In short – ‘Vente pa’ ca’ is a colloquial Spanish phrase that roughly translates as ‘come over here’ or ‘come on over’. Although it has a few different uses / meanings, it’s probably best-known as a flirtatious remark thanks to Ricky Martin’s hit song with the same title.
‘Vente pa’ ca’ is actually a shortened version of ‘vente para acá’:
- ‘Ven’ is the ‘tú’ conjugation of ‘venir’ (or ‘come’ in English) in its imperative form. The added pronoun ‘te’ indicates urgency (akin to saying ‘come quickly’)
- ‘Para acá’ = ‘(over) here’
Ready to know more about this popular expression? Well, keep scrolling!
Uses / Meanings of ‘vente pa’ca’
‘Vente pa’ca’ can be used in the following ways –
- As a friendy way of saying ‘come on over’ or ‘come here’
- As a way of scolding children, akin to ‘get over here’
- As a flirtatious way of saying ‘come over here’
As a friendly way of saying ‘come on over’ or ‘come here’
Don’t let Ricky Martin’s 2016 hit fool you, if your Latin American friend tells you to ‘vente pa’ ca’, it’s not necessarily a sexy insinuation!
It’s actually more likely to be a friendly way of saying ‘come here’, ‘get over here’ or ‘come on over’ (sorry to break it to you!).
En una reunión familiar
Isabel – ¿Qué tanto chisme están contando que hasta susurran?
Fernando – Alma nos está platicando de sus locas anécdotas en Brasil.
Alma – Vente pa’ ca antes de que termine de contarles.
At a family reunion
Isabel – You’re whispering? That must be some juicy gossip!
Fernando – Alma’s telling us some crazy anecdotes about her time in Brazil.
Alma – Come here quickly before I finish the story.
Mensajes de audio entre amigos
Emiliano – ¿Qué onda*, wey? Cancelaron mi cita en el dentista. ¿Andas con la banda?
Bruno – Sí, acá estamos viendo el partido. Vente pa’ ca.
Audio messages between friends
Emiliano – What’s up, man? My dentist appointment got cancelled. Are you hanging out with the gang?
Bruno – Yeah, we’re watching the game. Come on over.
*Erika’s top tip – ‘qué onda’ is an extremely common Mexican expression similar to the English ‘what’s up’!
As a way of scolding children, akin to ‘get over here’
You may also hear ‘vente pa’ ca’ being uttered in a not-so-friendly manner.
Such is the case with parents who look their mischievous children in the eye and utter a firm, ‘vente pa’ ca’ or ‘get over here’ (uh-oh!).
Un niño juega en el supermercado
Madre – ¡Mauricio! Deja de correr en los pasillos. Vente pa’ ca. Aquí te quedas junto a mí.
A child plays in the supermarket
Mother – Mauricio! Stop running in the aisles. Get over here. Stay by my side.
Un abuelo a su nieta más grande
Dile a tus primos que se vengan pa’ ca; no deben andar jugando en el patio del vecino.
A grandfather to his eldest granddaughter
Tell your cousins to get over here; they shouldn’t be playing in the neighbor’s yard.
As a flirtatious way of saying ‘come over here’
Finally, with the right intonation ‘vente pa’ ca’ can be a sexy way of inviting a special someone to get a bit closer.
Cris – ¡Qué día! El trabajo estuvo brutal.
Max – Vente pa’ ca. Yo te doy un masajito…y unos besitos relajantes.
Cris – What a day! Work was brutal.
Max – Come over here. I’ll give you a massage … and some soothing kisses.
Fragmento de “Vente pa’ ca” de Ricky Martin
Hoy vamos pa’ mi cama
Esta noche tú te enamoras (…)
Vente pa’ ca, vente pa’ ca
Fragment of “Vente pa’ ca” by Ricky Martin
Today we go to my bed
Tonight you fall in love (…)
Come on over, come on over
‘Vente pa’ca’ pronunciation
‘Vente’ has two syllables: ‘ven’ is said like the ‘behn’ in ‘benefit’, and ‘te’ sounds like ‘teh’.
‘Pa’ is said like ‘pah’ and ‘ca’ like ‘kah’.
/ behn-teh pah kah /
Similar expressions to ‘vente pa’ca’
Véngase pa’ ca
‘Vénga’ is the formal ‘you’ (i.e., ‘usted’) conjugation of ‘venir’ in the imperative mood. Again, the pronoun is added to indicate immediacy.
Nevertheless, ‘véngase pa’ ca’ maintains the same playful and casual ring as ‘vente pa’ ca’.
¡Véngase pa’ ca, mi amorcito! Vamos a bailar pegaditos toda la noche.
Come here, my love! We’re gonna dance together all night.
Véngache pa’ ca
If you wanna sound even more sickly-sweet you can swap the last syllable in ‘véngase’ (‘seh’)for ‘che’ (which sounds like ‘cheh’).
In this case, the expression has a much more obviously sensuous or overly familiar connotation.
Vanesa – ¿Qué te parece mi nuevo traje de baño?
Erik – ¡Véngache pa’ ca’ para que lo vea más de cerca!
Vanesa – What do you think of my new swimsuit?
Erik – Come hither, I need to take a closer look!
Ven ándale / Ándale ven
This one’s a super useful alternative if you’re in Mexico and want to say ‘come here quickly’ OR ‘come on’.
¡Ándale ven, que se nos hace tarde para la escuela!
Come on, we’re late for school!
¡Ándale ven, necesito terminar!
Come here quickly, I need to finish!
Final thoughts
Hopefully you’re now quite the expert on all things ‘vente pa’ ca’ … so much so that you’ll give it a try the next time you invite your Spanish-speaking friends over to hang out or get flirty with that special someone.
Oh, and if you wanna learn another fun and interesting colloquial Spanish expression, make sure to check out our article on the meaning of ‘manita de gato’.
Spoiler: it’s much more than just a cat’s paw!
¡Hasta la próxima!
