When I first arrived in Spain, I had several men (and a few women) say to me “Guapa“. Both as I walked past them in the street, and when I was buying something in a shop or ordering a drink at a bar — “Hola, Guapa!”.
At the time, I had no idea what it meant as it is apparently an adjective only used in Spanish in Spain, so I had to look it up on the Internet.
I soon found out Guapa, (or Guapo, if the word is said to a man), means ‘Beautiful’ or ‘Handsome’ in English. It can also be used to simply mean ‘Hot’.
But most Spaniards will also tell you, it is often used not just to mean beautiful or handsome, but also to mean a kind of beauty or handsomeness that is as sexy as it is gorgeous.
Guapa or Guapo are also often used as something to call someone — for instance:
“Hola guapa. ¿Cómo estás?” — Hey, Beautiful. How are you?
And how do you pronounce Guapa or Guapo if you want to sound just like a Spaniard?
Guapa/Guapo is pronounced something like this —hwah-pah
Don’t forget too, like most Spanish adjectives, Guapa is easy to use, and can be used in hundreds of different sentences, or even just on its own as an exclamation, “Guapa!”.
Just remember to change the ending to an -o- ending if you use it when speaking with a guy, and you will easily be understood.
And, if you want to see how Guapa/Guapo is used to talk about someone being ‘hot’, check out the excellent video from Butterfly Spanish for an explanation below.