How to Express Surprise, Indifference, and Disbelief

6 min read

Click here to learn a bunch of great set phrases which allow you to express surprise, indifference, and disbelief in Spanish!

Today’s blog post is about how to express three different states in Spanish: surprise, indifference, and disbelief. We’ll be looking at them one by one!

How to Express Surprise in Spanish

There are several ways to express surprise in Spanish. One is to make use of the tone of your voice when speaking, and using exclamation points when writing.

As well as this, we’ve compiled a list of set phrases for you to use!

• ¡Vaya!

• ¡Ay!

• ¡Ay!Ah!
• ¡Ay, caramba!Oh, boy!/Oh, for goodness’ sake!
• ¡Ay, se me cayó el móvil!Ah, I dropped my phone!

• ¡Madre mía!

• ¡No me digas!

• Me sorprende que …

• Me sorprende que … + subjunctiveIt surprises me that …
• Me sorprende que tu novio tenga tatuajes.It surprises me that your boyfriend has tattoos.
• Me sorprende que tú estés tan bien informado en cuanto a la política.I’m surprised you’re so well-informed in terms of politics.

• No sabía que …

• No sabía que …I didn’t know that …
• ¡No sabía que vendrías hoy!I didn’t know you were coming today!
• No sabíamos que podíamos votar.We didn’t know that we could vote.

How to Express Indifference in Spanish

Indifference is when we just don’t care. We’re not interested. We’re in a state of “meh.”

• Vale

• Está bien

• Me da igual

• Me da lo mismo

• No me interesa …

• No me interesa …… doesn’t interest me.
• No me interesa.It doesn’t interest me.
• No me interesan los debates políticos.Political debates don’t interest me.
• —¿Por qué no sales con Jesús?
  —Pues porque no me interesa.“Why don’t you go out with Jesús?”
  “He just doesn’t interest me.”

• No me importa …

• No me importa …… doesn’t matter to me.
• No me importa.I don’t mind.
• No me importa lo de Don y Mel.That stuff with Don and Mel doesn’t matter to me.
• —¿A dónde quieres ir?
  —No me importa.“Where do you want to go?”
  “I don’t mind.”

• Me importa …

The following all mean “I couldn’t care less” (though the nonstandard “I could care less” is also heard in the US), but have some interesting literal meanings! Check them out.

• Me importa un pepino.It matters a cucumber to me.
• Me importa un comino.It matters a cumin plant to me.
• Me importa un bledo.It matters a jot to me.
• Explicit: Me importa un carajo.I don’t give a sh*t.

• No tengo ni la más remota idea

• No estoy ni a favor de ni en contra de …

• No me meto en …

How to Express Disbelief in Spanish

Some of the ways of expressing disbelief overlap with expressing surprise. Remember your exclamation points, and the power of tone of voice!

• ¡No me digas!

• No te creo

• No me lo puedo creer

• Dudo

• Lo dudo.I doubt it.
• Dudo que … + subjunctiveI doubt that …
• —Dudo que Graham llegue a tiempo.
  —Yo también lo dudo.“I doubt Graham will arrive on time.”
  “I doubt it, too.”

• Me cuesta creer que …

• No es verdad que …

• No puede ser (que …)

• No puede ser.It can’t be./It can’t be possible.
• No puede ser que … + subjunctive.It can’t be true that …
• —Señora, su perro ha muerto. Lo siento.
  —¡No puede ser! No puede ser que haya muerto tan joven.“Ma’am, your dog is dead. I’m sorry.”
  “It can’t be true! He can’t have died so young.”

• No es posible (que …)

• No es posible.It’s not possible.
• No es posible que … + subjunctiveIt’s not possible that …
• —Quiero devolver esta chaqueta pero no tengo el recibo.
  —Perdone, pero sin el recibo, no es posible.“I want to return this jacket but I don’t have the receipt.”
  “Sorry, but without the receipt, it’s not possible.”
• No es posible que un triángulo tenga cuatro lados.It’s not possible for a triangle to have four sides.

• Mentira

• Una mentiraA lie
• —No fui yo quien rompió el ordenador.
  —Eso es una mentira.“It wasn’t me who broke the computer.”
  “That’s a lie!”
• —Ya te di el dinero.
  —¡Mentira!“I already gave you the money.”
  “Lies!”

• Mentiroso/a

• Mentiroso/aLiar/Deceitful
• Yo creo que Howie es un narcisista mentiroso.I think Howie is a deceitful narcissist.
• Carlitos: Mamá, ¡Pepe me pegó!
  Pepe: ¡Mentiroso!Carlitos: “Mommy, Pepe hit me!”
  Pepe: “Liar!”

• Tontería/sandez

• Una tontería/una sandezNonsense / a foolish remark
• No digas tonterías.Don’t talk rubbish.
• No digas sandeces.Don’t talk rubbish.

• Es una ilusión creer que …

There you have it!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this article on ways to express surprise for when you’re hit with something you weren’t expecting; indifference, for when you kind of just don’t care; and disbelief, for when something doesn’t sound plausible.

Have fun practicing with these!