One common way of expressing disagreement in Spanish is the phrase al contrario or, somewhat more formally, por el contrario. The phrase is common in both writing and speech. Some examples:
- Al contrario, son muy buenas noticias. (On the contrary, it's very good news.)
- Por el contrario, no ha habido crecimiento de empleos en el sector privado. (On the contrary, there has not been employment growth in the private sector.)
- Creo al contrario de lo que usted dice va a pasar. (I believe the opposite of what you say is going to happen.)
Spanish also has other ways of expressing disagreement. Following are some examples; all but the first would be used primarily in informal contexts.
- De ninguna manera el gobierno central permitirá la anarquía. (In no way will the government allow anarchy.)
- Cree que Windows es más seguro que Linux. ¡Ni hablar! (He believes Windows is more secure than Linux. No way!)
- —¿Y tú, vas a estudiar? —¡Qué va! ("And you, are you going to study?" "No way!")
- ¡Oye, esa moneda es mía! (Hold on there, that coin is mine!)
