Así in Spanish: A little word with a lot of meaning

Así in Spanish is a very common word in a number of written and spoken contexts. For Spanish learners, you’re therefore likely to hear así quite regularly, but you might have trouble pinpointing the right use since it appears in a few contexts.

If you struggle with how to interpret así in English, you’ve come to the right place! In this post we’ll cover all the functions and the meanings for this mighty little word to get you understanding and using así in everyday conversation.

In short, así in Spanish (always written with an accent on the í) can function as an adverb, an adjective, and a conjunction. In addition, así appears in a lot of very common everyday phrases that each have their own specific meanings. Now let’s take a look at each of these uses and phrases in detail!

Así as an Adverb

Adverbs modify and complement the meanings of verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. When used as an adverb, we can translate así in English as like this, like that, so, thus, therefore, that, or for example.

• ¿Les gusta el cuarto así? – Do you like the room like this?

• No quiero que me hables así. – I don’t want you to talk to me like that.

• No le gustaba levantarse temprano, y así siempre llegaba tarde. – He didn’t like to wake up early. Therefore, he always arrived late.

• La flora del país incluye una gran variedad. Así, hay margaritas en el norte y pinos en el sur. – The flora of the country is very diverse. For example, there are daisies in the north and pine trees in the south.

• Sostén la pistola con los dedos así. – Hold the pistol, positioning the fingers just so.

If you want a general review of adverbs in Spanish, check out our beginner-friendly guide to Spanish adverbs.

Así as an Adjective

Adjectives are used to provide details about objects, people, or animals. As an adjective, we can use translations for así in English that include like this, as such, of this kind, or in this way.

• Con un salario así, no se puede vivir. – We cannot live with such a salary.

• No podemos hablar con gente así. – We cannot speak with people like that.

• La vida es así, amigos. – That’s the way life is, my friends.

• Así es mi tierra, llena de hermosos paisajes por doquier. – That’s the way my land is, full of beautiful landscapes everywhere.

Note that, despite functioning as an adjective, así in Spanish is invariable. In other words, it doesn’t change form to match the gender and number of the noun modifies.

If you’re looking for a deeper look at Spanish adjectives, have a look at our post on the most-used adjectives in Spanish.

Así as a Conjunction

Conjunctions are used to link words, phrases or sentences. Used as a conjunction, the most common equivalent of así in English is even if. Note that since this use introduces a hypothetical situation, we need to use the subjunctive mood here after así.

• Los atraparé, así sea lo último que haga. – I will catch them even if it’s the last thing I do.

• Voy a rendir el examen, así no haya estudiado. – I’m going to sit for the exam even if I haven’t studied.

• No volveré a ver eso así llegue a los cien años. – I’ll never see that again even if I reach one hundred years old.

Following a similar line of thought to the use we just saw, another way to interpret this use of así in English is with either… or or whether… or. In this usage we place así before each of the two clauses. The Spanish subjunctive remains necessary for the verbs.

• Volverá a casa, así sea dentro de un día, así dentro de un año. – He’ll come back home, whether in a day or in a year.

In case you want a recap of the subjunctive mood in Spanish check out our article on the Spanish subjunctive.

Common Phrases with Así in Spanish

In the previous sections we saw how to use así in Spanish in its various grammatical roles, for whatever you want to say. In addition to being a very versatile word when you form your phrases, there are a lot of very common everyday phrases that are built around así.

In the following sections we’ll introduce a bunch of these common Spanish así phrases, with examples!

Así es

This expression is used to exclaim an affirmation. Así es in English can have various translations including that’s it!, correct, or simply yep.

• El agua hierve a 100°C. ¡Así es! – Water boils at 100°C. Correct!

• Tú eres enfermera, ¿no? Así es. – You’re a nurse, aren’t you? Right.

¡Así se hace!

This is another exclamatory affirmation, used in congratulations for some accomplishment. Literally, ¡así se hace! in English is essentially that’s how it’s done!

• ¡Así se hace! Felicitaciones. – Well done! Congratulations.

• Ganaron el campeonato. ¡Así se hace! – You won the championship. Well done!

Seguir así

This is a common Spanish expression of encouragement, whose literal meaning is basically “follow along like this.” The best English equivalents of ¡sigue así! are keep it up! or even keep up the good work!

• Buen trabajo, Pedro. ¡Sigue así! – Good job, Pedro. Keep it up!

• Te sacaste una “A” en matemáticas. ¡Sigue así! – You got an “A” in math. Keep it up!

Así como

When we list things, we can use así como to link the various elements of our list. Así como in English is equivalent to as well as.

