‘Ándale pues‘ is an extremely common Mexican expression with a number of different meanings. It can be used to mean both ‘ok’ (in the sense of ‘sounds good’) and ‘hurry up’, and can even be used to end a conversation (kind of like the English ‘alright then‘)!
It’s not a formal phrase, however, it’s so deep-rooted in Mexican linguistic culture that you’ll hear people of all ages using it (and in almost every situation).
Of course, it´s best avoided in really formal situations (think job interviews, dinner with the President, etc.)!
‘Ándale pues‘ is used almost exclusively in spoken Spanish, unless of course you’re transcribing a Spanish conversation or writing a book in which the characters use a lot of colloquial language.
As with all interjections, it’s grammatically independent from the sentence with which it’s used (if any) and works instead as a standalone phrase.
‘Ándale‘ meaning
We’ve actually covered this topic quite extensively in our article on ‘ándale‘, but this absolute gem of a word has a variety of meanings (from ‘hurry up‘ to ‘you hit the nail on the head‘).
If you’re in Mexico City (or any other part of Mexico, for that matter), you’re likely to hear this word A LOT, be it in a bookstore or at the taco stand!
Uses / meanings of ‘ándale pues‘ in Spanish
‘Ándale pues‘ can be used in the following ways –
- As a way of saying ‘ok‘ (something along the lines of ‘sounds good‘)
- As a way of saying ‘hurry up‘
- As a way of saying ‘let’s go‘
- As a way of ending a conversation
As a way of saying ok
There are countless ways to say ‘ok‘ in Spanish, and it’s important to know at least a few of them! After all, it can get a bit awkward if you don’t know whether the person you’re talking to has answered in the affirmative or not!
In Mexico, ‘ándale pues‘ is a pretty common way of saying ‘ok‘ and, once you start mingling with the locals, it’s sure to be rolling off your tongue too!
It’s mainly used to declare that something is a good idea / accept a proposal. It normally means something along the lines of ‘Yes, I think it’s a good idea! Let’s do it!‘.
Let’s look at a few examples –
Erika – ¡Vamos por unos helados!
Ruperto – ¡Ándale pues!
Erika – Let’s go for an ice cream!
Ruperto – Ok! / Let´s do it!
Jimena – Me encanta esta blusa, la voy a comprar.
Vanesa – ¡Ándale pues!
Jimena – I love that blouse, I’m going to buy it.
Vanesa – Ok!
Jorge – Creo que ya queda lista la presentación. ¡Podemos entregarla a María!
Víctor – ¡Ándale pues!
George – I think the presentation is ready. We can send it to María.
Victor – Ok! Sounds good!
Erika’s top tip – remember that ‘ándale pues‘ CANNOT be used as a replacement of ‘ok‘ in all contexts!
We DO use ‘ándale pues‘ to indicate that an idea/proposal is good!
We NEVER use it as a synonym of ‘está bien‘ or in the middle of a sentence, as we do ‘ok‘ in English.
As a way of saying ‘hurry up‘
Just like its better-known brother ‘ándale‘, ‘ándale pues‘ can also be used to tell someone to ‘hurry up‘ or ‘get a move on‘.
¡Ándale pues! ¡Ya se nos está haciendo tarde!
Hurry up! We’re going to be late!
Juan – ¡Híjole! ¡Se me olvidaron las llaves, voy a tener que ir por ellas!
Claudia – ¡Ándale pues!
Juan – Damn, I forgot the keys! I’m going to have to go get them!
Claudia – Ok, hurry up!
As a way of saying ‘let’s go‘
‘Ándale pues‘ can also mean ‘let’s go‘. This meaning is inextricably linked with ‘hurry up’, as the phrase ‘let’s go‘ almost always denotes a bit of urgency!
Guillermo – ¿Quieres ir al mercado?
Mau – ¡Si, ándale pues!
Guillermo – Do you want to go the market?
Mau – Yes, let’s go!
As a way of ending a conversation
Last (but by absolutely no means least), ‘ándale pues‘ is frequently used as a way of ending a conversation, a bit like the way in which we’d use ‘alright then‘ in English.
Rosa – ¡Nos vemos wey!
Octavio – ¡Ándale pues!
Rosa – See you later man!
Octavio – Alright then!
It can also be translated as ‘see you‘ or even ‘bye‘ –
Roberto – ¡Que gusto verte amigo!
Fabian – ¡Igualmente wey!
Roberto – ¡Ándale pues!
Roberto – Great to see you, man!
Fabian – You too dude!
Roberto – See you!
‘Ándale pues‘ pronunciation
The ‘án‘ in ‘ándale‘ is said like the ‘an‘ in the English word ‘ant‘, ‘da‘ is said like ‘dah‘, and ‘le‘ like ‘leh‘.
/ an da le / (IPA phonetic transcription)
The ‘u‘ in ‘pues‘ is pronounced like a ‘w‘ in English, so ‘pues‘ is said like ‘pw es‘.
/ an dah leh – pw es /
Erika´s top tip – remember that an acute accent (á, é, í, ó or ú) normally indicates which part of the word is stressed!
‘Ándale‘ has an accent on the first vowel, so the first syllable is stressed.
So, ‘ándale‘ is said like ‘ANdale‘ (sometimes the ‘an‘ lasts a good few seconds depending on the speaker / context).
‘Órale, pues‘ meaning
This is another common Mexican expression and it’s identical in meaning to ‘ándale pues‘ (breathe sigh of relief)!
You’ll find that some people prefer to use ‘órale pues‘ and that others are firmly in the ‘ándale pues‘ camp.
Just remember that the two can be used interchangeably and you’re good to go!
¡Órale pues! ¡Ya se me están gruñendo las tripas!
Hurry up! My stomach’s already rumbling!
Nacho – ¿Qué te parece si vamos al cine?
Miriam – ¡Órale pues!
Nacho – Do you want to go to the cinema?
Miriam – Let’s do it!
Other expressions with ‘pues‘
Sale, pues
This handy little phrase can be used as a synoynm of ‘ok‘ when expressing agreement.
I’ve actually written a whole article about ‘sale, pues‘ and it’s first-cousin ‘sale vale‘ if you want to find out more!
Nos vemos pues
This one translates to ‘see you then‘ or ‘see you soon‘ and is normally used when you’ve just made plans with someone.
Juan Carlos – ¡Ya nos quedamos de ver el sábado entonces!
Miriam – Órale, nos vemos pues.
Juan Carlos – So, I’ll see you on Saturday!
Miriam – Ok, see you then!
Dale, pues
This is the Colombian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan equivalent of ‘ándale pues‘!
Final thoughts
This little phrase (with big aspirations!) has been firmly embraced by Mexicans both old and young.
Indeed, ‘ándale pues‘ and ‘ándale‘ are part of Mexico’s linguistic heritage, so they’re sure to come in handy the next time you make that trip down south, up north or across the ocean (or from wherever it is that you live)!
¡Ándale pues!