When to use Bien, Buen and Bueno in Spanish?

Bien as an adverb of mood means ‘rightly and properly’, buen is an adjective used in place of bueno before nouns (buen amigo, buen día) and bueno is an adjective meaning something of a gentle and kindly character, or tasty and palatable. 

When to use bien?

• We use the adverb bien when we want to express an action done satisfactorily. 

Examples: 

Spanish	English
Dormimos muy bien anoche.	We slept very well last night.
No completé el ejercicio bien.	I did not complete the exercise well.

• It is also used to express ‘in good shape or in good health’. 

Examples:

Spanish	English
Estoy muy bien desde la cirugía.	I’ve been doing very well since the surgery.
El tío no está bien últimamente.	My uncle has not been well lately.

• In front of an adjective or adverb it functions as an emphatic intensifier equivalent to very.

Examples:

Spanish	English
Anoche los vecinos escucharon música bien fuerte, por eso nos quejamos.	Last night the neighbors listened to very loud music, that’s why we complained.
Estaba bien picante la comida.	The food was very spicy.

• It functions as an adjective to express ‘of good social standing’. 

Example:

Spanish	English
Es considerado un barrio de gente bien.	It is considered a neighborhood of well-to-do people.

What is the comparative of bien?

• The comparative of bien is mejor, the form ‘más bien‘ is incorrect. 

Examples: 

Spanish	English
✅ Estoy mucho mejor desde la cirugía.	I am much better off since the surgery.
✅ Lamentablemente el tío no está mejor que antes.	Unfortunately the guy is no better off than before.

• The comparative mejor does not take other forms such as muy, más. 

Examples: 

❌ Está más mejor. 

❌ Es muy mejor. 

Expressions with bien in Spanish

• Bien que is a concessive locution that can be an equivalent of ‘although’. 

Example:

Spanish	English
Te quejas de la comida bien que comiste todo.	You complain about the food although you ate everything.

• Más bien is an adverbial locution used to introduce a rectification or nuance:

Example: 

Spanish	English
No es un seminario difícil sino más bien profundo, ya que entra en los detalles.	It is not a difficult seminar but rather a profound one, as it goes into detail.

• It is also used with the sense of ‘in a certain way, in some way’. 

Example: 

Spanish	English
Antes era común ir a los bailes en los clubes, lugar más bien para conocer gente.	It used to be common to go to dances at clubs, a place rather to meet people.

• Si bien is a concessive locution that is equivalent to ‘although’, ‘even though’. 

Examples:

Spanish	English
Si bien no estaba de acuerdo, asistí a la reunión.	Although I disagreed, I attended the meeting.
Al final, si bien cada uno expuso su punto de vista muy diferente, llegamos a un acuerdo.	In the end, although everyone had a very different point of view, we reached an agreement.

When to use buen?

• Buen is an adjective used before a masculine noun. 

Examples:

Spanish	English
Él es un buen amigo.	He is a good friend.
Hoy estoy de buen humor.	I’m in a good mood today.

• The word bueno is always apocopated in the form buen when it precedes a masculine singular noun, even if another word comes between the two: mi buen amigo, un buen primer libro. 

• It is not apocopated when the preposition “de” is between the adjective and the noun: el bueno de Pedro. 

When to use bueno?

• Bueno is an adjective used after a masculine noun and means: someone of a gentle and kind character. 

Example:

Spanish	English
Óscar es un vecino muy bueno.	Óscar is a very good neighbor.

• It is also used to talk about something that is tasty or appetizing. 

Example:

Spanish	English
Para que el pescado quede bueno, hay que ponerle limón y hierbas aromáticas.	For the fish to be good, lemon and aromatic herbs must be put on it.

• The word bueno is also used to define a person or thing of quality, which meets all the conditions required to fulfill its function well. 

Example: 

Spanish	English
Un mecánico bueno te va a cobrar más pero tu coche seguro va a funcionar mejor.	A good mechanic will charge you more but your car is sure to run better.

• It is used as equivalent to ‘convenient’. 

Example:

Spanish	English
Salir a caminar todas las semanas es bueno.	Going for a walk every week is good.

What is the comparative of bueno?

The word bueno has two comparatives:

• Mejor is used in all the meanings of good referred to above. 

Examples:

Spanish	English
Serías mejor vecino si juntaras la basura del frente de tu casa.	You would be a better neighbor if you would pick up the trash in front of your house.
Es mejor tomar el tren a esta hora.	It is better to take the train at this time.

• The word que is used to compare. 

Examples:

Spanish	English
Este mecánico es mejor que Ricardo.	This mechanic is better than Ricardo.
En realidad, salir a correr es mejor que caminar.	Actually, jogging is better than walking.
tus mismos ojos	your same eyes

• Más bueno is used in preference to mejor to form the comparative of bueno in the sense of ‘kind’ and ‘tasty or appetizing’. 

Examples: 

Spanish	English
Nunca hemos tenido un vecino más bueno que él.	We have never had a nicer neighbor than him.
El pescado queda más bueno cuando pones mucho limón y hierbas aromáticas.	The fish is better when you put a lot of lemon and aromatic herbs.