Ahorita. The Spanish Word That Could Have You Waiting A Lifetime....

Ahorita…..

Have you ever waited for an Ahorita…??? Are you still waiting?? Every chance! ;-)

Why do Mexicans say ‘ahorita’?

In most cases, “ahorita” can either pertain to the present moment or serve as an imprecise reference to some future time.

This is the Mexican word that could have you waiting a couple of minutes, a couple days, or weeks, months or even forever. You get the gist right?? It’s so vague that you’ll never know how long you’ll have to wait for.

Mexicans don’t like to be rude or to say no to you. So they’ll just tell you ahorita. It literally means in a second, or in a little bit.

But as a foreigner in Mexico (and a punctual foreigner), when I first arrived here this word really frustrated me. Especially in texts. I would say to myself..”Just tell me exactly when you’re going to arrive” or “Just tell me exactly when it’ll be ready”. But not wanting to pester my new friends, I would just bite my tongue.

I have learnt the hard way that’s for sure. I’d hate to count the total amount of hours I have waited an Ahorita… haha

Some classic examples from my 3 years living in Mexico…

When someone says ‘Ahorita vengo‘ (I’ll be back soon). They’re not coming back!! It’s the polite way of saying ‘I’m leaving’. Or by some miracle they are actually coming back, it won’t be for a few hours.

Ahorita voy para alla (I’m leaving to go there soon) or Ahorita llego (I’m arriving soon). This is a classic line when you are planning on meeting some people at a party or in a bar. When you hear or receive this text, the actual meaning is the person hasn’t even left the house yet. They’re probably just about to take a shower, get themselves ready and then leave.

Ahorita le atiendo (I’ll be with you shortly). Used in restaurants, offices or any service when someone’s flat-out and they give you the ‘Ahorita le atiendo‘. Ohhh get ready to wait anywhere between 5-30 minutes!! And if you’re in a hospital or government building… well it could be hours.

Ahorita lo hago (I’ll do it soon). Very commonly used with services and tradespeople. For example the mechanic, plumber or electrician. Again, the work could get done in minutes, or weeks. Who knows!

Sí, Ahorita. (Yeah, in a minute). Ok, this is used in the context like clean up this mess or can you move these boxes. ‘Si, ahorita‘ is the way of saying, yeah later. But there’s no way of knowing when it’ll get done.

Ahorita, gracias. (Soon, thanks). Literally translated to soon, thanks. But really, it’s the polite way of saying No thanks. Do you want a coffee? Something to eat? If the answer is no, they’ll be polite and say ahorita, gracias.

To wrap it up.

It’s taken me 3 years to finally get used to these Mexican phrases. It’s just part of the culture. So you’re just going to have except the informal way Mexicans are with the time as frustrating as it may be sometimes.

And if you find yourself here in Mexico for a while, you’ll be using these terms just like a local.

Hope this helps you out. Happy Travels!!

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More Spanish? Head to Mexican Spanish and the local lingo.