ojalá
التعريفات والمعاني
== 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
hopefully (I hope that)
God willing: inshallah
if only
==== Interjection ====
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 =====
→ Asturian: oxalá
→ Portuguese: oxalá
=== Etymology 2 ===
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
==== Verb ====
ojalá
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