If you’ve ever traveled to the Dominican Republic, you were likely greeted with lively music, breathtaking scenery, and welcoming locals. If you stepped outside the boundaries of the usual tourist destinations, however, you may have seen rural communities struggling to overcome the tough realities of traditional farming. Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra’s iconic song “Ojalá que llueva café,” which translates literally as “I hope it rains coffee,” sheds light on these struggles and offers hope for a prosperous future for these communities.
The song title highlights the beautiful Spanish word ojalá, which the singer uses to express a profound hope for relief from poverty and hardship. As you learn how to speak Spanish, you’ll find ojalá to be a valuable expression for sharing your own wishes, whether it’s for pleasant weather or a successful trip, or even the unlikely event of coffee raining from the sky.
Table of Contents
What does ojalá really mean?
You can’t fully grasp the true ojalá meaning without exploring a little Spanish history. The word ojalá was introduced into Spanish culture in the eighth century, when the Muslims invaded the Iberian Peninsula. It derives from the Arabic word “Inshallah,” meaning “If God wills” or “God willing.”
Today, ojalá is used to express “hopefully,” and typically does not carry any religious connotation in everyday conversation. However, it’s still important to recognize the history and rich culture behind ojalá, which is the foundation of how Rosetta Stone works. Through immersive learning and other engaging learning features, you can gain a deeper understanding of important Spanish words.
When to use ojalá in Spanish
Simply memorizing the translations of ojalá in English doesn’t do the word justice. To truly capture the emotion and feeling behind this word, you’ll need to examine how it’s used in different contexts to express hope, desire, and even regret.
Use ojalá for hopeful replies
Ojalá is a common Spanish interjection used in response to a positive possibility, meaning “Hopefully,” “If only,” or “I hope so.” Interjections stand out among other Spanish parts of speech, like nouns and adjectives, because they frequently stand alone.
In written Spanish, you’ll often see this expression preceded by an upside-down exclamation point (¡), a distinctive Spanish punctuation mark, and followed by a standard exclamation mark (!).
Here’s how ojalá is used as an interjection in context:
- ¿Se cancelarán las clases mañana? = Will classes be canceled tomorrow?
- ¡Ojalá! Va a nevar mucho. = Hopefully! It’s going to snow a lot.
- Creo que deberías estudiar al extranjero. = I think you should study abroad.
- ¡Ojalá! Mis padres no quieren que me vaya tan lejos. = If only! My parents don’t want me to go so far away.
- La junta terminará pronto, ¿verdad? = The meeting will be over soon, right?
- ¡Ojalá! Tengo hambre. = I hope so! I am hungry.
Use ojalá to introduce a strong hope for the future
With ojalá you can introduce a full sentence that expresses a wish for the future, hoping something realistic will happen or dreaming big for an unlikely event. In these contexts, its translations are typically “I wish” or “I hope.”
- ¡Ojalá haga sol mañana! = I hope it’s sunny tomorrow!
- ¡Ojalá que mi jefe me dé un aumento! = I wish my boss would give me a raise!
Use ojalá to introduce a regret or a counterfactual situation
Ojalá is also useful for expressing regret or a wish about the past. You can even use it when you’re longing for a reality different from your own. In these contexts, it’s equivalent to “if only” in English.
- ¡Ojalá hubiera sabido la verdad! = If only I had known the truth!
- ¡Ojalá estuviera de vacaciones ahora mismo! = If only I were on vacation right now!
Use ojalá to wish someone well
Like giving compliments in Spanish, learning how to wish someone well is a great way to connect with Spanish speakers and brighten someone’s day. Use ojalá to express a heartfelt hope or desire for someone’s success or happiness.
- ¡Ojalá tengas un gran día! = I hope you have a great day!
- ¡Ojalá consigas el trabajo! = I hope you get the job!
How to use ojalá in the subjunctive mood
There are three moods in Spanish: the indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. An important rule of Spanish grammar is to use the subjunctive mood with wishes, emotions, and non-factual situations, all of which align perfectly with the meaning of ojalá.
The Spanish subjunctive has its own unique tenses and conjugations. Which one you use with ojalá depends on the time frame of the hope you’re describing. Whichever subjunctive tense you choose, the general structure is:
- Ojalá + (que) + verb in the subjunctive mood
It’s up to you whether you want to include the conjunction que between ojalá and the subjunctive verb—it’s often left out in everyday conversation, even though it’s grammatically correct to include it.
Present subjunctive
You’ll use ojalá with the present subjunctive to express hopes or wishes about things happening right now or things that will happen in the future.
To conjugate regular verbs in the present subjunctive, you’ll generally start with the yo form of the present indicative. After dropping the “-o” ending, you then add the subjunctive endings.
| Subject | Hablar (to speak) | Leer(to read) | Vivir (to live) |
| YoI | hable | lea | viva |
| TúYou, informal | hables | leas | vivas |
| Él/Ella/UstedHe/She/You, formal | hable | lea | viva |
| Nosotros/NosotrasWe (m/f) | hablemos | leamos | vivamos |
| Vosotros/Vosotras*You all, informal | habléis | leáis | viváis |
| Ellos/Ellas/UstedesThey/You all, formal | hablen | lean | vivan |
Keep in mind that several irregular verbs don’t follow this conjugation pattern. To see how any verb is conjugated in the subjunctive, try looking it up in a reliable Spanish conjugation dictionary for a comprehensive overview of the verb in all tenses and conjugations.
