Kilo Lingo
Part of Chapter 44

CEFR B2

Test yourself (14 questions)

Spanish Intensifiers and Downtoners

Every learner leans on muy. It is safe, it is correct, and after a while it is the only tool in the box. But Spanish has a whole ladder of degree, and muy sits somewhere in the middle of it. Above it are boosters that crank a quality up; below it are downtoners that quietly turn it down. Learn the rungs and you stop saying muy six times a paragraph and start sounding like a person who has choices.

If you have not sorted out muy versus mucho yet, the adverbs of degree page settles that pair in full. This page assumes it and climbs the rest of the ladder.

The neutral intensifiers

These raise the temperature without slang. They are fine in writing and speech alike.

  • muy + adjective or adverb = very. Muy caro, muy bien.
  • -ísimo, the absolute superlative = the quality maxed out. Carísimo (dear as anything), buenísimo (brilliant), facilísimo (dead easy). Drop the final vowel and add -ísimo / -ísima / -ísimos / -ísimas to agree. Spelling shifts to watch: rico to riquísimo, largo to larguísimo. There is a fuller drill on the comparatives and superlatives page.
  • sumamente, enormemente, tremendamente + adjective = extremely, enormously, tremendously. Sumamente importante (extremely important). These are formal and read well in essays.
  • realmente, verdaderamente, francamente + adjective = really, truly, frankly. Realmente bueno, francamente malo. A touch more emphatic than muy and perfectly respectable in print.

The colloquial boosters

Now the fireworks. These are speech-first, some of them speech-only. Reach for them with friends, not in an exam.

  • super + adjective = really, super. Superguapo, superbién, super caro. Written solid it is informal but everywhere among younger speakers.
  • re- and requete- as prefixes = an emphatic, playful really. Rebueno, requetebueno, requetebién. Warm, familiar, and firmly casual.
  • mega- and hiper- = mega, hyper. Megafuerte, hipercaro. Slangy and jokey.
  • bien + adjective = really (chiefly Latin America). Bien caro (really dear), bien rico (really tasty). In Spain this reads as regional.

Then the noun-based crowd words, all meaning roughly loads of:

  • un montón de = a load of. Un montón de gente.
  • la mar de = a whole lot of. La mar de simpático (really nice).
  • cantidad de = loads of. Cantidad de problemas.
  • la tira de = tons of (very colloquial, Spain). La tira de tiempo.
  • tela (de) = loads (slangy, Spain). Cuesta tela (it costs a fortune).
  • ¡qué de...! = what a lot of...! ¡Qué de gente! (what a crowd!).

The result structures: tan and tanto

Two patterns turn intensity into a consequence with que.

  • tan + adjective or adverb + que = so ... that. Es tan caro que no lo compro. (It is so dear that I am not buying it.)
  • tanto + noun (agreeing) + que, or verb + tanto que = so much / so many ... that. Había tanta gente que no cabíamos. (There were so many people that we did not fit.) Trabaja tanto que nunca lo vemos. (He works so much we never see him.)

Tanto agrees with its noun: tanta gente, tantos coches, tantas horas. Without the que, both still intensify in exclamations: ¡es tan guapo! This dovetails with the lo + adjective + que exclamative (¡lo caro que es!, how dear it is), laid out on the exclamatives page.

The downtoners and hedges

Below muy sit the quiet words that soften. English speakers underuse these and end up sounding blunt.

  • un poco + adjective = a bit. Un poco cansado (a bit tired). Use it for mild negatives especially.
  • algo + adjective = somewhat, slightly. Algo raro (a bit odd).
  • más bien = rather. Más bien caro (rather dear), más bien tímido (rather shy).
  • no muy and poco = not very. No muy alto; or the leaner poco alto, where poco before an adjective flips it negative (poco probable, unlikely).
  • apenas = barely, hardly. Apenas lo noto (I barely notice it).
  • medio + adjective = half. Medio dormido (half asleep), medio loco (half mad). Often invariable in this use.
  • tirando a = leaning towards. Tirando a caro (on the dear side), tirando a frío (coldish).
  • bastante = fairly, reasonably. Bastante bueno (fairly good). See the warning below.

The ladder, softest to strongest

RungWordExampleEnglish
barelyapenasapenas fríobarely cold
a bitun poco / algoun poco caroa bit dear
halfmediomedio dormidohalf asleep
leaningtirando atirando a caroon the dear side
rathermás bienmás bien carorather dear
fairlybastantebastante carofairly dear
verymuymuy carovery dear
reallyrealmente / supersuper caroreally dear
extremelysumamente / -ísimocarísimoextremely dear
loads (noun)un montón deun montón de genteloads of people

A word on bastante

English quite is treacherous. It often means very (quite brilliant), but Spanish bastante sits lower on the ladder, nearer fairly. Es bastante bueno is a moderate compliment, not a strong one. If you mean the strong English quite, use muy or an -ísimo form. Bastante also means enough (no tengo bastante tiempo, I do not have enough time). File it as mid-strength and you will stop underselling praise by accident.

