✅ Ready in Spanish: listo, lista or preparado?

Ready in Spanish is usually translated as listo / lista, but Spanish speakers don’t use just one word to say ‘ready’. Depending on the situation, you might hear listo, preparado, preparado/a, estar a punto.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to say ‘ready’ in Spanish correctly, how to pronounce it, and which alternative sounds more natural in real life. Let’s get ready 😉💬

🧠 How do you say ‘ready’ in Spanish?

The most common translation of ready in Spanish is:

🟢 listo / lista

It is an adjective, so it changes according to gender and number and is normally used with estar, because being ready is a temporary state.

🧍‍♂️ Estoy listo

🧍‍♀️ Estoy lista

But Spanish offers several natural alternatives, depending on what you want to say:

🟡 preparado / preparada

Used when you want to emphasise mental or physical preparation.

🧠 Estoy preparado para el examen

🏃‍♀️ Estoy preparada para empezar

🔵 estar a punto (de)

Used when something is about to happen.

⏰ Estoy a punto de salir

🍽️ La cena está a punto

💡 In everyday Spanish, listo sounds more informal and spontaneous, while preparado sounds slightly more deliberate.

👩‍🦰👨 Are you ready in Spanish? - Gender and agreement

This is one of the most common doubts for students 👀

Spanish adjectives must agree with the person you are speaking to:

👩 To a woman
👉 ¿Estás lista?

👨 To a man
👉 ¿Estás listo?

👥 To more than one person

Mixed group / all men → ¿Estáis listos?

All women → ¿Estáis listas?

Very natural alternatives you will hear in Spain 🇪🇸:

⏰ ¿Ya estás listo / lista?

👀 ¿Todo listo?

🚀 ¿Preparado / preparada?

🍝 Food is ready & daily situations in Spanish

Spanish uses listo all the time in daily life, especially with food and plans 🍳🕰️

🍽️ La comida está lista
🍕 La cena ya está lista
📦 Todo está listo

You can also hear:

👩‍🍳 ¡Ya está listo!

📅 Cuando esté todo listo, salimos

These expressions are extremely common and sound very natural.

👕 To get ready in Spanish

In English, to get ready is one expression.
In Spanish, we usually separate the process from the result 👇

🔹 Prepararse (the process)

🚿 Me preparo

👗 Me estoy preparando

🔹 Estar listo / lista (the result)

✅ Ya estoy listo

🎒 Estoy lista para irme

Both are correct — they just focus on different moments.

⚖️ Estar listo vs ser listo: same word, different meaning

This is one of the biggest confusions when learning Spanish 😵‍💫
The word listo / lista changes its meaning depending on the verb you use with it.

✅ Estar listo / lista → ready

When you use estar, listo means ready or prepared, usually for something specific and temporary.

🧍‍♂️ Estoy listo para salir
🧍‍♀️ Estoy lista para la clase
🍽️ La comida está lista

This is the meaning you want most of the time when translating ready in Spanish.

🧠 Ser listo / lista → clever / smart

When you use ser, listo does not mean ready anymore ❗
It means that someone is clever, smart or sharp.

🧠 Es muy listo
👧 Esa niña es lista

📌 Important: this describes a personality trait, not a temporary state.

⚠️ Why this mistake happens

In English, we only have one verb: ‘to be’, so it’s very easy to say:

❌ Soy listo (when you mean ‘I am ready’)

But in Spanish, this sounds like:
👉 ‘I am clever’ 😅

🟢 Quick rule to remember

🕒 Temporary / now / for an action → estar listo

🧠 Permanent quality / personality → ser listo

If you remember this, you’ll avoid a LOT of confusion 💡

🎬 Mini example in context

🧍‍♀️ ¿Estás lista?

🧍‍♂️ Sí, estoy lista.

😅 Mi hermano es muy listo, pero hoy llega tarde.

Two meanings, same word, zero confusion 😉🇪🇸

Let's practice ✍️: 

You’re ready now 😉🇪🇸
So… which expression do you hear most often: listo or preparado?
Tell us in the comments! 👇