As a student asked us in a recent Q and A, what on earth does that most Spanish of Spanish words, venga, really mean anyway?
Well, we’ll get to its multiple meanings in a minute, but one thing I know is this:
The last Spanish words you want to hear at 3am are “¡Venga! ¡Despiértate!”
Last night, that’s exactly what I heard.
Even with the ventilador de techo – the ceiling fan – at full blast, sleeping in Madrid in June is hard enough as it is.
But when I finally managed to fall into a deep slumber, I suddenly heard Marina saying:
“¡Venga! ¡Despiértate! Tenemos que recoger la ropa!” – Come on, wake up, we have to get the washing in!
I realised it was raining hard outside – a big enough surprise already on a hot Madrid night, and totally unexpected.
Marina, of course, had remembered we’d left all the washing outside, expecting it to be perfectly dry by morning.
We both rushed downstairs and out onto the terrace behind the house to pull the soaking clothes out of the rain.
Now, “venga” is one of the most common Spanish words there is, and lots of people get rightly confused about what it means.
So here you have it:
The three most common meanings of venga.
Number 1: Venga = Come on
The way Marina used it in the middle of the night, Venga… despiértate – Come on… wake up…
Number 2: Venga = Get a move on
Venga, daros prisa, vais a llegar tarde al cole – Get a move on, hurry up, you’re going to be late for school
Which is exactly what we say to our kids most weekday mornings.
Number 3: Venga = No way, I can’t believe it
“Venga ya”, or “venga hombre” brilliantly express disbelief. For example:
Hoy en el trabajo me han subido el sueldo un 50% – Today at work I got a 50% pay rise
Venga ya, no me lo puedo creer – No way, I can’t believe it
So venga is one of these wonderful, versatile words that make Spanish conversations flow so naturally.
You’ll never find “Venga ya” in an app exercise about “going to the museum,” but you’ll hear it constantly in real Spanish life.
That’s exactly the kind of real Spanish packed into our podcasts, videos and courses – the Spanish that makes your conversations come alive, just like Marina’s midnight washing rescue mission.
It’s getting a handle on these common, multi-faceted words that makes learning and living this language such a joy.
Por cierto – By the way… The washing dried perfectly indoors by morning, but I never recovered that perfect deep level of slumber again!
Un abrazo desde Madrid,
Ben y Marina
P.S. If you want to collect hundreds more wonderful, versatile Spanish words like “venga” – the ones that make Spanish conversations flow naturally and bring all the joy to this wonderful language – check out our courses now.
They’re packed with the real Spanish you’ll actually use, not the textbook stuff that leaves you clueless when someone suddenly shouts “¡Venga!” in real life – or in the middle of the night.
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