he aquí
/ˌe aˈki/
The English phrase "hey ho" is translated into Spanish as he aquí.
he aquí is an exclamation used to draw attention to something that is being presented or revealed.
Which one should you use?
he aquí is used to point to something close to the speaker, whereas he allí is used for something further away.
How does it change in a sentence?
he aquí is an impersonal construction and does not change its form based on whether the object being presented is singular or plural.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˌe aˈki/
Did you know?
- The word he in he aquí is not actually a form of the verb 'to be', but comes from the Arabic word hā used to call attention.
- In many Spanish-speaking contexts, using he aquí sounds very formal or literary, much like a narrator in a book saying 'behold'.
Examples in context
- ¡Ey! ¿Qué tal, colega? ¿Cómo va todo?Hey! How's it going, buddy? How's everything?
- He aquí el mapa del tesoro.Here is the treasure map.
- He aquí la razón de mi decisión.Here is the reason for my decision.
- He aquí el resultado del experimento.Here is the result of the experiment.
Example conversation
Lucía shows Mateo a new drawing she made.
- LucíaMira, he aquí mi nuevo dibujo.Look, here is my new drawing.
- Mateo¡Qué increíble te quedó, Lucía!It turned out incredible, Lucía!
- LucíaMe tomó muchas horas terminarlo.It took me many hours to finish it.
- MateoRealmente valió la pena el esfuerzo.The effort was really worth it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry he aquí, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries aquí, he, he aquí, CC BY-SA 4.0.
