We use this expression a lot in English; “I’m looking forward to going on holiday”, “I’m looking forward to seeing my friend”, “looking forward to Christmas”. We use it so much that we forget it’s actually an idiom which is something that doesn’t say exactly what it is so it makes it difficult to translate this phrase into Spanish. To help I’ve written this blog post highlighting some different ways to say “I’m looking forward” in Spanish.
Ok, so the best way to work out how to say “I’m looking forward to something” in Spanish is to work out the meaning behind the phrase first. For example you might be eager for something to happen, be anticipating the arrival of something or you might just me generally expecting something good to happen. Working out the meaning first helps us get out of our English brains so we can start thinking in Spanish.
Here are a few ways to express you’re looking forward to something in Spanish
- First of all with the verb esperar which means to hope, to wait or to expect.
La mujer embaraza espera la llegada de su bebé – The pregnant women is “looking forward” to the arrival of her baby
Los estudiantes esperan la llegada de sus resultados – The students are “looking forward” to getting their exam results
2. There are other ways to express that you’re looking forward to something for example;
“No veo la hora de” no veo la hora de que salga el sol – I can’t wait for the sun to come out
Tengo (muchas) ganas de … tengo muchas ganas de ir de compras el sábado – I’m really looking forward to going shopping on Saturday
Me hace mucha ilusion – me hace much ilusión ver a mi abuela manaña – I’m looking forward to seeing my grandmother tomorrow
3. In written examples in English we might finish an email by saying “I look forward to hearing from you”, the equivalent in Spanish is;
Quedo a la espera de sus noticias
Quedo atento/a a su respuesta
So there you have a few different ways to say you’re looking forward to something in Spanish. Remember to practice saying these out loud, record yourself and listen back so you get to know your “Spanish self better”. To help with the pronunciation of these phrases check out my YouTube lesson below.