- In Spanish class you learn that “now” in Spanish is “ahora”. My experience in Spanish speaking countries is that it’s a bit more complicated. There are 3 (maybe even note) ways to say “now” in paisa Spanish. (For those who might not know, paisa is the name people from Antioquia, Colombia call themselves.) We have “ya” “ahorita” and “ahora”.
I’m sure this differs to some extent between people but according to my investigation here’s the breakdown of these similar but different terms-
1. YA- this is, for me, the best translation of now. It’s used to express a sense of immediacy. “Vamos a la casa YA” means let’s go to the house now. I get mixed up because I learned that “ahora” meant now but as I’ll explain, ahora has a different meaning. If I say for example “Voy a mi casa ahora” it really means “I’m going to my house in a while.”
2. AHORITA- The step between ya (real now) and ahora (in a while) we have AHORITA which means soon. I haven’t gotten an agreement on what time span we’re really talking about but ahorita is sooner than ahora. So AHORITA, or little now, would be used like “Ahorita voy a bajar al parque a comprar pan”- “Soon, or in a little, I’ll go down to the park to buy bread.”
3. AHORA- Finally, the word that we’re taught in school that means now which here is used as “in a while”. It is used semi-interchangeably with ahorita. You’re never going to get in trouble for using AHORA when you really were only referring to a little bit but when asked, my Paisa friends differentiate between the two by saying “ahorita” is sooner.
I get a kick out of learning cultural stuff like this. I remember that in Ecuador the terms were used similarly but I can’t speak for all Spanish speaking countries 😀 Paisas specifically though have so many unique language traits which I will continue writing about!
Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone avoid the miscommunications I have had due to my improper usage of the translations of “now”!