Other than
sí, the word for "yes,"
claro is probably the word most commonly used in Spanish for expressing agreement, either with something someone has said or with a statement expressed earlier by the speaker. As an intensifier,
claro can be translated in a variety of ways, depending on the context. Common translations include "of course," "evidently," "obviously" and "yes." In such usages
claro usually functions as a sentence adverb or an interjection.
Here are some examples of its use:
- Claro que no es bueno. (Clearly it's no good.)
- Claro que no todo es un lecho de rosas. (Obviously not everything is a bed of roses.)
- Sí, claro, quiero saber dónde estás, cómo estás. (Yes, of course, I want to know where you are, how you are.)
- ¿Me reconoces? ¡Claro que sí! ("Do you recognize me?" "Of course!")
- ¡Claro que no puedes! (Of course you can't!)
- Claro que tienes pruebas. (Surely you have proof.)
- ¡Claro que no! (Of course not!)
- ¿Salimos? ¡Claro! (Are we leaving? Sure!)
- Sabemos lo que sabemos, claro. (We know what we know, evidently.)
Additionally, as an adjective,
claro has a variety of meanings including "light in color," "clear," "evident," "weak" or "thin" (in the sense of being watered down), and "frank."