Esta noche no me apetece salir; prefiero descansar en casa.

Tonight I don't feel like going out; I prefer to rest at home.

Breakdown of Esta noche no me apetece salir; prefiero descansar en casa.

• yo: I
• en: at
• me: me
• salir: to go out

Questions & Answers about Esta noche no me apetece salir; prefiero descansar en casa.

What does no me apetece mean exactly?

In Spain, apetecer is a very common verb for expressing what you feel like doing.

So no me apetece salir means something like:

• I don’t feel like going out
• I’m not in the mood to go out

It does not literally mean I do not want in a strong sense. It often sounds softer and more natural when talking about mood or inclination.

For example:

• Me apetece un café. = I feel like having a coffee.
• No me apetece hablar. = I don’t feel like talking.

Why is it me apetece and not something like yo apetezco?

Because apetecer works a bit like gustar.

In English, we say I feel like going out, where I is the person having the feeling. In Spanish, the structure is different: the thing or action is what appeals to you.

So:

• me = to me
• apetece = is appealing / sounds good

Literally, me apetece salir is closer to:

• Going out appeals to me
• Going out sounds good to me

That is why you use the indirect object pronoun me:

• me apetece = it appeals to me
• te apetece = it appeals to you
• le apetece = it appeals to him/her

Examples:

• Me apetece descansar.
• ¿Te apetece cenar fuera?
• No le apetece venir.