Difference between "bien" and "bueno/buena"

Question

I find it hard to decide when to use "bien" and when to use "buena" or "bueno" Are there some general rules to follow?

Answer 1

If you speak good English and don't confuse "well" with "good" My general advice to my students is use "bueno" and its variants for "good" and "bien" for "well"

I have to add this:

In popular speech we sometime use "está bien" for "It's OK or " It's good" In another comment I made on this subject, I said that I have heard some "jokers" say when commenting on a football game: "¡Estuvo bien! instead of the grammatically correct "fue bueno" Then I realized that I was one of the jokers.!!

Sometimes hit jest hain't naturel to use that highfalutin' lingo!

Yee-hah,muchachos!

Dani

Good advice. So until I get good enough with Spanish to know all the different nuances, I'll go with your advice. That makes it easy(ish). - Winkfish, Nov 11, 2014

Answer 2

A very basic way to think about it is "bien" means "well" (and adverb) and bueno/a means "good" (an adjective).

So, in English, "how are you?" would be answered "I'm well (estoy bien)." The question "How was the movie?" would be answered "It was good (fue buena)."

Now, some people, when asked how they are, would say "I'm good" instead of "I'm well." That's incorrect (unless you're asking how they are at football, for example), but it's done quite frequently.

Perfect amigo :) - ian-hill, Nov 11, 2014

In footbal parlance - "The boy done good" instead of " the boy did well" it annoys me every time I hear it. - ian-hill, Nov 11, 2014

"It was good" You will occasionaly hear some jokers say: "Estuvo bien" but maybe that's just Calif. Spanish. - Daniela2041, Nov 11, 2014

Answer 3

Welcome to SpanishDict. Here are some links that help to explain.

bien or bueno

difference bien and bueno

bien, buen, bueno

bueno vs. bien

difference between bien and bueno

bien and bueno

:) - ian-hill, Nov 11, 2014

I would be good if people could do their own searches - :) - ian-hill, Nov 11, 2014

It's more fun for me to "take 'em on!" - Daniela2041, Nov 12, 2014