ワードアップ英会話 WORD UP ENGLISH CLASS | 日記 | Natural Expressions: "I bet"

"I bet" is a very common expression in English which basically has two meanings.

The first meaning is similar to "I think" or "I guess" and is used when someone feels very sure about something. You can think of it like betting money on a sports game. You bet on the team you are pretty sure is going to win.

For example:

Yoko: Looks at those dark clouds over there.
John: Yeah, I bet it's going to rain soon.  (Here, John is pretty sure it's going to rain.)

The second meaning is to show understandin and agreement in a short response.

So, for example:

Bob: I didn't eat lunch today. I'm so hungry!
Donna: I bet!  // OR // I bet you are!  (Here, Donna is showing that she really understands why Bob is hungry.)


According to the textbook Touchstone 2 published by Cambridge, the word "bet" is one of the top 600 words in the English language. That means it's used a LOT. And 60% of the uses of "bet" are in the expression "I bet." So it's a really often used expression that you should feel comfortable to use freely!S