ojalá

See also: Ojala

Spanish

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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).

Adverb

ojalá

1. hopefully (I hope that)
2. God willing: inshallah
3. 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

• → Asturian: oxalá
• → Portuguese: oxalá

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

ojalá

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of ojalar

Further reading

• “ojalá”, 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