Spanish · The Basics
Sale
SAH-leh · /ˈsa.le/
OK! / Deal! / Sounds good
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"It comes out / it works"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Pure Mexican "okay, let's do it." Often doubled for enthusiasm — "¡sale y vale!" or "¡sale, pues!" Clean and friendly; it's how you close plans without sounding formal. Spain would say "vale" for the same job.
Heard in the wild
—Nos vemos a las ocho. —Sale, ahí nos vemos.
—See you at eight. —Cool, see you there.
Where it lands
Mexico; Spain uses 'vale' instead
Quick answers
- What does "Sale" mean?
- In Spanish, "Sale" means "OK! / Deal! / Sounds good". Literally it's "It comes out / it works". Pure Mexican "okay, let's do it." Often doubled for enthusiasm — "¡sale y vale!" or "¡sale, pues!" Clean and friendly; it's how you close plans without sounding formal. Spain would say "vale" for the same job.
- Is "Sale" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Sale"?
- Say it "SAH-leh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈsa.le.
Related in Spanish
¡Órale! OH-rah-leh Alright! / Wow! / Let's go! / Get on with it! ¿Qué onda? keh OWN-dah What's up? / What's the vibe? No hay bronca noh eye BRONE-kah No problem / no worries ¡No mames! noh MAH-mess No way! / You've got to be kidding me! ¡No manches! noh MAHN-chess No way! / Come on! (the polite twin of no mames) Güey GWEY (rhymes with 'way') Dude / man (filler); also 'idiot' when aimed
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Hell yes".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ώπα Oops! / Hey, watch it! / Let's go! — NOT mainly the plate-smashing tourist cheer.
- Italian Grande! Nice one! / You legend! / Way to go!
- Japanese やった Yes! / I did it! / We won!
- Korean 아싸! Yes! / score! — the fist-pump syllables.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Que massa! How cool! / Awesome!
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