de nada meaning spanish

What is the difference between "De nada" and "No hay de qué"?

spanish.stackexchange.com › questions › 1826 › what-is-the-difference-between-de-nada-and-no-hay-de-qué

It's just a matter of regional preferences.

No hay de qué might be a bit more formal in some contexts, but they mean exactly the same.

Answer from Diego Mijelshon on Stack Exchange

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r/Spanish on Reddit: Do Spanish speakers think of "de nada" literally?

July 10, 2013 -

I've been wondering this for a while, “de nada” literally means “of nothing”, but in the mind of a Spanish speaker, is that “of nothing” really how they feel?

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I agree with chclau, that it is an established expression and we give no thought so much to the idea of "nothing." A good comparison I think is the English "You're welcome" For many Spanish speakers who are students of English, the literal translation of "You're welcome" is strange. In certain context, not so much. For example, "Thanks for inviting me!" -"you're welcome". But what about "Thanks for letting me know about the practice being canceled" "You're welcome!". I am welcome to what? To receive news about something being canceled? It seems strange in translation, and yet I think English speakers give little thought to the literal meaning of welcome. A simple nuance, here in Spain we use "nada" very often, sometimes in place of "de nada", but also if you bump in to someone and say excuse me. For example: "Gracias por el regalo" "Nada, es un gusto" or When you bump into someone, "Uy, perdón!" "Nada." This second phrase perhaps comes really from "No pasa nada." Nevertheless, we use all of the expressions quite in a natural way without much thought to the meaning of "nada", and yet it still, at times, does have this connotation of "It's nothing". Also, think about the expression English "Not at all." "Thanks for helping me with my homework" "Not at all!"

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To answer your question, sometimes it can literally mean "it was nothing", especially if the person feels that it really did not require much effort. At the same time it could also just be said as a habitual phrase. Think if it in the sense that it would be similar to someone in English saying "your welcome". Sometimes they really mean it, and other times, it's just a habitual phrase that you respond after hearing "thank you". Or if you say "thank you" and the person responds "my pleasure", there's a good chance it really was a pleasure for that person to help you. There are numerous Spanish ways to say "thank you" in Spanish, besides what's mentioned in the other comments. "Por favor" is one that comes to mind, especially in Argentina. For example "Gracias por llevarme a la oficina", the response would be simply "por favor" which implies something like "please, it was nothing". "No fue nada", literally "it was nothing", is another option. "¿De que?", translated as "for what? would be another. "No hay porque", "there is no reason" (to say thank you). "Como no", "of course" "Fue un gusto (placer), "it was a pleasure" which can also be said without incluiding "fue" so it would be "un gusto (placer)"

Spanish and Go

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Don’t Say “De Nada” [15 Ways to Say You’re Welcome in Spanish] - Spanish and Go

When someone helps you with something and then you say “Oh, gracias”, the other person can say “no es nada”. This is also very casual. When one says “muchas gracias por tu ayuda”, you can respond with “oh, está bien”. This is a very easy and simple way of saying you’re welcome in Spanish. You can also say no se preocupe, for a more formal setting which means “no worries” or “don’t worry”.

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