What is the difference between De Nada and No es problema? They both mean "no problem", or "it was nothing", right?
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4It should be "No hay problema" (or, alternatively, "ningún problema" or "sin problema"). Saying "No problema" is sort of slang/pseudo-Spanish, and sound really off. It actually reminds me of the Terminator 2 movie, when the kid teaches the terminator to tell people "No problemo" to talk "the way people talk". – Diego Mar 09 '15 at 01:30
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@Diego, I meant "No es problema". I added the "es" to the sentence. :) – Tia27 Mar 09 '15 at 01:40
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Though one could use "sin problema", which is rather common – user0721090601 Mar 16 '16 at 21:18
4 Answers
While "De nada" means "you are welcome", "No problema" is not a correct sentence in Spanish.
The correct way of using the second sentence would be: "No hay problema" or "No es problema" which literally translates into "No problem" and "it's not a problem" respectively.
Other than that, the difference between using one or another was well explained in the answer provided by @Nicolas.
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1I actually forgot to add the "es" in the sentence. I added it. Thanks! :) – Tia27 Mar 09 '15 at 01:39
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3No hay problema sounds better than No es problema (which sounds odd). – Mauricio Arias Olave Mar 09 '15 at 14:45
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"De nada": It means like "you're welcome". When someone makes you a favor or provide help, you say him thanks (gracias), and then he responds with "de nada".
"No problema": It's quite similar, the difference is that "No problema" is usually used before someone makes the favor, or give help.
Examples:
De nada:
Gracias por ayudarme con mi tarea. -De nada, fue un placer.
No problema:
Me puedes recoger del colegio a las 3:00. - Claro, no hay problema.
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Having lived three years in Mexico, I heard both "de nada" and "por nada" used for the English "you're welcome". "De" can mean either "from" or "of", while "por" means "for".
Things do not always translate literally between languages, but think of both of these as meaning "It was nothing", or "Don't mention it" in English.
Also, think of the poor Spanish speaker learning English, trying to figure out why they shouldn't mention something!