Frases básicas en español con traducción al inglés
A1 Spanish listening practice · Spanish · Curated for beginners
What does “qué genial” mean in Spanish?
Qué genial means “how cool!” or “how great!” It shows one of the most useful beginner patterns: qué + an adjective to react to something. You do not need a full sentence. Just Qué plus a word: ¡Qué genial! The clip uses it as a quick reaction. This is the fast way to sound natural when something impresses you, surprises you, or pleases you, without building a long phrase.
Swap the adjective for any feeling: ¡Qué horrible! (“how horrible!” — also in the clip), ¡Qué bonito! (“how pretty!”), ¡Qué rico! (“how tasty!”). It also works with nouns: ¡Qué idea! (“what an idea!”). The clip is a string of these short reactions, like Es mentira (“it’s a lie”) and No lo creo (“I don’t believe it”).