Spanish Lesson – Muy and Mucho

Muy and Mucho

New Spanish speakers often confuse the words muy and mucho. The two words are not synonyms. One means “very” and the other means “a lot”.

This Spanish lesson gives a quick and easy explanation of when to use muy and when to use mucho.

When to Use Muy and When to Use Mucho

Muy means “very” and comes before an adverb or adjective.

Esta revista es muy interesante.
This magazine is very interesting.

Tu casa es muy grande.
Your house is very big.

Bailas muy bien.
You dance very well.

Mucho means “much”, “many” or “a lot”.

Trabajas mucho.
You work a lot.

Eres mucho más inteligente que tu hermano.
You are much smarter than your brother.

¿Te gusta bailar salsa? Sí, mucho.
Do you like to dance salsa? Yes, a lot.

Tiene mucha lana.
He has a lot of money.

Cultural note: Lana literally means wool, but is slang for money in Mexico. Another slang word for money is plata, which literally means silver.

Never use muy with mucho. If you want to intesify mucho, use muchísimo.

Te gusta esa mujer, ¿verdad? Sí, muchísimo.
You like that woman, right? Yes, very very much.

In this example, the man is using muchísimo instead of mucho to emphasize that he is really, really interested in her romantically.