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Slang file #014RisingReactions

What does wepa mean?

Say itWEH-pah/ˈwepa/interjection

Where you’ll hear it
  • Puerto Rico
  • Puerto Ricans in the US
  • Dominican Republic
  • Venezuela
  • Panama

A Caribbean Spanish shout of joy, excitement, encouragement, or admiration, like "woo-hoo!" or "yeah!", and in some places also a friendly way to say hello.

Written by the Second Language TeamWritten

Wepa is a happy shout, often written ¡wepa! with the upside-down mark that Spanish puts at the start of an exclamation. The Diccionario de americanismos, a dictionary of Latin American Spanish, says it shows admiration, encouragement, or noisy celebration [1]. Dictionary.com compares it to "Oh yeah!", "Wow!", or "That’s awesome!" [3]. People yell it when their team scores, when a friend gets good news, or when a favorite song starts. It belongs to Caribbean Spanish, most of all Puerto Rico, and Puerto Ricans in the US drop it into English all the time.

Say it WEH-pah. The w is like the w in "wet," and the e is a short "eh," not "ee." The Spanish p is softer than the English p and has no puff of air after it. Wepa is casual and friendly, never rude. It also never changes form: there is no "wepo" for a man and no plural.

Word stats

How casual
Informal and friendly. You can shout it with strangers at a game, but it’s a party word, not a paperwork word.
OK at work
Great in the team chat when someone closes a big deal. Leave it out of the yearly report.
Abuela-safe
Fully safe. Abuela (grandma) may be the one shouting it loudest at the family party.
Rudeness
Not rude in any meaning the dictionaries list. The worst it can do is be very loud.
Freshness
The word has been around for decades, and more people look it up every year.

Spotted in the wild

Group chat · the cousins
  1. YariI PASSED THE BAR EXAM 😭
  2. TitoWEPAAAA
  3. Youwepa!! so proud of you

What it means here: Wepa is a cheer here, like "woo-hoo!", and stretching the last letter makes it louder.

Comments · a video of a last-second basketball win
  1. Marisol¡Wepa! 🔥
  2. Javiwepa wepa wepa
  3. Marisolqué partido 😮

What it means here: Fans celebrate the win with wepa, said three times for extra joy. "Qué partido" means "what a game."

Text from your partner’s dad in San Juan · Saturday
  1. Don RafaWepa! cómo andas?
  2. Youall good! we land tomorrow at 3
  3. Don Rafaperfecto, I’ll be at the airport

What it means here: Here wepa is a friendly hello, like "hey!", and "cómo andas" means "how are you doing?"

How to use it

  • ¡Wepa! on its own, right after good news¿Te dieron el trabajo? ¡Wepa! ("They gave you the job? Woo-hoo!")
  • wepa, repeated or stretched for more energy¡Wepa, wepa, wepa! ("Yeah, yeah, yeah!")
  • ¡Wepa + a name! to cheer someone on¡Wepa, Luis! ¡Dale! ("Go, Luis! Go for it!")
  • wepa inside EnglishWepa! The food is finally here.
  • ¡Wepa! + a question, as a greeting¡Wepa! ¿Qué hay? ("Hey! What’s up?")

Don’t say it like this

  • Sounds off¡Wepo, Carlos! (to cheer a man)

    Say this¡Wepa, Carlos! ("Go, Carlos!")

    Wepa is an interjection, so it never changes for gender or number. The final -a doesn’t mean it’s feminine, so you say wepa to everyone, and to groups too.

  • Sounds off"WEE-pah"

    Say this"WEH-pah"

    The Spanish e sounds like the e in "wet," never like "ee."

  • Sounds off"My car broke down." "¡Wepa!"

    Say this"My car broke down." "Ay, lo siento." ("Oh, I’m sorry.")

    Wepa is for joy, admiration, and cheering people on [1]. Shouting it after bad news sounds like you’re glad about the bad news.

  • Sounds off"Wepa is Spanish, so every Spanish speaker says it."

    Say this"Wepa is Caribbean Spanish, most of all Puerto Rican."

    The dictionary lists it in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, and Nicaragua, not in Mexico or Spain [1].

wepa or not?

Is each of these wepa? Pick an answer to find out.

  1. Your cousin’s team scores a goal, and your tía (aunt) jumps up and yells "¡wepa!"

  2. A friend tells you she lost her job, and you text back "wepa."

  3. A neighbor in Puerto Rico waves and says "¡wepa! ¿cómo estás?"

  4. You cheer on two runners by shouting "¡wepos!"

The wepa family

  • ¡epa!A short interjection that can also show joy and enthusiasm, among other uses.Wepa’s cousin, one letter lighter.
  • ¡épale!A word that means about the same as epa.Same energy, with an extra syllable on the end.
  • ¡aúpa! / ¡upa!Words used in Spain to cheer someone on, or when you lift a small child.Some people guess wepa comes from these. Nobody has shown it, so for now they’re just neighbors.

Where it came from

  1. 1974Dictionary.com says a 1974 song by Alfonso Vélez, "El Jolgorio (Wepa, Wepa, Wepa)," made the word popular in Puerto Rico [3]. Jolgorio means "a noisy party."
  2. 2010The Diccionario de americanismos records ¡wepa! as a cheer in five countries [1], and wepa as a friendly greeting [2].
  3. TodayNobody knows for sure where the word comes from. Dictionary.com says it apparently started as an imitation of the English "woo-hoo!" [3]. People who say it don’t seem to mind not knowing.

Can wepa also mean hello?

Yes, in some places. Besides the cheer, the Diccionario de americanismos has a second entry for wepa as a friendly greeting, like "hey!" [2]. It lists that use for Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Panama, and Nicaragua, and it marks it as rare in the Dominican Republic [2].

UseSounds likeExample
A cheer"Woo-hoo!" or "Yeah!"¡Wepa! ¡Ganamos! ("Woo-hoo! We won!")
Encouragement"Go, go, go!"¡Wepa, Ana, tú puedes! ("Go, Ana, you can do it!")
Admiration"Wow!"¡Wepa, qué bonito! ("Wow, that’s so pretty!")
A greeting"Hey!"¡Wepa! ¿Cómo estás? ("Hey! How are you?")

To tell them apart, look at when it comes. The greeting comes at the start of a meeting or a chat, and a question like ¿cómo estás? ("how are you?") often follows it. The cheer comes right after good news, a goal, or a great dance move.

Neither dictionary entry lists Mexico or Spain [1][2]. People there may know the word from Puerto Rican music, but they don’t usually say it. So if a friend from Mexico City gives you a confused look after your "¡wepa!", that’s why.

Sources

  1. ¡wepa!ASALE, Diccionario de americanismos
  2. wepaASALE, Diccionario de americanismos
  3. wepaDictionary.com

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