Culture,  Preparing

What Does “No Pasa Nada” Actually Mean!?

Dear Tammy,

After even a short period of time in Spain, we bet you’ll be wondering about the meaning of no pasa nada is―if you haven’t heard this expression before. No pasa nada is such a common phrase to hear in Spain and it feels so integral to the Spanish way of life that we don’t want to translate it incorrectly for you. As such, let us walk you through some explanations and comparisons first, then we’ll provide some practical examples for how you, too, can use no pasa nada in your everyday life.

If it’s “all good,” it’s no pasa nada.Some Translations to English

No pasa nada literally translates to “nothing happens.” However, as you’ll find with many native expressions, sometimes in order to truly get the meaning in one language you have to just stop translating and try to take in its essence in the language and context it is used.

In that vein, no pasa nada most closely correlates with “don’t worry about it” or “it doesn’t matter.” However, we want to be clear that, unlike those two phrases in English, no pasa nada is never said sarcastically or ironically. It TRULY means that there’s no problem and the other person should brush it off―it’s all good!

It can be applied to so many different situations: if someone bumps into you, someone’s dog jumps up on you but you love dogs, someone was too busy to answer your messages earlier in the day, the waiter forgot to bring your glass of water, someone needs to be comforted for potentially saying something stupid to a crush, a child falls down and is about to cry…we think you get the idea.

 

Understanding No Pasa Nada in Spain

Not only will you hear this phrase 100 times a day if you’re around Spaniards, we think it’s an important expression to know because it kinda sums up the Spanish way of looking at things. In general, the people here are more laid-back and less ‘tightly-wound’ than we are in the U.S., for example. Some things that we might take very seriously or think about as having dire consequences are just not as severe here. In that way, understanding just how many situations this saying can be applied to also means understanding just how many circumstances can be taken more lightly here.

"It means no worries, for the rest of your days!" Photo Credit: Andrew RiceDon’t get us wrong, you can’t fail to turn in your final project and expect your professor to “be all no pasa nada about it.” Still, there’s something fresh and freeing about living among people who are more likely to respond with this phrase than any other when you’re worrying that there’s a problem at hand.

We also like to think of no pasa nada in terms similar to Hakuna Matata because it does feel like this magical motto that we got introduced once we began living in Spain. This concept has helped us loosen up and take ourselves less seriously. It has been a comfort in moments when we needed it. And it will always be remembered with a smile, especially for Dani who thinks about her two year old ‘host niece,’ Sofía, responding with this when she was showering and told Sofía she couldn’t come in. Dani had explained she was naked but the little girl burst through the door anyways and cried “¡¡no pasa nada, chica!!” If that’s not a fine example of the no pasa nada mentality, we don’t know what is!

 

Examples in Context

Imagine you’re waiting for your friend to meet for a coffee but she is 15 minutes late. You start scrolling through Instagram on your phone and another 10 minutes later she shows up.

A: Lo siento mucho, perdí el primer autobús y el segundo estuvo parado cinco minutos porque estaban haciendo el cambio de conductor.
B: ¡No pasa nada! ¿Vamos?

A: I am so sorry, I missed the first bus and the second was stopped for five minutes waiting to change the driver.
B: Don’t worry! Let’s go?


Alternatively, you may want to use this expression in a bar or restaurant when the exact thing you order is not available.

A: Buenas tardes, ¿qué os pongo?
B: Buenas tardes. Dos tercios de Alhambra 1925, por favor.
A: Lo siento, nos hemos quedado sin tercios.
B: Vale. Pues, no pasa nada. Ponnos dos cañas.
A: Vale.

A: Good afternoon, what would you like?
B: Good afternoon. Two bottles of the Alhambra 1925 beer please
(note: “tercio” refers to the size of the bottle, one third of a liter).
A: I’m sorry, we don’t have any of those at the moment.
B: Okay. Well, no worries. Bring us two cañas (small tap beers).
A: Okay.

The Negative Side of No Pasa Nada

If you’re from a native culture like ours, you may look at the first example and think “They were twenty five minutes late and it’s supposed to be no big deal!?” We get where you’re coming from. While we would remind you to examine the situation through a lens of cultural competence to better understand the expectations in Spain, we also understand that this no pasa nada mentality can be trying for us non-natives to accept at times.

We do occasionally feel frustrated when things that are important to us are not taken as seriously as we would like. Usually, it’s something small like this or a friend asking to push back the time of a meeting when we’ve already left the house. Other times, it’s something bigger like having to call your landlord three times about a leaky faucet or mold growing in your apartment and being told no pasa nada, they’ll send someone to look at it next week.

What does No Pasa Nada Actually Mean!?

Adjusting to this mentality can definitely be a stumbling block while living abroad in Spain. We explore this further and how we are personally coming to terms with no pasa nada in this post. We hope our honesty is a comfort to you if you’re having difficulties adapting to no pasa nada as well.

We hope this answers all your questions about this especially common expression. We have a feeling that, with time, no pasa nada will take on its own meaning for you. However, we hope that these insights and examples will help you get going with a working knowledge of what Spaniards mean when they say this so often!

Sincerely,
Spain

P.S. We cover many Spanish expressions like this one such as vale, guiri, echar un polvo, me cago en…, etc. but please let us know what you want to see in the future!

9 Comments

  • williamvanoorsouw@gmail.com

    At Real Madrid they also have this winning mentality: nothing’s gonna happen (to us). Because I love this Spanish motto I’m going to tattoo it on my underarm: ‘no pasa nado’. Intentionally misspelling it to mess with you lovely Spanish a little.

  • Diego Q

    Hello, I am from Peru and I like this post. It would be cool if maybe you can add an additional section for this phrase. "No pasa nada" in Latin America can also be used as slang in some cases when you add "con" after the phrase, for example: "No pasa nada con esta película" means this movie is not good at all. "No pasa nada con este tipo" means that in some way you don’t like the guy because he might be bad, boring, rude, there is something wrong with him, or a combination of all those things, depending on the situation. "No la invites a la fiesta, no pasa nada con ella" – "don’t invite her to the party, she’s boring/we don’t like her/she’s not good."
    I understand that the article here is more about Spain, but this additional information about this phrase could be helpful for people who are probably going to visit Latin America.

  • lulu

    My spanish friend uses this all the time on me any time he does me wrong. Im pretty sure he does not mean it reassuring and comforting, he uses it to dismiss and gaslight.
    As in, he spends all our money on drugs ‘no pasa nada!’ ‘no te enojes’. – No sign of ever seeing my money back.
    His bf is jealous and acts aggressive against me, ‘no pasa nada!’, -no sign of he ever being honest with people.
    He hits me with a book accidentally on purpose ‘no pasa nada!’.
    There is an accident and a person is hit and hurt laying on the street, ‘no pasa nada’ and he keeps on walking.
    WTF. Basically used for passive aggressive bs. Maybe not how it is meant to be used out in public, but definitely how he uses it.
    Im sure this can be used when something is against you that you want to brush off, for instance I could say to him ‘no pasa nada’ on those instances, -not him to me, except they are pretty serious and need attention, not to be dismissed and ignored. And it is not up to him to say any of that is ‘nothing’ when he is acting up aggression.
    It is very odd thing to say when things need attention he likes to dismiss instead.

    • Sincerely, Spain

      Lulu,
      We’re really sorry to hear that this person is using no pasa nada in that way. We would not consider that to be the norm. Perhaps, this is a sign that this person is not a friend you want to keep around.
      Wishing you all the best and hope you found this article helpful!
      -Dani and Claudia

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