Register: what goes where

The higher the fun, the more strictly a booster belongs to speech.

  • Fine in writing: muy, -ísimo, sumamente / enormemente / tremendamente, realmente / verdaderamente, and all the downtoners (un poco, más bien, apenas, bastante).
  • Speech and casual only: super, re- / requete-, mega- / hiper-, bien caro, un montón de, la mar de, tela, la tira de, ¡qué de...!

Drop the slangy boosters in an essay or an exam and swap in muy or an -ísimo form; keep them for chat, where they carry all the warmth.

Common mistakes English speakers make

Translating quite as bastante for praise. Bastante bueno is only fairly good. For a real compliment, use muy bueno or buenísimo.

Putting super or requete in formal writing. Superguapo and requetebueno are lovely in speech and wrong in an essay. Use muy or -ísimo.

Forgetting tanto agrees. It is tanta gente and tantos días, not "tanto gente". Only tan (before adjectives and adverbs) stays fixed.

Overusing muy. The whole point of the ladder is that you have alternatives. Vary it: carísimo, bastante caro, tirando a caro, la mar de caro.

Learn the rungs, respect the register line, and remember that Spanish would rather turn a quality down with un poco or más bien than blast muy at everything. That range is what makes the difference.

See also

Practise: test yourself

Fill in the blank

0/8

Complete each sentence with the intensifier or downtoner suggested by the clue in brackets. Mind the register and the agreement.

  1. El piso es caro, no puedo pagarlo. (very, using the -ísimo form of caro) (drop the vowel and add the ending)

  2. Estoy cansado, me voy a la cama. (a bit) (a small amount before an adjective)

  3. No es feo, es bien guapo. (rather) (más ___ means rather)

  4. Había gente que no cabíamos. (so much, agreeing with gente) (agrees with a feminine noun)

  5. El examen fue difícil que suspendió medio grupo. (so) (goes before an adjective)

  6. Llegó dormido a la reunión. (half) (means half, as in half asleep)

  7. El café está frío, casi no lo noto. (barely) (means hardly or scarcely)

  8. Este vino es , me encanta. (informal super, before the adjective bueno) (the colloquial prefix for very)

Pick the right one

0/6

Choose the correct word for each gap.

  1. La casa es grande.

  2. Este libro es bueno, uno de los mejores. (extremely, informal)

  3. Es caro que nadie lo compra. (so)

  4. Vino gente a la fiesta. (so much)

  5. No estoy enfadado, estoy molesto. (only a little)

  6. El resultado es bueno, nada del otro mundo. (fairly)

Frequently asked questions

What does the -ísimo ending mean in Spanish?
It is the absolute superlative, and it means the quality turned up to the maximum: carísimo (extremely dear), guapísimo (stunningly good-looking), buenísimo (brilliant). You form it by dropping the final vowel and adding -ísimo, -ísima, -ísimos or -ísimas to agree: caro becomes carísimo, fácil becomes facilísimo. It is roughly equivalent to muy plus the adjective, but stronger and warmer, and it is completely acceptable in writing as well as speech. Watch the spelling shifts: rico becomes riquísimo, largo becomes larguísimo, feliz becomes felicísimo. There is a fuller treatment on the comparatives and superlatives page.
Is super acceptable in written Spanish?
In speech and casual writing, super is everywhere: superguapo, superbien, super caro. Written solid with an adjective it is informal but widespread among younger speakers. In a formal essay, an exam or professional writing, drop it and use muy or an -ísimo form instead. The prefixes re- and requete- (requetebueno, requetebién) are even more colloquial and playful, fine in chat and family talk but out of place in anything you would be marked on. The rule of thumb: the more a booster feels like slang fun, the more strictly it belongs to speech.
Why is Spanish bastante weaker than English quite?
English quite is a slippery word that often means very (quite brilliant), but Spanish bastante sits lower on the ladder, closer to fairly or reasonably. Es bastante bueno means it is fairly good, a moderate compliment, not a strong one. If you want the strong English quite, reach for muy or an -ísimo form instead. Bastante also doubles as enough (no tengo bastante tiempo, I do not have enough time). Treat it as a mid-strength word, above un poco but below muy, and you will stop accidentally underselling things you meant to praise.
How do tan and tanto work for intensity?
Tan goes before an adjective or adverb and tanto before or after a noun or verb, and both build a result clause with que: es tan caro que no lo compro (it is so dear that I am not buying it), había tanta gente que no cabíamos (there were so many people that we did not fit). Tanto agrees with its noun (tanta gente, tantos coches). Without the que, tan and tanto still intensify in exclamations: ¡es tan guapo! (he is so good-looking!). This is the so and so much of degree, and it pairs naturally with the lo + adjective + que exclamative pattern covered on the exclamatives page.