Muy

Today’s Spanish word of the day is “muy”.

It’s an adverb that usually translates as “very” or “really”.

In some contexts, it can also mean “too”, for example:

• Este café está muy caliente para beber. – This coffee is too hot to drink.

The word “muy” comes from Latin multus, which is also the root of most English words starting with “multi-“, for example “multiply” and “multitude”.

Muy vs. mucho

Two very common Spanish words with similar meanings are “muy” and “mucho”. It’s important to understand the difference and when to use each.

“Muy” corresponds roughly to English “very”, while “mucho” (or “mucha” in the feminine form) corresponds to English “a lot of”.

Note the difference:

• Está muy lluvioso. – It’s very rainy.
• Está lloviendo mucho. – It’s raining a lot.

While “muy” roughly equals “very” and “mucho” roughly equals “a lot of”, these words aren’t always used in the same places as their English equivalents. In some cases where English uses “very” plus an adjective, Spanish uses “mucho” plus a noun. For example:

• Tengo mucha sed (literally “I have a lot of thirst”) – I am very thirsty.
• Tengo sueño (literally “I have tiredness”) – I am very tired.

In these cases, instead of saying you are “muy” something, you say you have “mucho” something.

Example sentences