What does ‘guay’ mean in Spain?
Guay is Spain’s informal word for “cool” or “great”: ¡Qué guay! means “How cool!”, and un sitio guay is “a cool place”. It is casual but not rude, and people of all ages understand and use it.
What guay means
Cool, great Informal
Describes things, places, plans and people you like: una película muy guay, tu hermana es muy guay. The plural is guais: unas zapatillas guais.
¡Qué guay! — how cool! Informal
The classic reaction to good news or something you like. —Me han dado las vacaciones en agosto. —¡Qué guay!
Really well Informal
After verbs like pasarlo, guay works as an adverb meaning “really well”: Lo pasamos guay en la boda (“We had a great time at the wedding”).
Where and when you will hear it
The Spanish academies’ dictionary marks guay as colloquial and typical of Spain. You will hear it in conversation, on social media and in TV series; in formal writing, use estupendo, excelente or muy bueno instead.
In Latin America, other words do the same job, such as chévere in several Caribbean and Andean countries or padre in Mexico.
Examples from everyday Spain Spanish
- ¡Qué guay! ¿Dónde lo has comprado?How cool! Where did you buy it?
- El concierto de anoche estuvo muy guay.Last night’s concert was really great.
- Tu hermana es muy guay, me cae genial.Your sister is really cool, I really like her.
- Nos lo pasamos guay en la playa.We had a great time at the beach.
How to say it
One syllable that rhymes with English “why”: a quick gw followed by the “eye” sound, roughly GWAI. Keep the g light, as in “Gwen”.
Dictionary sources
- Real Academia Española & ASALE, Diccionario de la lengua española — guay — Marks guay as colloquial Spain usage meaning “very good” and, as an adverb, “very well”.