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Tengo mucho miedo, ¡qué susto!

Tengo mucho miedo, ¡qué susto!
I am very afraid, what a fright!
From Lesson 80:Exclamations (¡qué...!)·Spanish (Spain)

Breakdown of Tengo mucho miedo, ¡qué susto!

mucho
a lot
qué
what
tener
to have
el miedo
the fear
el susto
the fright

Questions & Answers about Tengo mucho miedo, ¡qué susto!

Why is it just qué susto and not qué un susto for 'what a fright'?
When using ¡qué! followed by a noun to exclaim 'what a...!', Spanish drops the article. You never use un or una here. So 'what a fright!' is just ¡qué susto!.
Why do we use tener (to have) instead of estar (to be) for 'I am afraid'?
In Spanish, physical states and feelings like fear, hunger, and thirst are treated as things you possess, rather than things you are. Instead of saying 'I am afraid', you literally say 'I have fear' (tengo miedo).
Why is it mucho miedo instead of muy miedo if the English translation is 'very afraid'?
Because miedo is a noun (fear), you must use mucho (much/a lot of) to describe it. Muy (very) is only used with adjectives and adverbs. So you are literally saying 'I have a lot of fear'.
What is the difference between miedo and susto in this sentence?
Miedo is the general feeling of fear or being afraid. A susto is a sudden fright, shock, or scare. You can have miedo of spiders your whole life, but you get a susto when one suddenly jumps at you!

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