In 30 seconds: say Vale, sí, voy, Estoy en plan cansado, and Venga, hasta luego to agree, soften, and sign off like you live in Spain.
Textbook
- Sí, voy. — Yes, I’ll go.
- Estoy cansado. — I’m tired.
- Hasta luego. — See you later.
Same reply, in Spain
- Vale, sí, voy. — OK, yes, I’ll go.
- Estoy en plan cansado. — I’m kind of tired.
- Venga, hasta luego. — OK then, see you.
A woman says cansada in lines 2 and 5.
Vale — OK, sure
- Vale, a las ocho. — OK, at eight.
Venga — come on, OK then, bye
- Venga, que llegamos tarde. — Come on, we’re late.
En plan — like, kind of
- Cuesta en plan cinco euros. — It costs, like, five euros.
- Lo dijo en plan de broma. — He said it as a joke.
Hombre — well, of course
- Hombre, claro. — Well, of course.
- Hombre, no pasa nada. — Come on, it’s no big deal.
Anda — no way, wow
- ¡Anda, no lo sabía! — No way, I didn’t know!
- ¡Anda! ¿En serio? — Wow! Seriously?
Vaya — wow, what a…
- ¡Vaya día! — What a day!
¿No? — right?
- A las ocho, ¿no? — At eight, right?
- Hace calor, ¿no? — It’s hot, isn’t it?
Say them to friends, not a boss
These lines use informal tú. In an email, write de acuerdo (all right) and hasta luego. With a boss, skip en plan, anda, hombre, and venga. If you still use usted, skip vale too.
As fillers, vale and venga are typical of Spain. In Latin America, people often say ok, and dale is common in the Southern Cone and the Caribbean. En plan is mostly younger speech in Spain. You can say hombre to a man or a woman, among friends. ¡Anda! for surprise is typical of Spain. ¿No? is used widely. ¡Vaya! is understood more widely.
To stall while you find the verb, see fillers that buy you time.
Pro tip: Send lines 4–6 to a friend.
Venga, vaya, and anda are verb forms
Venga is the present subjunctive of venir (venga, vengas, venga for yo, tú, and él/ella/usted) and the usted command. In chat it means come on or bye. The tú command for “come” is ven. In line 8, que llegamos gives the reason in the present.
Vaya is the present subjunctive of ir (vaya, vayas, vaya). ¡Vaya día! is a reaction, not the verb “go”.
Anda is the tú imperative of andar (present ando, andas, anda). ¡Anda! is a reaction, not the verb “walk”.
Our drills make you type venga as the verb. In a text, it is the filler.
Try it now:
Cover the English. Paste Vale, sí, voy. and Estoy en plan cansado.
Then paste Venga, hasta luego.
Type venga in VerbPal.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use vale, venga, or en plan with my boss in Spain?
In an email, write De acuerdo and Hasta luego. With a boss, skip venga and en plan. Vale can stay in speech if you already use tú, but skip it with usted. En plan, anda, and hombre are for friends and chat. Drop en plan and anda first, even in a casual office.
Do people outside Spain say vale and en plan?
Vale, meaning OK, and venga, meaning come on or bye, are typical of Spain. In Latin America, people often say ok, and dale is common in the Southern Cone and the Caribbean. En plan is mostly younger speech in Spain. ¿No? is used across the Spanish-speaking world, and ¡vaya! is understood more widely. Hombre, used this way, and ¡anda! for surprise, are typical of Spain too.