ojalá
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See also: Ojala
Spanish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Old Spanish oxalá, from Arabic لَوْ شَاءَ اللّٰهُ (law šāʔa allāhu, “and may God will it”). Compare Arabic إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ (ʔin šāʔa llāhu).
Pronunciation
[edit]Adverb
[edit]ojalá
- hopefully (I hope that)
- 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
[edit]ojalá
- I hope so; let's hope so
- God willing
- I hope (that); let's hope (that) (followed by present subjunctive)
- God grant (that) (followed by present subjunctive)
- I wish (when used to refer to past events)
Descendants
[edit]- → Portuguese: oxalá
Further reading
[edit]- “ojalá”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014