Today’s Spanish word of the day is “pues”.
It’s a conjunction that roughly translates as “well” or “then”, depending on the context.
“Pues” is a versatile word, and can be used to connect thoughts or express hesitation, for example:
- Pues, no estoy seguro. – Well, I’m not sure.
- Si quieres, pues vamos. – If you want, then let’s go.
It can also be used as a filler word where we might use “er” or “um” in English.
It can also be used to provide emphasis or justification, similar to how we use “because” in English:
- No puedo ir, pues tengo mucho trabajo. – I can’t go because I have a lot of work.
The word “pues” comes a shortened form of the Latin word post, meaning “after” or “behind”, which is also the root of the English word element “post” used in words such as “postmodern” and “postscript”.
Example sentences
Pues, si realmente quieres cambiar las cosas, debes empezar por ti mismo y tomar acción.
Well, if you really want to change things, you should start with yourself and take action.
Pues claro que te ayudo, no hace falta que lo preguntes.
Of course I’ll help you, you don’t even need to ask.
Pues mira, si no te gusta, no lo compres.
Well, look, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it.
Pues resulta que el restaurante estaba cerrado, así que tuvimos que buscar otro lugar.
Well, it turns out the restaurant was closed, so we had to find another place.
Pues si hubieras estudiado más, habrías aprobado el examen.
Well, if you had studied more, you would have passed the exam.
