¡Órale!
casual, Mexico
A very Mexican way to say "wow" is ¡Órale! For admiration, people also say ¡Qué padre!, and ¡Guau! is the neutral form that works anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.
Meaning: exclamation of surprise or admiration (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Mexican | Note |
|---|---|
| ¡Órale! | casual, Mexico |
| ¡Guau! | neutral |
| ¡Qué padre! | casual, Mexico |
¡Órale! fits a pleasant surprise, like seeing a friend's new car or hearing good news. It can also mean "come on" or "okay" depending on the tone.
Which one should you use?
¡Qué padre! says that something is great, so it is closer to "how cool!" than to a plain gasp of surprise.
Is it said differently in some regions?
Órale and padre in the sense of "cool" are typical of Mexico. In Spain people would say ¡Anda! or ¡Vaya! instead.
Did you know?
- In Mexican Spanish padre works as an adjective for "great", and the stronger forms are padrísimo and muy padre.
Examples in context
- ¡Órale, qué buen coche!Wow, what a great car!
- ¡Guau, qué vista tan bonita!Wow, what a beautiful view!
- ¡Qué padre! Me encanta.Wow, how cool! I love it.
Example conversation
Mariana shows her cousin Diego the new phone she got for her birthday in Guadalajara.
- MarianaMira, me regalaron un celular nuevo.Look, I got a new phone as a gift.
- Diego¡Órale! ¿De quién fue?Wow! Who was it from?
- MarianaDe mis papás. La cámara es increíble.From my parents. The camera is amazing.
- Diego¡Qué padre!How cool!
