The short version
- The basic phrases are Estoy de acuerdo (I agree) and No estoy de acuerdo (I don't agree). Most learners stop there.
- The phrases in between, like Depende and Sí, pero…, are the ones you'll use most.
- Give your opinion with Creo que… or Para mí…, and add one reason. That's what keeps the conversation going.
Put a group of people in Spain round a table and ask whether a tortilla de patatas should have onion in it. Within a minute, someone will say ¡Con cebolla, claro!, someone else will say ¡Qué va! Sin cebolla, siempre, and a third person will say Bueno, depende de la tortilla. Nobody's offended. It's just a normal chat.
Knowing how to agree and disagree in Spanish is what lets you join in with conversations like that, instead of nodding along. You need a few ways to say yes, a few ways to say no, and, most useful of all, a few ways to say "sort of".
Here they are, from strong agreement to strong disagreement.
Agreeing
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Sí, sí. / Ya. | Yeah. |
| Claro. | Of course. / Sure. |
| Estoy de acuerdo. | I agree. |
| Tienes razón. | You're right. |
| Eso es. / Exacto. | Exactly. |
| Totalmente. / Sin duda. | Totally. / No doubt. |
| Yo pienso lo mismo. | I think the same. |
| ¡Y tanto! | You're telling me! / Absolutely! |
Note that it's estoy de acuerdo, with estar. Learners often say soy de acuerdo or estoy acuerdo, but you need both estoy and de. To say who you agree with, add contigo: Estoy de acuerdo contigo.
Tienes razón is literally "you have reason", and it's the natural way to say "you're right". Use tiene razón with usted.
¡Y tanto! is very Spanish and very handy. Someone says Hace un frío horrible, ¿eh? and you say ¡Y tanto!
Yo también or a mí también?
This is the one learners get wrong most, so it's worth a section of its own.
With most verbs, "me too" is yo también and "me neither" is yo tampoco. But with gustar, encantar, apetecer and similar verbs, where you'd say me gusta, it changes to a mí también and a mí tampoco.
| Most verbs | Gustar-type verbs | |
|---|---|---|
| What they say | Vivo en Valencia. | Me gusta el fútbol. |
| Me too | Yo también. | A mí también. |
| What they say | No tengo coche. | No me gusta el café. |
| Me neither | Yo tampoco. | A mí tampoco. |
| I do / I don't | Yo sí. / Yo no. | A mí sí. / A mí no. |
The last row is useful for disagreeing without any extra words. No me gusta el café. ¡A mí sí! That's a complete, natural reply. If you want to go further into these verbs, there's a post on me gusta vs me encanta.
Somewhere in the middle
Most real conversations aren't a clear yes or no. These are the phrases you'll probably use the most.
- Depende. (It depends.) Add what it depends on: Depende del día.
- Sí, pero… (Yes, but…) Agree first, then add your point.
- Puede ser. (Maybe. / Could be.)
- Hasta cierto punto. (Up to a point.)
- En parte sí. (Partly, yes.)
- No sé, no sé. (I'm not so sure.)
- Bueno… (Well…) Said slowly, it tells people you don't fully agree.
Sí, pero… is the easiest way to disagree politely in any language. You show you've heard their point, then you give yours. Sí, pero es muy caro. Sí, pero en verano hace demasiado calor.
Conversations in Spain can feel more direct than British ones. People often disagree openly about food, football, politics or where to go for dinner, and it doesn't mean anyone's annoyed. If someone tells you ¡Qué va!, they probably just think you're wrong about the tortilla. You don't need to agree to be polite.
Disagreeing politely
When you do disagree, these range from gentle to firm.
| Spanish | English | How strong |
|---|---|---|
| No sé yo… | I'm not so sure… | Gentle |
| ¿Tú crees? | Do you think so? | Gentle |
| Yo no lo veo así. | I don't see it that way. | Polite |
| No estoy de acuerdo. | I don't agree. | Clear |
| No estoy muy de acuerdo. | I don't really agree. | Softer than the one above |
| ¡Qué va! | No way! / Not at all! | Strong but friendly |
| Para nada. | Not at all. | Strong |
| ¡Ni de broma! | No chance! | Very strong, informal |
¿Tú crees? is great for learners. It sounds natural, it's two words, and it invites the other person to explain. That gives you time to think about what you actually want to say.
¡Qué va! is everywhere in Spain. It can mean "no way", "not at all" or "of course not" depending on the situation. ¿Estás cansado? ¡Qué va! (Tired? Not at all!)
Giving your opinion
Agreeing or disagreeing on its own can end the conversation. Add your opinion and one reason, and the other person has something to reply to.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Creo que… | I think… |
| Me parece que… | It seems to me… |
| Para mí… | For me… |
| Yo diría que… | I'd say… |
| La verdad es que… | To be honest… |
En mi opinión exists, but it can sound a bit formal in a casual chat. Para mí and Creo que are what you'll hear most.
- Para mí, con cebolla.For me, with onion.
- Para mí, con cebolla, porque está más jugosa.For me, with onion, because it's juicier.
- Sí, pero para mí, con cebolla, porque está más jugosa.Yes, but for me, with onion, because it's juicier.
- Sí, pero para mí, con cebolla, porque está más jugosa. ¿Tú la haces sin cebolla?Yes, but for me, with onion, because it's juicier. Do you make it without onion?
When you say creo que, the next verb is normal: Creo que es buena idea. But when you say no creo que, the next verb goes into the subjunctive: No creo que sea buena idea (I don't think it's a good idea). If that feels like too much for now, use Creo que no es buena idea. It's correct and people say it too.
Here's how it sounds when it all comes together:
Practise having opinions
Opinion phrases only help if they come out quickly, and that takes practice with real statements you actually have an opinion about.
Write ten short statements in Spanish that people could argue about: La tortilla está mejor con cebolla. El verano es la mejor época del año. Madrid es mejor que Barcelona. Es mejor vivir en el centro. Each day, read them out loud and react to each one with a phrase from this post plus one reason. Use a different phrase every time. ¡Qué va! El invierno es mejor, porque no hace calor. Ten statements takes about five minutes, and you'll have used ten phrases by the end.
For more short reactions to go with these, see Spanish reactions: qué bien, vaya, madre mía and more. And if you want to turn an opinion into a longer chat, how to keep a conversation going in Spanish shows how to hand the conversation back.
Common mistakes
Soy de acuerdo or Estoy acuerdo.
Estoy de acuerdo.
Yo también after Me gusta…
A mí también.
Tengo razón when you mean "you're right".
Tienes razón.
Just saying sí or no and stopping.
Add your opinion and one reason.
Agreeing with everything to be polite.
A friendly ¿Tú crees? or Sí, pero… is fine in Spain.
Recap
- Agree with Estoy de acuerdo, Tienes razón or Eso es.
- Use a mí también and a mí tampoco with gustar-type verbs.
- The middle phrases, Depende and Sí, pero…, are the ones you'll use most.
- Disagree gently with ¿Tú crees? or Yo no lo veo así.
- Give your opinion with Para mí or Creo que, plus one reason.
100 Spanish Conversations builds opinions into every theme, so you practise saying what you think about films, food, work and everything else, and asking what other people think. For a friendly argument about tortilla, head to the Skool community.
Leeroy studied Spanish for years before moving to Spain and finding he couldn't hold a conversation. He built Basically Spanish around the method that fixed it. Questions? leeroy@basicallyspanish.com