Te llamo luego.
I'll call you later.
You have no time to talk right now, but you don't leave the other person hanging, so luego puts the call off until later.
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "later" in Spanish
luego
adverbno written accentalso: más tarde
"Later" in Spanish is luego: Te llamo luego, I'll call you later. You'll also hear más tarde and después, and in most sentences all three mean the same. Say LWEH-goh, with ue as one syllable.
Hear "luego" in real movie scenes
One promise and one question about what comes next. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Y luego qué?
And then what?
Someone explains a plan and you want to hear the next step. In this question, luego works like English then.
From Spider-Man: sin camino a casa · Spanish audio
Luego, más tarde, después and friends
Several ways to push something to later, plus two set phrases.
| Spanish | English | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| luego | later; then, next | Short and very common. In a list of steps it means then: primero el banco, luego el apartamento. |
| más tarde | later | Neutral and understood everywhere. It only ever refers to time. |
| después | afterward, later | Before a noun it needs de: después de la cena. |
| al rato | in a bit, later on | Very common in Mexico. |
| hasta luego | see you later | A standard goodbye, polite enough for a shop or an office. |
| desde luego | of course | A fixed phrase. Here luego has nothing to do with time. |
Tip: If you want to be sure people hear "later" and not "then", say más tarde: Vuelvo más tarde.
Grammar: using luego
Four points about a short, busy word.
One syllable for ue
LWEH-goh: the u and e glide together. The word has no written accent and never changes form.Present tense for a promise
Spanish often uses the present for something you'll do later: Te llamo luego, I'll call you later. No future tense needed.Start or end
Luego voy al coche. = Voy al coche luego. Both orders are correct, and the meaning stays the same.Then, in a sequence
When you list steps, luego means then: Primero vamos al apartamento y luego al banco.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Te llamo luego.
I'll call you later.
Luego vamos al banco.
Later we're going to the bank.
Luego voy al coche.
I'll go to the car later.
Vuelvo más tarde.
I'll be back later.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗loo-EH-goh (pronunciation)
✓LWEH-goh
The ue in luego is a single syllable. Don't split it in two.
✗Te llamo tarde (meaning later)
✓Te llamo más tarde
Tarde by itself means late. Add más, or use luego.
✗Llego luego (meaning I'm late)
✓Llego tarde
Luego points to a later moment. Being late is tarde.
Real conversation: where to next?
A short dialog outside the building, bags in hand.
You and Alba, a friend, are standing in front of the building with your bags, sorting out where you're going and when.
Oye, ¿vamos ya?
Hey, are we going now?
Sí, vamos al apartamento.
Yes, we're going to the apartment.
Vale. ¿Y luego?
Okay. And after that?
Your turn to answer
In the app you reply in Spanish for the last 2 lines.
Continue the conversation in WordyPractice: 3 quick exercises
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1 of 3 · Watch and choose
What do you hear in the video?
The other 26 exercises on this topic are in the app.
How to remember it
Luego ends in go. You're not going now, you'll go later: Luego voy.
Questions about "later" in Spanish
How do you say later in Spanish?
Luego or más tarde. Both are everyday words: Te llamo luego and Te llamo más tarde mean the same.
How do you say "see you later" in Spanish?
Hasta luego. Among friends you'll also hear nos vemos, see you.
What's the difference between luego and más tarde?
Both can mean later. Luego can also mean then when you list steps, while más tarde always refers to a later time.
What does desde luego mean?
Of course. It's a fixed phrase, and the luego in it doesn't mean later.
