ojalá
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