If you ever find yourself needing to say ‘never mind’ in Spanish, you might be tempted to just translate both words, resulting in: ‘nunca mente’. Unfortunately, you’d soon find out that this makes absolutely no sense to native speakers!
So, how do you actually say ‘never mind’ in Spanish?
Well, look no further, because I’ve compiled a list of not one, but 10 (yes, 10!!!) different ways of saying ‘never mind’ in Spanish!
Stick around and take note!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
In Spanish ‘never mind’ is mainly expressed in the following ways –
1. No importa = It doesn’t matter
2. Olvídalo = Forget it
3. No te preocupes = Don’t worry
1 No importa – It doesn’t matter
One of the most common ways to say ‘never mind’ in Spanish is a simple ‘no importa’, which translates to ‘it doesn’t matter’ in English.
You can use this one when you want to reassure someone that something’s not actually such a big deal!
En clase de música
Alumna – ¡Siento que hoy no doy una! Me estoy equivocando en todos los acordes.
Profesora – No importa; verás que con la práctica te harás mejor.
During a music class
Student – I feel like I can’t get anything right today! I’m hitting all the wrong chords.
Teacher – Never mind; with practice you’ll get better, mark my words.
2 Olvídalo – Forget it
‘Olvídalo’ translates to ‘forget it’ in English.
It’s an “imperative” (grammatical mood used when giving orders) + “pronoun” combo:
olvida (second person singular imperative) = forget
lo (direct object pronoun) = it
Just watch out for the accent added to the penultimate syllable of the verb when adding pronouns to the end of imperatives –
Olvida lo pasado = Forget the past
Olvídalo = Forget it
Here are a few more examples –
Octavio – Tengo una llamada perdida de tu parte, ¿qué necesitabas?
Miranda – ¡Ah, no, olvídalo! Quería preguntarte dónde estaban las llaves, pero ya las encontré.
Octavio – I got a missed call from you, what do you need?
Miranda – Ah, never mind! I wanted to ask you where the keys were, but I’ve already found them.
Just be mindful of your intonation, because sometimes ‘olvídalo’ is said rather passive-aggressively –
Vinicio – ¿Me pasas las servilletas, porfa?…¡Ay, olvídalo, yo las alcanzo!
Damián – ¡Oye, tranquilo! ¡Estaba tomando agua…me iba a tomar un segundo!
Vinicio – Can you pass me the napkins, please? … Oh, never mind, I’ll get them myself!
Damian – Hey, calm down! I was drinking water … I was only going to be a sec!
3 No te preocupes / No se preocupe – Don’t worry
If you wanna use ‘never mind’ in the sense of putting someone’s mind at ease, you can say ‘no te preocupes’ (informal ‘tú’ form), or ‘no se preocupe’ (‘usted’ form).
El metro se frena de repente
Persona 1 – ¡Disculpe*! No quería empujarlo.
Persona 2 – No se preocupe.
The subway stops abruptly
Person 1 – Sorry! I didn’t mean to push you.
Person 2 – Never mind.
*Erika’s note – ‘disculpe’ means ‘sorry’ or ‘excuse me’, depending on context.
Tu amiga y tú quieren hacer planes
Tú – Lo siento, no puedo ir contigo el miércoles…tengo un compromiso.
Amiga – No te preocupes, nos vemos otro día.
You and your friend are making plans
You – I’m sorry, I can’t go with you on Wednesday … I have another engagement.
Friend – Never mind, we’ll hang out some other day.
4 No te apures / Don’t worry
The verb ‘apurar’ (which can also mean ‘to hurry (up)’, amongst other things) is a synonym of ‘preocupar’, or ‘to worry’.
‘No te apures’ is particularly common in Mexico, so don’t be surprised if it gets thrown your way when you’re speaking with your Mexican pals!
Ernesto – Oye, no puedo sacar a pasear al perro mañana temprano.
Mariana – ¡No te apures! Yo tengo tiempo.
Ernesto – Hey, I can’t walk the dog tomorrow morning.
Mariana – Don’t worry! I have time.
5 No pasa nada – Don’t worry about it
‘No pasa nada’ literally translates as ‘nothing happens’ in English, but it’s actually just another way of putting someone’s mind at ease (and an extremely common one at that!).
