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Excited in Spanish is emocionado, not excitado

Another false friend that is technically a word, just not the one you wanted at the tour desk.

You said
Estoy muy excitado por el tour.
What it means: I'm very aroused about the tour.
A local says
Estoy muy emocionado por el tour.
I'm really excited about the tour.
Why: In most of Latin America excitado sounds sexual. Excited about plans is emocionado.
A tour desk in Oaxaca
Sí, estoy muy excitado por el tour.
The guide looks at the brochure for a long time.

Excitado exists in Spanish and dictionaries will tell you it means excited. In practice, across Mexico and Central America, it's the word for sexual arousal, and that's the meaning people hear first. The everyday word for looking forward to something is emocionado: estoy muy emocionado por el viaje.

Two more that do the same job: tengo muchas ganas de… (I really feel like, I can't wait to) and me muero por… (I'm dying to). Tengo muchas ganas de ver la ciudad is probably what a local would say at that tour desk. Note that all three take estar or tener, never ser: excitement is a state.

The same care applies to excitante. Describing a film or a match, emocionante is the safe choice; excitante will get a raised eyebrow.

The reel. This slip, as it happens, in thirty seconds. The tutor gave the original sentence 48/100, with the fix.

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Also worth knowing

SpanishEnglish
Tengo muchas ganas de ir.I can't wait to go.
¡Qué emoción!How exciting!
Fue un partido emocionante.It was an exciting match.

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