To ask “Really?” in Spanish, you’d say ¿De verdad? However, the word “really” can have a number of different meanings, so depending on what you mean to say, your other options may include realmente (truly), muy (very), mucho (very much), en realidad (in fact), or even no mucho (not really).
In this guide, you’ll get a closer look at each of these options for saying “really” in Spanish and how to use them, with contextual examples and additional phrase charts to broaden your vocabulary.
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¿De verdad?
Similar to how you would use “Really?”, Spanish speakers use expressions like ¿De verdad? or ¿En serio? (seriously?) to express a bit of surprise or disbelief. This is a really helpful rejoinder in Spanish, helping you respond to what you’ve heard and move the conversation along to get more details. Depending on your tone, you can convey positive surprise as well.
- Hoy corrí seis millas. = Today I ran six miles.
- ¿De verdad? ¡Genial! = Really? Awesome!
- Sí, me siento muy fuerte. = Yes, I feel very strong.
Realmente
This translation of “really” in Spanish sounds the most like English. It follows the general pattern where many English adverbs that end in “ly” will end in –mente in Spanish. A good synonym for this use of “really” is “truly.” In the chart, you’ll find a few other words that mean “really” in Spanish conveying the meaning of “truly.”
| Spanish | Spanish Example | English Translation |
| ciertamente | Tú ciertamente no entiendes este libro. | You certainly don’t understand this book. |
| efectivamente | Esta fue efectivamente su última canción exitosa. | That was effectively their last successful song. |
| realmente | Este grupo de jugadores es realmente un equipo. | This group of players is really a team. |
| verdaderamente | Fue un movimiento verdaderamente global. | It was truly a global movement. |
Muy/mucho
In English, “really” can be a synonym of “very” or “very much.” In Spanish, these would be expressed by muy (very), placed in front of adjectives, or mucho (much/a lot) as an adverb. When you’re first learning Spanish, you may not have a very broad vocabulary, so adding muy to your Spanish adjectives is a natural way to show emphasis.
- Ella es muy alta. = She is really tall.
- Me gusta mucho el helado. = I really like ice cream.
Of course, there are other ways to express “really” in this sense. For example, if you want to say something is “really good” in Spanish, you can incorporate new words by using synonyms like fantástico (fantastic) or excelente (excellent), or you can use Spanish superlatives like buenísimo (really good).
En realidad
We all have the experience of having to correct ourselves or someone else from time to time. If you need to correct a flawed statement or belief, the phrase en realidad (in reality), is the perfect choice.
- Pensaba que era comida saludable, pero en realidad es comida chatarra. = I thought it was healthy food, but it’s really junk food.
- Me dijo que era el dueño, pero en realidad solo es el gerente. = He told me he was the owner, but really he’s just the manager.
Now that you know how to say “really” in Spanish when you mean “in reality,” you won’t make the common mistake that English speakers make when they try to translate “actually.” The word actualmente looks like “actually,” but en realidad, it means “currently.” Words that look like English words but mean something different are sometimes called false cognates or falsos amigos.
No mucho
No mucho (not much/not really) is a good way to respond to Spanish questions without committing to a more direct answer one way or the other.
- ¿Tienes hambre? = Are you hungry?
- No mucho. = Not really.
- ¿Te gusta leer? = Do you like to read?
- No mucho. = Not really.
An interesting part of learning about other cultures is if people are likely to make direct statements about what they want or whether no mucho really means “I’m actually a little hungry and I’m hoping you’ll ask if we can go eat now, but I’m being polite.”
Talk about these topics and more with conversation partners from around the world. It would be a fascinating comparison with one of Rosetta Stone’s expert tutors from Spanish-speaking cultures around the globe.
Key Takeaways about how to say ‘really’ in Spanish
You might have thought learning Spanish would be intimidating, but en realidad, es muy fácil when you have a proven method. Rosetta Stone is efectivamente designed with the learner in mind.
- Ask ¿De verdad? if you want to express surprise or disbelief.
- Say realmente when you mean “truly.”
- Use muy or mucho when you want to emphasize some basic Spanish words.
- The phrase en realidad can help you to correct a statement to make it more accurate.
- Answering no mucho can be a good way to say “not really” in Spanish.
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