Si bien ....

Question

I was reading this 2 page children's story with basic vocabulary and ran across these two sentences. I included a link, in case further context is needed.

Si bien Leopoldo era un muy buen rey que se ocupaba felizmente de sus tareas, tenía una gran tristeza en su corazón.

....Leopold was a very good king that was happily concerned with his duties, he had a great sadness en his heart.

Si bien su estado no era grave, quedó postrado en cama por mucho tiempo.

...his condition was not grave, he remained bedridden for a long time.

I was wondering if someone could translate these two sentences for me. I don't understand the si bien meaning.

It seems to be Even though, but I'm not sure.

Thank you for any help.

Could it be , " It is well his condition was not grave" - ray76, Dec 2, 2010

It very well could be, that's why I am asking. - 0074b507, Dec 2, 2010

Answer 1

I ran it through the translator, and it gave me "although". So it looks like your guess is on the mark.

esto es - 00494d19, Dec 2, 2010

Answer 2

si bien.

1. loc. conjunt. aunque. U. para contraponer un concepto a otro o denotar alguna excepción.

Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados

In order to understand how this works, one needs to understand how "bien" is used, apart from meaning "well":

bien

11. adv. m. Con gusto, de buena gana. Yo bien accedería a tu súplica, pero no puedo

12. adv. m. Sin inconveniente o dificultad. Bien puedes creerlo Bien se puede hacer esta labor

14. adv. m. Seguramente, aproximadamente. Bien andaríamos cinco leguas

Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados

Muchas gracias. - 0074b507, Dec 2, 2010

Answer 3

Just a confirmation of what the ladies said:

Listed under definition number 7 in Word Reference and number 4 in Merriam Webster.

Thank you, I never believe anything until I see it in print. (where I can sue for llibel if they mislead me). - 0074b507, Dec 2, 2010