Spanish distinguishes between bueno and bien by whether you’re referring to a thing or to how something is done; mixing them up can change the meaning.
Bueno
Use bueno when describing a noun, since it is an adjective that agrees in gender and number with the thing that is good. Think of it as "good" in quality.
Examples
This cake has a good flavor.
Expressions
| Spanish Expression | English Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 👍 Está bueno. | It's good. | |
| 👌 Todo está bueno. | Everything is good. | |
| 🙌 Qué bueno. | How good / That's great. | |
| 🎉 ¡Está bueno! | It's great! |
Bien
Use bien when describing an action, an adjective, or an adverb, since it is an adverb that tells you how something is done or the manner of something. Think of it as "well" in performance or condition.
Examples
Expressions
| Spanish Expression | English Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 👍 Está bien. | It's okay / It's fine. | |
| ✅ Todo está bien. | Everything is fine. | |
| 🙏 ¡Está bien! | All right! / Okay! | |
| 🔔 Dime cuando esté bien. | Tell me when it's ready. |
Special Cases
Some expressions use bueno or bien idiomatically, so they don’t follow the usual adjective/adverb logic; pay attention to fixed phrases and set expressions.
Summary
Remember: use bueno to describe nouns and bien to describe actions or to modify adjectives/adverbs; learn common expressions to sound natural.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025