• Fueron al cine su papá y su mamá, así como sus amigos. – His mother and father as well as his friends went to the cinema.

• Se necesita el documento, así como una foto. – You need the ID as well as a photo.

Así de

This combination of así de is used as an adverb to denote an extra emphasis on whatever it modifies. A useful interpretation of así de in English is so, though the best translation is often different. The most important thing to keep in mind when using así de in Spanish is just that we’re really emphasizing whatever it helps to describe.

• Aunque llegamos temprano, ya había así de gente. – Although we arrived early there were already a lot of people.

• La película era así de fea. – The movie was so foul.

• No recordaba ese edificio así de grande. – I didn’t remember that building being so big.

Así es que, Así que, Así pues

These formulations are used as conjunctions to link two clauses together by indicating cause and effect. English equivalents include therefore, that’s why, or just so.

• No tenía tu número, así es que no te pude llamar. – I didn’t have your number, so I couldn’t phone you.

• El dueño había cerrado la puerta, así que no pudimos entrar a la casa. – The owner had closed the door, so we couldn’t enter the house.

• Todos tenemos algo de responsabilidad en este asunto, así pues, nadie está exento. – We all have some responsibility in this matter, therefore, nobody is exempted from it.

Así como así

In contrast to the previous phrase, we use así como así when there’s no cause and effect at all. The best equivalent for así como así in English is just like that.

• Los García gastan el dinero así como así. – The Garcías spend their money just like that.

• Se fueron así como así, en silencio. – They left just like that, in silence.

Así porque sí

Continuing along the line of cause and effect, así porque sí in Spanish is used when there’s no apparent cause at all. We state the effect along with así porque sí, to say that it happened just like that or was caused just for the sake of it.

• Ella empezó a insultarme, así porque sí. – She started to insult me, just for the sake of it.

• Nadie quiere cambiar así porque sí. – Nobody wants to change just for the sake of it.

Por así decirlo

“To say it like this” is one way of interpreting this phrase, though the best equivalent of por así decirlo in English is so to speak. We use this phrase to qualify a statement when we want to imply something softly rather than stating it explicitly.

• Pablo se ocupa del trabajo sucio, por así decirlo. – Pablo is in charge of the dirty work, so to speak.

• Un testigo es, por así decirlo, un participante alejado. – A witness is, so to speak, a distant participant.

No es así

When we want to verify whether something is true or not, we can ask ¿no es así?. In English this can be interpreted a few ways, with the main point being to ask isn’t that the case? after stating a supposed fact. Often in English, you’ll just use right?.

• Estás casada, ¿no es así? – You’re married, aren’t you?

• Ellos tienen las entradas ¿no es así? – They have the tickets, don’t they?

Conclusion: Así in English

Throughout this post we’ve looked at a whole variety of ways to consider así in English. We started off looking at how así is used as an adverb or an adjective, usually denoting similarity with equivalents such as like this, as such, or in this way. Así is also used on its own as a conjunction, equivalent to even if, which triggers the subjunctive. In addition to the word’s use on its own, we saw a bunch of everyday así phrases, each with their own specific uses and English equivalents.

Now that you’ve gone through the whole post, you’re all set to use así in different contexts and situations! ¿No es así? – Right?

Exercises

To give you a bit of practice using some of the así phrases you’ve just learned, why don’t you try a few exercises? Choose between the following así phrases and insert each one into the sentences. The answers and translations are below.

Así es – ¡Así se hace! – Así de – Así que – Así como así – Por así decirlo – No es así

1. Nos fuimos de la ciudad, _____ y sin avisar a nadie.

2. ¿Te gustan los videojuegos? / _____.

3. En la alcancía había _____ dinero.

4. No teníamos auto, _____ fuimos caminando hasta la fiesta.

5. ¡_____! Te sacaste un diez en el examen.

6. Vamos a comprar un auto nuevo, ¿_____?

7. El conocimiento es un tesoro precioso, _____.

Answers

1. Nos fuimos de la ciudad, así como así y sin avisar a nadie. – We left the city, just like that and without telling anyone about it.

2. ¿Te gustan los videojuegos? / Así es. – Do you like video games? Yep.

3. En la alcancía había así de dinero. – There was a lot of money in the money box.

4. No teníamos auto, así que fuimos caminando hasta la fiesta. – We didn’t have a car, so we went by foot to the party.

5. ¡Así se hace! Te sacaste un diez en el examen. – Well done! You got a ten in the exam.

6. Vamos a comprar un auto nuevo, ¿no es así? – We’re going to buy a new car, aren’t we?

7. El conocimiento es un tesoro precioso, por así decirlo. – Knowledge is a precious treasure, so to speak.