ojalá

See also: Ojala

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish oxalá, from Arabic وَشَاءَ ٱلله (wašāʔa llāh, “and may God will it”) or لَوْ شَاءَ ٱلله (law šāʔa llāh, “if God wills it”). Compare Arabic إنْ شَاءَ الله (ʔin šāʔa llāh).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oxaˈla/ [o.xaˈla]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: o‧ja‧lá

Adverb

ojalá

1. hopefully (I hope that)
2. if only

   El gato ha estado escondiéndose debajo del sofá desde que se levantaron los niños. Ojalá yo pudiera hacer lo mismo.

   The cat has been hiding under the couch since the kids woke up. If only I could do the same.

Interjection

ojalá

1. I hope so; let's hope so
2. God willing
3. I hope (that); let's hope (that) (followed by present subjunctive)
4. God grant (that) (followed by present subjunctive)
5. I wish (when used to refer to past events)

Descendants

• → Portuguese: oxalá

Further reading

• “ojalá”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10