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### Clarifying with *mejor dicho*

When describing someone's personality, you might want to adjust your choice of words mid-sentence for better accuracy. Use the phrase *mejor dicho* ("or rather" or "better said") to immediately correct or refine your own statement.

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### Offering alternatives with *más bien*

Another common marker is *más bien* ("rather" or "more like"). While *mejor dicho* corrects a previous thought, *más bien* often replaces a rejected idea with a more accurate alternative. It is especially common when contrasting a negative statement with what is actually happening.

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### Nuancing social dynamics

Both *mejor dicho* and *más bien* are excellent tools for reading a room, analyzing social dynamics, or asking nuanced questions about behavior. Use them to pivot between contrasting traits, like deciding if someone is *observador* (observant) or just *chismoso* (gossipy).

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Or rather (mejor dicho, más bien)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and 'to be' (el, la, soy)

Masculine and feminine pairs (el hermano, la hermana)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
or rather	mejor dicho
cautious	prudente
He is not shy, or rather, he is very cautious.	Él no es tímido, mejor dicho, es muy prudente.
sociable	sociable
or rather (more like)	más bien
gossipy	chismoso
She isn't sociable; she is rather gossipy.	Ella no es sociable, más bien es chismosa.
calculating	calculador
They are intelligent, or rather, very calculating.	Ellos son inteligentes, mejor dicho, muy calculadores.
He keeps whispering, or rather, he is gossipy.	Él sigue susurrando, mejor dicho, es chismoso.
manipulative	manipulador
Could he be intelligent? Or rather, manipulative?	¿Será inteligente? Más bien es manipulador.
pessimistic	pesimista
I am not sad; or rather, I am pessimistic today.	No estoy triste, mejor dicho, hoy estoy pesimista.
hypocritical	hipócrita
The manager is not strict, he is rather hypocritical and manipulative.	El gerente no es estricto, más bien es hipócrita y manipulador.
observant	observador
We must be quiet, or rather, observant and cautious.	Debemos estar callados, mejor dicho, observadores y prudentes.
Is your colleague pessimistic, or rather, calculating?	¿Tu colega es pesimista o, más bien, calculador?
Is she sociable? Or rather, is she hypocritical?	¿Ella es sociable? O, mejor dicho, ¿es hipócrita?
He remained quiet, or rather, distant.	Él se quedó callado, mejor dicho, distante.
He is not gossipy; or rather, he is observant.	Él no es chismoso; mejor dicho, es observador.