Here’s how the present subjunctive is used in phrases with ojalá to express a hope for the future:
- ¡Ojalá (que) ella venga a la fiesta! = I hope (that) she comes to the party!
- ¡Ojalá (que) nuestro equipo gane el partido hoy! = Let’s hope our team wins the game today!
Present perfect subjunctive
You’ll conjugate the verb following ojalá in the present perfect subjunctive to express hope or regret about an action that already occurred or hasn’t occurred in the past or for an action that will have been completed by a future point.
To form the present perfect subjunctive, conjugate the auxiliary verb haber (to have) in its present subjunctive form, followed by the past participle (“-ado”/”-ido”) of the main verb.
For example:
- ¡Ojalá (que) hayan llegado a salvo! = I hope (that) they have arrived safely!
- ¡Ojalá (que) ella haya salido antes de que yo llegue! = Hopefully she will have left before I arrive!
Imperfect subjunctive
You’ll frequently hear ojalá paired with the imperfect subjunctive to express wishes or regrets about the past or convey hypothetical situations in the present.
To conjugate a verb in the imperfect subjunctive, start with the preterite tense ellos form, drop the “-ron” ending, and add the following endings:
| Subject | Hablar (to speak) | Leer(to read) | Vivir (to live) |
| YoI | hablara | leyera | viviera |
| TúYou, informal | hablaras | leyeras | vivieras |
| Él/Ella/UstedHe/She/You, formal | hablara | leyera | viviera |
| Nosotros/NosotrasWe (m/f) | habláramos | leyéramos | viviéramos |
| Vosotros/Vosotras*You all, informal | hablarais | leyerais | vivierais |
| Ellos/Ellas/UstedesThey/You all, formal | hablaran | leyeran | vivieran |
Here’s how ojalá is used with the imperfect subjunctive:
- ¡Ojalá (que) tuviera más tiempo libre! = If only I had more free time!
- ¡Ojalá (que) pudiera volar! = If only I could fly!
Past perfect subjunctive
When the event you are wishing or regretting happened or didn’t happen, you’ll use ojalá with the past perfect subjunctive, also referred to as the pluperfect subjunctive.
To conjugate a verb in the past perfect subjunctive, you combine the auxiliary verb haber in its imperfect subjunctive form with the past participle (“-ado”/”-ido”) of the main verb.
- ¡Ojalá (que) no hubiera llovido ayer! = If only it hadn’t rained yesterday!
- ¡Ojalá (que) no se te hubiera olvidado la cartera! = If only you hadn’t forgotten your wallet!
Other verbs and expressions of hope in Spanish
Ojalá isn’t the only way to express hope in Spanish. Verbs like esperar (to hope), desear (to wish/desire), and querer (to want/wish) also convey wishes, wants, and desires for the future.
Esperar
The common Spanish verb esperar is versatile and has many uses. It can mean “to wait,” “to expect,” and “to hope.” Like ojalá, it’s used with the subjunctive mood when expressing a wish. For example:
- Espero que te guste el regalo. = I hope you like the gift.
- Espero que puedas venir. = I hope you can make it.
Desear
The frequently used Spanish -AR verb desear translates as “to wish,” “to desire,” or “to want,” and can also be used to express a hope for the future.
- Deseo verte de nuevo. = I wish (hope) to see you again.
- Mi madre desea que yo sea feliz. = My mother wishes (hopes) that I am happy.
More ways to express ‘hope’ in Spanish
These verbs and expressions may not all translate as “to hope” directly, but they can be used to express a similar sentiment.
| Spanish | English |
| querer | to want |
| anhelar | to long for/to yearn for |
| aspirar | to aspire |
| pedir | to ask for/to request |
| es de esperar | hopefully |
| tener la esperanza | to have hope |
Here’s how these expressions are used in combination with que and the subjunctive mood to express wishes, desires, and aspirations:
- Es de esperar que no haya problemas. = Hopefully there aren’t any problems.
- Tengo la esperanza de que ella encuentre a su hijo. = I have hope that she’ll find her son.
- Aspira a que sus hijos asistan a la universidad. = She aspires (hopes) for her children to go to college.
- Quiero que tu negocio tenga éxito. = I want (hope) that your business succeeds.
Ojalá like a local with Rosetta Stone
You hear it in Spanish songs and on the streets, ojalá is on the tip of every Spanish speaker’s tongue, ready to voice a wish or desire. You can join the locals and master the nuances of ojalá with the help of a Rosetta Stone tutor, who can help you perfect your pronunciation of this important word and use it to confidently express hopes for the future, regrets about the past, and contrary-to-fact situations.
0 Commentaires