recién / ya

Tara B.B1Kwiziq community member

recién / ya

How is recién different from ya?  Are they interchangeable?

Asked 2 years ago
InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola Tara

Recién and ya are very similar, but recién is used when something has "just" happened; however, ya doesn't have that nuance. Ya is used to simply say "already", i.e. when something has already happened, but not necessarily "just happened". 

For example:

Carlota ya llegó.

Carlota has already arrived.

Carlota recién llegó.

Carlota has just arrived. 

I hope it clarified it.

Saludos

Inma

Sarah E.B2Kwiziq community member

Recién rarely seems used in Spain. Alternative "Acabo de ver Susan ..." Is this ok? 

Sarah E.B2Kwiziq community member

Recién rarely seems used in Spain. Alternative "Acabo de ver Susan ..." Is this ok? 

recién / ya

How is recién different from ya?  Are they interchangeable?

Sign in to submit your answer

Don't have an account yet? Join today

Ask a question

Find your Spanish level for FREE

Test your Spanish to the CEFR standard

Find your Spanish level
Let me take a look at that...