guay

See also: Guay

Ladino

Alternative forms

• uay

Interjection

guay (Hebrew spelling גואי)

1. woe!

Derived terms

• guay de
• guay de mí
• guaya

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡwai/ [ˈɡwai̯]
• Rhymes: -ai
• Syllabification: guay

Etymology 1

Unknown, maybe related to French gai, Italian gaio, English gay, of Germanic origin, or from Arabic كُوَيِّس (kuwayyis, “good”).

Adjective

guay m or f (masculine and feminine plural guay or guais)

2. (Spain, colloquial) cool

   Synonyms: chulo, (Latin America) bacán, chévere, chido, padre, (Spain, dated) chachi

Usage notes

• This adjective is often treated as invariable, with the form guay being used regardless of gender or number. The plural form guais is also often found. Hence, “They're very cool” may be expressed either as son muy guay or as son muy guais.

Adverb

guay

1. (Spain, slang) cool

Usage notes

• Sometimes expanded to guay del Paraguay or guay de Paraguay.

Interjection

guay

1. (Spain) cool

Descendants

• → Asturian: guai
• → Catalan: guai
• → Galician: guai

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Spanish guay (“woe”), from Latin vae (“woe”) or Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai, “woe”), the latter from Proto-Germanic *wai, both from Proto-Indo-European *wai. Cognate with Portuguese guai, Catalan guai and Italian guai.

Interjection

guay

2. (obsolete, poetic) woe! (expresses grief)

   Synonym: ay

Further reading

• “guay”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025