Which one should you use?
While vale, gracias is more common for acknowledging a suggestion or agreement, the phrase está bien, gracias can sound more like you are stating that a situation is acceptable or satisfactory.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
vale, gracias is informal and suitable for casual conversations, but may be too colloquial for highly formal business settings. For more formal situations, you might use De acuerdo, gracias or Muy bien, muchas gracias.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, people often say Vale, gracias to mean 'okay, thank you'. In Mexico, it is common to say Está bien, gracias to express gratitude. In Argentina, people informally say Dale, gracias and Listo, gracias to express gratitude.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈbale ˈɡɾaθjas/ [ˈɡɾa.θjas]. It consists of 4 syllables, with the stress on the 1 of 4.
Did you know?
- The word vale used for 'okay' shares its origin with the Latin command valē, which was used to wish someone 'be well' or 'farewell'.
- In Argentina, the alternative dale is derived from the verb dar meaning 'to give', essentially telling the other person to 'go ahead' or 'give it a go'.
- In Spain, vale is used so frequently as a filler word that it can function like 'right' or 'uh-huh' to show you are listening, even if you are not agreeing to anything.
Examples in context
- Vale, gracias por la ayuda.Okay, thank you for the help.
- Vale, gracias por avisarme.Okay, thank you for letting me know.
- Vale, gracias, nos vemos luego.Okay, thank you, see you later.
Example conversation
Sofía tells Javier that the meeting has been moved to tomorrow.
- Javier¿Sabes a qué hora es la reunión?Do you know what time the meeting is?
- SofíaEs mañana a las diez de la mañana.It is tomorrow at ten in the morning.
- JavierVale, gracias, Sofía.Okay, thank you, Sofía.
- SofíaDe nada, Javier.You're welcome, Javier.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (vale, gracias) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gracias, vale, CC BY-SA 4.0.
