Spanish Exclamatory Words and Expressions

Quick Answer

One of the easiest ways to convey a very strong feeling or opinion about something is to use an exclamatory word or expression. Many exclamatory words are very similar to interrogative words, but instead of asking a question, they state an idea or opinion.

Check out these examples of exclamations.

examples
¡Cuántas personas hay en esta fiesta! There are so many people at this party!
¡Qué bonita es esta iglesia! What a beautiful church!
¡Cuántas mentiras dice él! He lies so much!
¡Qué romántico eres! You're so romantic!

Exclamatory Words

Exclamatory words can make a simple phrase into a statement of surprise, anger, pain, etc. Which exclamatory word you use in Spanish will depend on what you want to say and the type of word that comes after the exclamatory word. Below you'll find some handy tips and examples to help make you an exclamatory master. Although many of these equate to how or what in English, in colloquial language they are more often translated using so or really.

Notice that all exclamatory words carry a written accent, or tilde, just like interrogative words.

Qué

Quéis used in front of nouns, adjectives, and adverbs to say how or what.

Check out these examples with qué.

examples
¡Qué hombre! What a man!
¡Qué casa más grande! What a big house!
¡Qué mujer tan guapa! What a beautiful woman!
¡Qué inteligentes son! How smart they are!/They're so smart!
¡Qué delicioso! How delicious!
¡Qué rápido pasa la vida! How quickly life passes by!/Life passes by so quickly!

When an adjective follows a noun in a qué expression, it is often preceded by más or tan.

For example:

examples
¡Qué casa más linda! What a lovely house!
¡Qué hombre tan chulo! What a hot guy!

Cómo

Cómois used before conjugated verbs and means how.

examples
¡Cómo canta esa mujer! How that woman sings!/That woman can really sing!
¡Cómo celebramos durante la boda! How we celebrated at the wedding!/We really celebrated at the wedding!
¡Cómo llueve! Look how much it's raining!/It’s raining so hard!

Cuán

Cuánis used before phrases that begin with an adjective or adverb and are followed by a verb phrase. It means how.

Cuánis mostly used in literary works and is not commonly heard in speech. You're much more likely to hear qué in everyday Spanish.

examples
¡Cuán feliz me haces! How happy you make me!
¡Cuán maleducados son! How rude they are!

Cuánto

Cuántois used in front of nouns and verb phrases and means how, how much, how many, what, etc.

To modify a noun, cuánto must match the noun it precedes in gender and number. To modify a verb, the masculine singular form (cuánto) is always used.

examples
¡Cuánto dinero tiene tu primo! What a lot of money your cousin has!/Your cousin has so much money!
¡Cuántas bendiciones tenemos! How many blessings we have!/We're so blessed!
¡Cuántos perros! What a lot of dogs!
¡Cuánto te quiero! How much I love you!/I love you so much!
¡Cuánto bailamos anoche! How much we danced last night!/We danced so much last night!

Other Exclamatory Phrases and Interjections

Check out this jam-packed list of common Spanish interjections. ¡Órale!(Wow!)

Ways to Express Surprise

The following exclamations are the equivalent of saying Wow!, My goodness!, or My God! in English.

¡Guau!	¡Vaya!
¡Anda!	¡Hala!
¡Órale!	¡Caramba!
¡Cielos!	¡Córcholis!
¡Canastos!	¡Pa!
¡Ah!	¡Cáspita!
¡Dios mío!	¡Madre mía!
¡Cielo santo!	¡Ay ay ay!
¡Por Dios!	¡Válgame Dios!
¡Híjole!	¡Santo cielo!

Ways to Express Anger or Disappointment

The following exclamations are the equivalent of saying Darn! or Shoot! in English.

¡Chin!	¡Caray!
¡Maldición!	¡Caramba!
¡Miércoles!	¡Rayos!
¡Mecachis!	¡Pucha!
¡Chuta!	¡Chingüentes!
¡Caracoles!	¡Chale!

Other Useful Exclamations

Below are some other useful exclamations you can pepper your Spanish with.

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
¡Bravo!	Bravo!	¡Dale!	Go for it!/Do it!/Ok!
¡Cuidado!	Look out!	¡Aguas!	Look out!
¡Oye!	Hey!	¡Ay!	Ow!/Oh dear!/Jeez!
¡Puaj!	Yuck!/Ew!	¡Guácala!	Yuck!/Ew!
¡Puf!	Yuck!/Ew!	¡Ah!	Ah!/Oh!/Aw!
¡Pum!	Bang!/Bam!	¡Arre!	Giddyup!
¡Obvio!	Of course!	¡Como sea!	Whatever!
¡Sale!	Ok!	¡Zas!	Bam! or Ok!

Learn all about adjectives in Spanish with these articles!

• Adjective Placement

• Nationalities in Spanish

• Comparisons of Equality in Spanish

• Comparisons of Inequality in Spanish

• Possessive Adjectives in Spanish

• Superlative Adjectives in Spanish

• Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish

• Descriptive Adjectives in Spanish

• Negation and Negative Words in Spanish

• Asking Questions in Spanish

• Relative Adjectives Like "Cuyo" in Spanish

• Short-Form Adjectives in Spanish

• Using Adjectives as Nouns in Spanish