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/Sounds like "AH" (as in "art") + "lah" (as in "lava")/

Meaning

A Spanish exclamation of encouragement, surprise, or to signal that something is starting or wrapping up. The tone does all the work: a sharp "hala" can mean "come on, hurry up," an impressed "¡hala!" means "wow," and a drawn-out one can close a conversation entirely.

Examples

¡Hala, venga, que llegamos tarde y no esperan!

Come on, let's go, we are late and they won't wait for us!

¡Hala! No esperaba que saliera tan bien el proyecto.

Wow! I really did not expect the project to turn out this well.

Regional synonyms

To sleep, take a nap, or rest. In Mexico, 'zetear' comes from the zzz symbol for sleep and is used casually among younger people when talking about dozing off, crashing early, or sneaking in a nap. The most honest verb for doing absolutely nothing productive.