
| Tienes una hermosa sonrisa . | You have a beautiful smile. |
| Me encantan tus ojos. | I love your eyes. |
| Tu cabello se ve muy bien. | Your hair looks nice. |
| Tienes una cara bonita. | You have a beautiful face. |
| Me gusta tu sonrisa. | I like your smile. |
You can use the same sentence structures with any feature as long as the adjective agrees with the Spanish noun it modifies.
- Tienes ojos hermosos. = You have beautiful eyes.
- Tienes una piel radiante. = You have radiant skin.
- Tienes unas cejas perfectas. = You have perfect eyebrows.
Praising someone’s look
If you want to give a compliment in Spanish on someone’s clothing or overall look, here are some phrases you can use.
| Spanish | English |
| Estás muy bien vestido hoy. | You’re really well-dressed today. |
| Me encanta tu atuendo. | I love your outfit. |
| Ese vestido te queda muy bien. | That dress looks great on you. |
| Tienes muy buen estilo. | You have great taste. |
| Estás hecho/a un pincel. | You look very sharp. |
Try incorporating a variety of articles of clothing, which are very useful words in Spanish, to give specific compliments. For example:
- Me encanta tu falda. = I love your skirt.
- Esos pantalones te quedan muy bien. = Those pants look great on you.
- Me gustan tus zapatos. = I like your shoes.
Compliments on skills and abilities
Giving a compliment in Spanish goes beyond commenting on someone’s appearance. While telling someone they are atractivo (attractive) is nice, acknowledging someone’s skills can be more meaningful.
| Spanish | English |
| Eres bueno/a en… | You’re good at… |
| Tienes mucho talento para… | You have a lot of talent for… |
| Eres un/a gran… | You’re a great… |
| Tienes habilidad para… | You have a knack for… |
| Eres un/una maestro/a en… | You’re a master of… |
You can complete these sentence starters with nouns to highlight someone’s specific talents. For example:
- Eres bueno en los deportes. = You’re good at sports.
- Tienes mucho talento para el baile. = You have a lot of talent for dancing.
- Eres un gran orador. = You’re a great speaker.
- Tienes habilidad para los idiomas. = You have a knack for languages.
Spanish compliments on personality
Complimenting someone’s personality can be a nice gesture. In Spanish, remember that Spanish gender rules dictate that personality adjectives, an important part of speech in Spanish, must agree in gender and number with the person being complimented.
| Spanish | English |
| Eres muy amable. | You’re very kind. |
| Eres una buena persona. | You’re a good person. |
| Tienes un alma muy bella. | You have a beautiful soul. |
| Tienes un buen sentido del humor. | You have a great sense of humor. |
| Tu risa es contagiosa. | Your laugh is infectious. |
Besides amable, you can use many other adjectives with ser to compliment someone’s personality. Notice how many of the adjectives have different masculine and feminine forms to agree with the gender of the person you’re addressing.
| Spanish (masculine) | Spanish (feminine) | English |
| Eres muy simpático. | Eres muy simpática. | You’re very nice/friendly. |
| Eres muy valiente. | Eres muy valiente. | You’re very brave. |
| Eres muy sincero. | Eres muy sincera. | You’re very sincere. |
| Eres muy honesto. | Eres muy honesta. | You’re very honest. |
| Eres muy considerado. | Eres muy considerada. | You’re very considerate. |
| Eres muy generoso. | Eres muy generosa. | You’re very generous. |
| Eres muy paciente. | Eres muy paciente. | You’re very patient. |
| Eres muy divertido. | Eres muy divertida. | You’re very funny/entertaining. |
| Eres muy creativo. | Eres muy creativa. | You’re very creative. |
| Eres muy inteligente. | Eres muy inteligente. | You’re very intelligent. |
When complimenting the personality of a friend or family member, you’ll primarily use eres. For more formal situations and if you are talking to more than one person, remember to use different forms of ser (to be) and match the adjective accordingly.
- Usted es muy generoso, señor. = You are very generous, sir.
- Ustedes son muy inteligentes. = You’re very intelligent.
- Vosotras sois muy creativas. = You’re very creative.
Compliments on positivity
If someone brightens your day with positivity, it’s only fitting to brighten theirs with a compliment! Use the following compliments in Spanish to acknowledge someone’s positive impact.
| Spanish | English |
| Iluminas la habitación. | You light up the room. |
| El mundo es un lugar mejor contigo. | The world is a better place with you in it. |
| Siempre sabes cómo animar a la gente. | You always know how to cheer people up. |
| Inspiras a todos los que te rodean. | You inspire those around you. |
| Contigo todo es más fácil. | Everything is easier with you. |
| Siempre tienes una actitud tan positiva. | You always have such a positive attitude. |
| Me encanta estar cerca de ti. | I love being around you. |
| Tienes un corazón de oro. | You have a heart of gold. |
| Siempre sabes cómo ayudar. | You always know how to help. |
| Eres como el sol en un día lluvioso. | You’re like sunshine on a rainy day. |
| Sacas lo mejor de los demás. | You bring out the best in other people. |
Romantic compliments in Spanish
Beyond “I love you” in Spanish, you can use an abundance of sweet phrases to give a compliment in Spanish to the person you love.
| Spanish | English |
| Eres el amor de mi vida. | You are the love of my life. |
| No puedo imaginar mi vida sin ti. | I can’t imagine my life without you. |
| Cada momento contigo es mágico. | Every moment with you is magical. |
| Me haces muy feliz. | You make me very happy. |
| Eres todo para mí. | You are everything to me. |
| Mi corazón late por ti. | My heart beats for you. |
| Eres mi sueño hecho realidad. | You are my dream come true. |
| No hay nadie más en el mundo para mí. | There’s no one else in the world for me. |
| Me enamoro de ti cada día más. | I fall in love with you more every day. |
| Tu belleza me deja sin aliento. | Your beauty takes my breath away. |
| Eres mi media naranja. | You are my other half. |
| Quiero pasar el resto de mi vida contigo. | I want to spend the rest of my life with you. |
| Contigo, todo es perfecto. | With you, everything is perfect. |
| Eres la luz de mi vida. | You are the light of my life. |
| Adoro cada parte de ti. | I adore every part of you. |
| No puedo dejar de pensar en ti. | I can’t stop thinking about you. |
| Eres mi todo. | You are my everything. |
General Spanish compliments
You can use these Spanish compliments to express positive feelings without focusing on a specific attribute.
| Spanish | English |
| Eres un encanto. | You’re a delight. |
| Eres increíble. | You’re amazing. |
| Eres genial. | You’re awesome. |
| Eres lo máximo. | You rock. |
| No hay nadie como tú. | There’s no one like you. |
| Eres el/la mejor. | You’re the best. |
Add some local flavor to your compliment in Spanish slang.
| Spanish Slang | Literal Meaning | English Equivalent | Region |
| Eres la leche. | You’re the milk. | You’re the best. | Spain |
| Eres la caña. | You’re the cane. | You’re great. | Spain |
| Qué buena onda tienes. | What good vibes you have. | You have such good vibes. | Mexico |
| Eres un/una crack. | You’re a crack. | You’re a genius. | Spain, Latin America |
| Eres bacán. | You’re cool. | You’re cool. | Chile, Peri |
| Eres la bomba. | You’re the bomb. | You’re amazing/great. | Spain, Latin America |
Give a compliment in Spanish like a native speaker with Rosetta Stone
To master the art of giving a compliment in Spanish, don’t stop after memorizing the phrases. It’s important to understand not only the words but also the cultural appropriateness, which can vary across different cultures. Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method can help you learn how to give and receive a variety of Spanish compliments in context.
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