It’s kinda like saying ‘don’t worry about it’.
Alexis – ¡Ay, no! Agendaron mis análisis médicos el sábado a la misma hora que tu fiesta de cumpleaños. Perdóname.
Lalo – Ah, no pasa nada. ¡Tus análisis son importantes!
Alexis – Oh, no! They scheduled my blood tests at the same time as your birthday party on Saturday! I’m so sorry.
Lalo – Ah, it’s okay. Your tests are important!
6 No te molestes – Don’t bother
This phrase means ‘don’t bother (yourself)’, and it’s a great way to let your interlocutor know that they don’t need to go out of their way to complete a task or endeavor.
Una amiga regresa a la mesa con un par de cafés
Fabiola – ¡Ay, olvidé traerte azúcar! Ahorita mismo voy por ella.
Berenice – Ah, no te molestes, no tomo azúcar. Mejor siéntate y sigue contándome de tu viaje.
A friend returns to the table with two cups of coffee
Fabiola – Oh, I forgot to bring you sugar! I’ll go get some now.
Berenice – Ah, never mind, I don’t take sugar. Come sit down and continue telling me about your trip.
¡Ojo! (Watch out!): just as with ‘olvídalo’, this one’s sometimes said sarcastically –
Omar – ¿Sabes dónde está mi cartera?
Gilberto – Ahí, en la mesita.
Omar – ¡Uy, no te molestes, eh! ¡No vayas a estirar el brazo hasta la mesa que tienes enfrente!
Omar – Do you know where my wallet is?
Gilberto – There, on the coffee table.
Omar – Oof, never mind! Why go out of your way to reach all the way over to the table?
7 Da igual – It doesn’t matter
A literal translation of ‘da igual’ would be ‘it’s the same’, and it can be used as a synonym of ‘never mind’, ‘it doesn’t matter’, ‘whatever’ and the likes.
Una TV transmite un partido de fútbol en un bar
Raquel – Discúlpame, me distraje con el partido … ¿qué decías?
Juan – Da igual, ya ni me acuerdo.
A TV broadcasts a soccer game in a bar
Raquel – Sorry, I got distracted by the game … what were you saying?
Juan – Never mind, I don’t remember anyway.
8 Ya nada – Nothing
‘Ya nada’ is yet another way of saying ‘never mind’ in Spanish, very similar in tone and meaning to ‘olvídalo’.
Gustavo – ¿Qué pasó, mamá? ¿Me hablaste?
Imelda – ¿Te hablé? … Ah, sí. Ya nada, mijo, no era importante.
Gustavo – What’s the matter, mom? Did you call me?
Imelda – Did I? … Ah, yes. Never mind, son, it wasn’t important.
9 No hay problema – No problem
‘No hay problema’ is a bit like saying ‘no problem’ or ‘it’s all right’!
Easy, right?
Manu – Muero de hambre, ¿quedaron sobras del pollo rostizado?
Pedro – No. Me lo comí todo, ¡lo siento!
Manu – No hay problema. ¿Te late* si pido una pizza?
Manu – I’m starving, is there any chicken left over?
Pedro – No. I ate everything, sorry!
Manu – No problem. Is it okay if I order a pizza?
*Erika’s note – ‘Te late’ is a very popular – and versatile – Mexican expression!
10 Falsa alarma – False Alarm
And to wrap up this list, I give you … ‘falsa alarma’.
It’s often used in the same sense as ‘never mind’ and, since its spelling is rather similar to the English (‘false alarm’), it should be pretty easy to remember!
¡Mamá! ¿Sabes si se acabó la leche? Ah … ¡Falsa alarma! Ya la encontré.
Mom! Did we run out of milk? Ah … Never mind! I found it.
Final thoughts
So, there you have it … a rather comprehensive list of ways to say ‘never mind’ in Spanish!
You’re now ready to pick a few favorites and try them out the next time you get to practice the language with your Spanish-speaking friends!
Oh, and you wanna keep expanding your vocabulary, I recommend you head on over to our list of all the different ways to say ‘me too’ in Spanish!
¡Hasta la próxima!
