What is the difference between "ser" and "estar"?

One of the more complicated things about Spanish is there are often two ways of translating English words into Spanish. In this case, the English verb "to be" can be translated into Spanish as "ser" or "estar", depending on the meaning. The easiest way to start learning the difference is to think of "ser" as more permanent than "estar". Take a look at the following example: "El es felíz" and "él está feliz" would both translate to English as "he is happy". However, because "ser" ("él es feliz") is often the more permanent one, this phrase could be more accurately be translated as "he is a happy person", in the sense of always happy, or optimistic. On the other hand, "estar" ("él está feliz") is normally temporary, so this phrase would translate as "he is happy at the moment", maybe because he did well on a test or got a great birthday present. It does not necessarily mean that he is always happy, or a happy person in general. There are exceptions to this rule that, because Spanish is quite complicated, you just have to learn! Examples include: "Estar muerto" - this means "to be dead", which goes against the usual rule of "estar" being a temporary form. "¿Donde está...? - this means "where is...?", because places always use the verb "estar". "Ella está allí" ("she is there"), "Madrid está en España" ("Madrid is in Spain") are other examples of places using the verb "estar". Hopefully this makes things a bit clearer. There are more exceptions, but if you can learn this main difference, the rest you can pick up along the way!