Orale, Chale

[hello123]

Hi I watch a lot of Mexican films and I notice that they use a lot of slangs, and one of them is Orale. I've researched about that word and it had multiple meanings but I'm still confused when that word should be used in a sentence, and what does Chale mean?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

"Órale" can be used to state agreement, to urge someone to do something, or to express astonishment.

-- ¿Vamos al cine? (Shall we go to the movies?)
-- Órale, es buena idea. (Sure, it's a good idea.)

-- Te invito a comer. (Come over for lunch.)
-- Órale, muchas gracias. (Great, thank you!)

-- Soy Ingeniero Químico. (I'm a chemical engineer.)
-- Ah, órale. (Oh, ok.)


-- ¡Te dije te pongas a hacer la tarea! ¡Órale!
I told you to start doing your homework! Come on!

-- ¡Camina rápido, órale!
-- Walk fast, hurry up!


-- ...y entonces el fantasma (se) desapareció. (...and then the ghost disappeared.)
-- ¡Órale(s)! ¿De veras? (Wow! Really?)

-- ¡Oooooóraless! ¡Qué carro tan padre te compraste!
(Wooooow! What a great car you bought!)


"Chale" expresses regret or disagreement.

-- No voy a ir a la fiesta. (I'm not going to the party.)
-- Chale, ¿por qué no? (Gosh, why not?)

-- Chale, mis papás no me quieren comprar un teléfono nuevo.
(Sheesh, my parents won't buy me a new phone.)

-- Chale, quería tomar clases de baile, pero no me alcanzó el dinero.
(Dang, I wanted to take dancing lessons, but I couldn't afford it.)

[Glen]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

-- Chale, ¿por qué no? (Gosh, why not?)

That makes it easy to remember, because Chale sounds a lot like "Golly," another way to say "Gosh." Thanks!

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Originally Posted by Glen

That makes it easy to remember, because Chale sounds a lot like "Golly," another way to say "Gosh." Thanks!

Ah, órale. No me había dado cuenta.

[Villa]

Originally Posted by hello123

Hi I watch a lot of Mexican films and I notice that they use a lot of slangs, and one of them is Orale. I've researched about that word and it had multiple meanings but I'm still confused when that word should be used in a sentence, and what does Chale mean?

Hola hello. I was a bilingual teacher and had to pass a test on Mexican slang with words like you have mentioned. First I took a class on Mexican slang and then took the test. The test had other things to it but one part was on Mexican slang. There was an oral part to it also. Any way there was this one native Spanish speaking Mexican lady from Mexico and she was complaining that she didn't know a lot of the Mexican slang terms on the test. I watch four Mexican novelas every day and they always have people that are from different social levels. The ones with little education speak with all this Mexican slang and the people with more education, doctors, teachers, lawyers and rich people speak another way without all the slang. I'm watching this one novela now called Corazón indomable where they take this poor girl who has no education and they completely change how she talks and acts. Her own husband thinks she's somebody else just because of the way she talks. Kind of like the movie My Fair Lady.

Hello, have you heard the Mexican slang term "No manches"? Technically it means "Don't stain."
But it means something like "No way!" or "You've got to be kidding me!" More or less like "chale."
There was a very popular Mexican novela recently called "Pancho Lopez" a comedy drama I watched
every day. They would say "No manches" on every episode.

[hello123]

Originally Posted by Villa

Hola hello. I was a bilingual teacher and had to pass a test on Mexican slang with words like you have mentioned. First I took a class on Mexican slang and then took the test. The test had other things to it but one part was on Mexican slang. There was an oral part to it also. Any way there was this one native Spanish speaking Mexican lady from Mexico and she was complaining that she didn't know a lot of the Mexican slang terms on the test. I watch four Mexican novelas every day and they always have people that are from different social levels. The ones with little education speak with all this Mexican slang and the people with more education, doctors, teachers, lawyers and rich people speak another way without all the slang. I'm watching this one novela now called Corazón indomable where they take this poor girl who has no education and they completely change how she talks and acts. Her own husband thinks she's somebody else just because of the way she talks. Kind of like the movie My Fair Lady.

Hello, have you heard the Mexican slang term "No manches"? Technically it means "Don't stain."
But it means something like "No way!" or "You've got to be kidding me!" More or less like "chale."
There was a very popular Mexican novela recently called "Pancho Lopez" a comedy drama I watched
every day. They would say "No manches" on every episode.

Would you mind showing me more of these novela? Preferrably mexican ones because I would like to improve my Spanish but many of the Spanish films I find are not from Mexico but they're from some other Latin countries and they speak very differently so it usually makes me confused because their dialect is very different from others if you know what I mean.

[Premium]

Originally Posted by hello123

Would you mind showing me more of these novela? Preferrably mexican ones because I would like to improve my Spanish but many of the Spanish films I find are not from Mexico but they're from some other Latin countries and they speak very differently so it usually makes me confused because their dialect is very different from others if you know what I mean.

