¡órale!
The Spanish phrase ¡órale! is used to say "orale".
Depending on the intonation, ¡órale! can express surprise, agreement, encouragement or even a warning.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The phrase ¡órale! is a highly characteristic expression of Mexican Spanish. In the Caribbean, "dale" is used to express agreement, encouragement or to say "okay". In the Dominican Republic, "epa" is used to express surprise or to grab someone's attention.
Did you know?
- In Mexico, órale can function as a request for someone to hurry up. If said with a sharp, descending tone, it acts as a command meaning 'get a move on'.
- While it is a staple of Mexican identity, a speaker from Spain might find órale completely unintelligible or alien, as the root word ora is almost never used that way in their dialect.
- The phrase ¡órale! can be transformed into a definitive signal that a conversation is over simply by adding the word pues.
Examples in context
- Órale, carnal, vamos a echarnos un tacoAlright, buddy, let's go grab some tacos
Example conversation
Sofía is telling Javier about a surprise party.
- SofíaJavier, ¡habrá una fiesta sorpresa mañana!Javier, there will be a surprise party tomorrow!
- Javier¡Órale! ¿Quién la organiza?Wow! Who is organizing it?
- SofíaTus primos, así que no digas nada.Your cousins, so don't say anything.
- JavierEstá bien, guardaré el secreto.Okay, I will keep the secret.
