Compliments In Spanish

So there are loads of compliments in Spanish just like English. Probably the first thing to get straight is whether the compliment is temporary or permanent. Since Spanish has two forms of “to be”, ser and estar, it’s common for people new to Spanish not to know which verb to use or when to use one or the other when complimenting someone on their looks or personality.

Since estar is more for temporary situations use it when complimenting someone at that particular time. If you want to tell a woman that she looks beautiful right now or today or this evening you can say:

You look beautiful. (You look beautiful right now)
Estás hermosa.
eh-STAHS ehr-moh-sah.

To compliment a guy:

You look handsome. (You look handsome right now)
Estás guapo.
eh-STAHS gwah-poh.

If you want to tell someone they are a beautiful woman or a handsome man, use ser since it has permanent instead of temporary connotations:

You are beautiful.
Eres hermosa.
eh-rehs ehr-moh-sah.

You are handsome.
Eres guapo.
eh-rehs gwah-poh.

I go into more detail about saying compliments like beautiful, handsome, cute and pretty in this post about beautiful in Spanish.

There are a couple of exceptions to the temporary estar and permanent ser formula with bueno/a and rico/a. When you use bueno/a with ser it means a good person. When you use it with estar it means “hot” (sexy).

She is a good person.
Ella es buena.
eh-yah ehs bweh-nah.

She is hot. (sexy)
Ella está buena.
eh-yah es-TAH bweh-nah.

He is a good person.
Él es bueno.
EHL ehs bweh-noh.

He is hot. (sexy)
Él está bueno.
EHL es-TAH bweh-noh.

Rico/a with ser means “rich” (wealthy). Rico/a with estar means “cute” or “sexy.”

She is rich.
Ella es rica.
eh-yah ehs ree-kah.

She is cute or sexy.
Ella está rica.
eh-yah ehs-TAH ree-kah.

He is rich.
Él es rico.
EHL ehs ree-koh.

He is cute or sexy.
Él está rico.
EHL ehs-TAH ree-koh.

Here is how you can give compliments directly to someone or indirectly through a third person. Take one of the phrases below and plug in a word from below the phrases. Use muy (it means “very”) if you want to emphasize the compliment.

Go to this post if you want details about these six words to describe attractiveness.

Here are a few other translations to compliment people’s appearance:

Here are some translations to compliment someone’s personality:

Responding to compliments:

(Thanks), you too.
(Gracias), tú también.
(Grah-see-ahs), tOO tahm-bee-EHn.

Thanks for the compliment.
Gracias por el cumplido.
grah-see-ahs pohr ehl koom-plee-doh.

If someone is giving flattering or flirtatious compliments they call it echando flores which translates to “tossing flowers.” Those type of compliments are called piropos. Piropos also include cheesy compliments like:

So many curves and me with no brakes.
Tantas curvas y yo sin frenos.
tahn-tahs koor-vahs ee yoh seen freh-nohs.

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