7 Ways to Use “Venga” in Spanish

‘Venga’ is one of those words that you hear all the time when Spanish people are talking. It can be confusing to know what it means as it can mean different things in different situations or even with a different tone of voice. In today’s blog post we will look at the most common uses of ‘Venga’ to help you understand this really useful word and also to help you begin to use it yourself in the right contexts.

1. Come on!

Venga is a form of the verb “venir” which means “to come”. One of the most common uses then is to offer encouragement to say, “Come on!” – ¡Venga!

e.g. Venga, dímelo. – Come on, tell me.

2. To give a command

‘Venga’ can also be used to tell someone to do something or to tell them to ‘hurry up’.

e.g. Venga, ponte la chaqueta y vámanos. – Come on, put on your jacket and let’s go.

3. Ok / right (a filler word)

Often when you hear two friends ending their conversation and saying goodbye you hear one of the last things they say is ‘venga’. In this situation it is just a filler expression (a ‘muletilla’) to say the equivalent in English as “ok then” or “right then”.

e.g. Pues me voy, venga, hasta luego. – Well, I’m off, ok then, see you later.

4. To agree

Venga can also be a way to agree with someone or to say that you are happy to do something. It may be that you aren’t entirely happy to do something but that you ultimately agree to do it.

e.g. ¡Venga, bien! Salimos a cenar el sábado en vez del viernes.
Ok then! We’ll go out for dinner Saturday instead of Friday.

5. To offer support

Venga can be used to support someone and to give encouragement.

e.g. Venga, no te preocupes, todo saldrá bien. – Come on, don’t worry, everything will turn out ok.

6. To express disbelief

Another common use of ‘venga’ is to express disbelief or astonishment.

e.g. ¡Venga! No me lo creo. – Come on! I don’t believe it.

7. Venga ya – annoyance / disagreement

When venga is used with the word ‘ya’ after it, it means that you are annoyed or that you disagree with something.

e.g. ¡Venga ya! Me estás mintiendo. – Come on! You are lying to me.

Hopefully you will now be more aware of what venga really means next time you hear it being said and also that you will feel more confident using ‘venga’ yourself in one of the above situations.