Oct 18, 2026

Andar con alguien

/anˈdaɾ kon alˈɣjen/

To be seeing someone. - How official is 'we're seeing each other'? 💞

Spice level

salsa verde

salsa habanera

Works with anyone, anywhere.

Where it lives

common inCDMXGuadalajaraMonterreyall of Mexico

used byfriendsyounger peoplefamilies asking questions

vibedatingvagueeverydayin-between

Quick Answer

Andar con alguien means to be seeing somebody in Mexican Spanish. Andamos is a complete answer to what are you two - and depending on who is saying it, it means novios outright or the rung just below. That flexibility is the whole point of the phrase.

Andar con alguien means to be seeing somebody - more than flirting, less than officially together.
Andamos on its own is a complete answer. For some Mexicans it means novios outright; for others it is the rung below, and it does not have to say which.
Roughly: nos estamos conociendo, then andamos, then somos novios - though andamos overlaps the top rung more often than a learner expects.

What it means

Two people are seeing each other and both of them know it. What andamos does not do is force a label - and that is different from ruling one out.

For a lot of Mexicans it simply is the label. ¿Andas con él? - sí, ya llevamos ocho meses is an ordinary exchange about a full noviazgo, and in school and teen register andar con somebody is how you say you are their novio.

For others it is the rung below novios: something has settled, nothing has been announced. Both readings are current, and the reason the phrase is so useful is that you do not have to choose between them out loud.

Literal meaning

Andar is to go around, and with con plus a person it means going around together. The vagueness is right there in the verb - it describes proximity rather than status.

That is why it works. Salir says dates are occurring. Ser novios says a label exists. Andar says the two of you are around each other in a way everybody has noticed - which can mean anything from that up to and including novios.

Con plus a person is not what makes it romantic, either. Anda con puros vagos is he keeps bad company and no andes con esa gente is stay away from those people. Two peers and a question about the two of them is what fixes the reading.

The forms of andar con alguien you'll hear

andamoswe're seeing each otherA complete answer on its own, and it specifies nothing further on purpose.
¿andan?are you two a thing?The question friends ask. The answer is a yes, a no, or a face.
anda con alguienhe or she is seeing somebodyAbout a third person, and it is what you say when you do not know the details.
anduvimos un tiempowe were seeing each other for a whileThe past tense, and the one people pick because it does not say how serious it was.
andar saliendoto be going outSplits the difference between andamos and estamos saliendo. Very common.

How Mexicans use it

The question comes first, usually from friends. ¿Andan? is a real question and it means are you two a thing - and the answer is a yes, a no, or a face.

Andamos is the whole reply. It needs nothing after it, and adding detail is what people do when they want to be asked more questions.

It reads young. Andar con is generation-marked in CDMX, and somebody in their late thirties is likelier to say estoy saliendo con alguien or estoy viendo a alguien - andamos at forty sounds faintly teenaged.

The family version is more pointed. ¿Y ese muchacho qué es tuyo? at a lunch is asking for the label specifically, and andamos is the answer that survives it.

The past tense is where the ambiguity shows. Anduvimos un tiempo means we were seeing each other for a while, and it is the phrase people reach for precisely because it does not say how serious it was.

Examples

¿Andan o no andan?

Are you two a thing or not?
Ese cuate anda con puros vagos.

That guy hangs around with nothing but deadbeats.
Andamos, pero no le hemos dicho a nadie.

We're seeing each other, but we haven't told anyone.
Anduvimos un tiempo el año pasado.

We were seeing each other for a while last year.
Creo que anda con alguien del trabajo.

I think she's seeing somebody from work.

andar con alguien - two women talking over coffee at a sidewalk table, one teasing the other

How andar con alguien looks in a group chat

The group chat

oye y tú y Diego qué? los vi el sábado 👀hey what's going on with you and Diego? i saw you saturday
andamos. pero shhhwe're seeing each other. but shhh
AY. ¿desde cuándo?OH. since when?

Mini dialogue

Oye, ¿tú y Diego qué? Los vi el sábado.

Nada, somos amigos.

Ajá.

Bueno... andamos. Pero no le digas a nadie.

¿Pero ya son novios o nada más andan?

Andamos. Ahí déjalo.

Common mistake

Saying andé. The verb is irregular in the preterite - anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvieron - and andé is the single commonest mistake a US learner makes with it.

Reading andamos as definitely not novios. For plenty of speakers it is exactly that, so treating it as a denial of the label misreads half the people who say it.

Pushing for the label anyway. ¿Pero son novios o nada más andan? asks somebody to pick a reading they left open. Between friends it is teasing; from family it is pressure.

Don't sound gringo

the stage english has no name for. andamos does not have to say how far it has gone, and that is the point.

For plenty of Mexicans - especially anybody who met this word at school - ando con Fulana simply means they are novios. For others it is the rung below. Both readings are live, and the vagueness is available rather than compulsory.

So andamos is a complete answer to ¿y ustedes qué son?, and pushing for ¿pero son novios? asks somebody to pick a reading they deliberately left open.

Two more things. The verb is irregular in the past - anduvimos, never andé. And it reads young: at forty most chilangos say estoy saliendo con alguien.

Where you'll hear it

A group chat working out whether two people at the party are a thing yet
A family lunch and the question nobody has asked out loud until now
Somebody deciding, for the fourth time this week, not to change their relationship status
The difference between being introduced by name and being introduced by category

More situations:First date Dating apps With friends Family lunch

FAQ

What does andar con alguien mean?

To be seeing somebody. Depending on the speaker it means novios outright or the stage just below, and the phrase is popular precisely because it does not have to specify.

Is it andé or anduve?

Anduve. Andar is irregular in the preterite - anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvieron - and andé is the mistake almost every learner makes once.

Does andar con sound young?

A little. It is generation-marked in CDMX, and somebody in their late thirties is likelier to say estoy saliendo con alguien or estoy viendo a alguien.

What does andamos mean?

We're seeing each other. It is a complete answer to ¿y ustedes qué son? - and for many Mexicans it means novios outright, while for others it is the rung below. It does not have to say which.

What is the difference between andamos and somos novios?

A label. Somos novios means the word has been used out loud and usually agreed on. Andamos is the stage before that.

What is the difference between andar and estar saliendo?

Estamos saliendo says dates are happening; andamos says something has settled. Andar saliendo splits the difference and is very common.

Is it rude to ask somebody if they're novios?

Between friends it is teasing. From family it is pressure - somebody who said andamos chose not to say novios, and the question asks them to resolve it.

What does anduvimos un tiempo mean?

We were seeing each other for a while. People reach for the past tense precisely because it does not say how serious it was.

Does andar always mean this?

No - andar is everywhere. Ando cansado, ando bruja, andas bien al pendiente. Even con plus a person is usually about company: anda con puros vagos means he keeps bad company. Context decides.