How to Say "of Course" in Spanish

Words and Phrases Used to Say Something Is Obvious

Volcano Arenal for Spanish lesson
Claro que iré a Costa Rica a ver a Cristiano. (Of course I'll go to Costa Rica to see Cristiano.).

Ardyiii/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0

If you want to indicate that something is obvious, just as you would do in English with the phrase "of course," here are some words and phrases that you can use, some of them are adverbs of affirmation. Of course, when translating such sentences to English, you aren't limited to the phrase "of course" or those used here; depending on the tone of the conversation, you can also use words such as "obviously" and "certainly."

Claro

A literal translation of claro is "clearly," although "of course" often works, depending on the context:

  • Claro que iré a Costa Rica a ver a Cristiano. (Of course, I'll go to Costa Rica to see Cristiano.)
  • Sí, sí, claro, estoy muy contenta. (Yes, yes, of course, I'm very happy.)
  • ¡Claro que sí! (Of course!)
  • ¡Claro que no! (Of course not!)
  • ¡Claro que fue gol! (Of course, it was a goal!)
  • La diferencia, claro, es que la droga es ilegal. (The difference, of course, is that the drug is illegal.)
  • Claro que el país está dividido entre los que trabajamos y los que no trabajamos. (Clearly, the country is divided between those of us who work and those of us who don't work.)

Desde Luego

As is the case with other idioms, the phrase desde luego doesn't make much sense if you try translating it word for word ("since later"). But in some areas it is a popular way to say "of course":

  • ¡Desde luego! (Of course!)
  • ¡Desde luego que no! (Of course not!)
  • Desde luego que habría un nuevo plan. (Of course there'd be a brand-new plan.)
  • Desde luego que vamos hacerlo lo más rápido posible. (Of course, we're going to do it as quickly as possible.)
  • Jimmy Page es un gran guitarrista, desde luego. (Jimmy Page is a great guitarist, of course.)

Por Supuesto

Por supuesto is also very common:

  • ¡Por supuesto! (Of course!)
  • ¡Por supuesto que no! (Of course not!)
  • Por supuesto creo que el estado debe ayudarnos. (Of course I believe the state should help us.)
  • Estoy muy satisfecha, por supuesto. (I'm quite satisfied, of course.)
  • Por supuesto, vamos a analizar todo lo que pasó. (Obviously, we're going to analyze everything that has happened.)

Be aware that sometimes "por supuesto" can be part of a longer phrase to indicate that something is supposed rather than proven, as supuesto is the past participle of suponer, which often means "to suppose":

  • Detuvieron al hijo del actor por supuesto abuso. (They arrested the actor's son for alleged abuse.)

Es un Hecho Que

"Es un hecho que" can be used to indicate that something can simply be assumed:

  • Es un hecho que los senadores también aprobarán el programa. (It can be taken for granted that the senators will also approve the program.)
  • Creo que es un hecho que el cambio del clima se debe al hombre. (I believe it's a given that climate change is man's doing.)

Other Adverbs

Other possibilities include the adverbs obviamente (obviously), seguramente (surely) and ciertamente (certainly), although of course the choice of translation depends on the context:

  • Obviamente la pregunta está formulada de esa manera para confundir a la gente. (Obviously the question is worded that way to confuse people.)
  • Compramos muchas cosas y obviamente compramos trajes de baño. (We bought a lot of things, and obviously we bought swimsuits.)
  • Seguramente prefieren lo mismo que nosotros. (Surely they prefer the same thing as we do.)
  • Ciertamente no quiero ser parte de ello. (Certainly, I don't want to be part of that.)
  • Nuestro profesor, ciertamente, es único. (Our teacher definitely is unique.)
  • Las casas están deterioradas y seguramente requerirán de una inversión grande. (The houses are deteriorated and surely will require a large investment.)
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Erichsen, Gerald. "How to Say "of Course" in Spanish." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/of-course-spanish-3079218. Erichsen, Gerald. (2023, April 5). How to Say "of Course" in Spanish. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/of-course-spanish-3079218 Erichsen, Gerald. "How to Say "of Course" in Spanish." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/of-course-spanish-3079218 (accessed March 29, 2024).