Telemundo has some telenovelas, you can even stream it online legally on their homepage. I think most of them are being filmed in the US but the casts are mostly occupied by Mexicans. There might be one or two telenovelas on Telemundo which is shot in Mexico but the cast has also people from Colombia, Argentina and so forth.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

In those productions, there are fewer Mexicans than it seems, but I think there are Mexican scriptwriters, since the dialogues often include many Mexican sayings and expressions.
I think it's indeed a good exercise to watch telenovelas from Telemundo and Univisión, precisely because of the mixture of accents.

[Villa]

Originally Posted by hello123

Would you mind showing me more of these novela? Preferrably mexican ones because I would like to improve my Spanish but many of the Spanish films I find are not from Mexico but they're from some other Latin countries and they speak very differently so it usually makes me confused because their dialect is very different from others if you know what I mean.

Hola hello. By far the best thing anybody can do to learn Spanish is by watching novelas in Spanish.
I found out years ago that I could learn more in a few weeks watching novelas than years of study
and speaking Spanish without watching them. They use words and phrases that express all
the human emotions. Plus it's entertaining and not a lot of work like studying can be. Take
notes if you like. Record them and replay. By all means keep studying Spanish also. But then
again watching novelas is like studying but without any of the work. At the bottom you can
find out where to buy them on DVD.

Channel 34 in California. These are the Mexican novelas I watch every night starting at 7:00 P.M.
They are shown in every state of the U.S. There are also shown around the world in many countries.

At 7:00 "Corazón Indodable". It has two Cuban actors the rest being Mexican.

8:00: Porque el amor manda. All Mexican actors

9:00: La Tempestad. Has two Cuban actors. The one mother
has a Cuban padrino/godfather. I read that somewhere.

10:00: "Que Bonito Amor". The main star is Colombian but she
sings like a Mexican. There is also a young Cuban actress.










You can buy novelas in Spanish here. I buy them at the many Mexican markets around me. Also Walmart, Target, K-Mart and the like will have them.

telenovelas dvd | eBay - Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles ...

[Premium]

Originally Posted by Villa

Plus it's entertaining and not a lot of work like studying can be.

I only watch it to improve my Spanish. To be honest most of them can't act and drama scenes are way to corny. At least I haven't found any good ones.

[Villa]

Originally Posted by Premium

I only watch it to improve my Spanish. To be honest most of them can't act and drama scenes are way to corny. At least I haven't found any good ones.

I know what you mean Premium but I guess I'm just lucky cause haven't really found any bad ones therefore I'm learning and maintaining my Spanish more than people who don't watch them. I find them better than most English speaking TV programs. Many of the Mexican novelas I watch are in a rural setting with horses and cowboys. I grew up on a ranch using cowboy boots, cowboy hat, cowboy belt and buckle, horses, cows, bulls etc. etc. The American cowboy gets his cultural from Mexico. This is another reason I identify with Mexico. Also watching novelas you learn a lot about the different states in Mexico. Last year they had a novela partly filmed in the Copper Cayon in Mexico. The Copper Cayon in Mexico is actually bigger than the U.S. Grand Cayon.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Premium: Actors and actresses believe they're cute, should they even bother in trying to act?
You're so right! Neither the plots nor the actors' work are worth much. But if you wish to get familiar with different accents and colloquial speech, watching them is a good exercise.

[hello123]

Hi villa, i took on your advice and watches a couple of novelas on Telemundo, this may sound embarrassing but i only picked up 30% of what they were saying because they speak so fast and i had to type down a lot of words i havent learned to my ipad so i relied mostly on their emotions to see what was going on. Nevertheless it was a great learning experience and i hope to improve by watching more novelas.

[Premium]

Originally Posted by Villa

I know what you mean Premium but I guess I'm just lucky cause haven't really found any bad ones therefore I'm learning and maintaining my Spanish more than people who don't watch them. I find them better than most English speaking TV programs

For instance? I've watched El Señor de los Cielos & Pasión Prohibida so far. The first one was just horrific. A mix of romance and gunshots, a really good example why they don't care about quality. The second one is slightly better. There were some scenes where I was supposed to cry because someone didn't reciprocate his/her love. I fell off the chair cracking me up.
It really doesn't matter what genre it is, just please put some effort in it and get some actors who are really worth it.
I would still prefer series like Homeland, The Wire, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad etc.

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

@Premium: Actors and actresses believe they're cute, should they even bother in trying to act?
You're so right! Neither the plots nor the actors' work are worth much. But if you wish to get familiar with different accents and colloquial speech, watching them is a good exercise.

I was already worried why all of them look like models. You can really feel with them. Like you said, it's a really good exercise.

Originally Posted by hello123

Hi villa, i took on your advice and watches a couple of novelas on Telemundo, this may sound embarrassing but i only picked up 30% of what they were saying because they speak so fast and i had to type down a lot of words i havent learned to my ipad so i relied mostly on their emotions to see what was going on. Nevertheless it was a great learning experience and i hope to improve by watching more novelas.

Do you use subtitles? If you are still are beginner, you should do it. At first I had to pause every sequence because I couldn't follow, it gets better with time.

[hello123]

Yes I use subtitles but I don't have the option to pause my show so I could only pick up as many as I could get.

[Premium]

Originally Posted by hello123

Yes I use subtitles but I don't have the option to pause my show so I could only pick up as many as I could get.

That's weird. Isn't there a pause button or doesn't it just work?