Ahorita and Ahora mismo

Question

I'm not sure if mismo should be misma or not. Can someone please tell me the difference (if there is one) between the two? I thought that ahorita was more urgent, but I'm not certain.

Gracias, Rachel

Tangent: What does the green "Accept" button do? - SiempreAprendo, Oct 6, 2010

It accepts that answer which you consider to be the best ,or closest translation for you . Please correct me if I am wrong guys. - ray76, Oct 6, 2010

Thank you! - SiempreAprendo, Oct 10, 2010

Answer 1

Hola, Rachel. Good question!

They are generally the same thing. "Ahorita" is more Latin American.

You are correct that the term is "ahora mismo" not "misma".

So then "ahora mismo" is more Spanish (as in 'used in Spain')? - SiempreAprendo, Oct 6, 2010

Answer 2

Ahora, ahorita and ahora mismo are very peculiar expressions, that mean different things in different places.

Where I grew up, in South America, Ahora means "in a while", whereas "ahorita" means right away.

In Puerto Rico and some other countries it is exactly backwards: "Ahora" means right away, and "ahorita" means "in a while".

Luckily there is "Ahora mismo"; which everyone understands to mean: "right this moment".

Where did you grow up, by the way? It sounds like you've lived just about everywhere. - KevinB, Oct 6, 2010

;-) Ain't tellin' Just about everywhere works fine! - Gekkosan, Oct 6, 2010

Good grief - I had no idea about the Puerto Rican variation! - mountaingirl123, Oct 6, 2010

Answer 3

"Ahorita" is a colloquial adverb used mostly (but not exclusively) in Mexico and the surrounding areas, but not in every Spanish speaking country. The modifier "mismo" is used in its neutral sense, which is always masculine (which has nothing to do with "male"). You can't say "ahorita misma" (unless you are creating a sentence in a very unusual context that only a native speaker would grasp)

Answer 4

Hola! permitime decirte que "ahorita" es solo para algunos paises de latino am. soy argentina y ni en mi pais, tampoco chile ni uruguay se usa ahorita. Se dice "Ahora" o "Ahora mismo" que es mas urgente e internacional. Por otro lado (Mismo) solo se utiliza como the same. EX: el mismo vestido que ella. Misma es el femenino Pero ahora mismo, es otr cosa

I was thinking of your countries when I posted my message, actually. - lazarus1907, Oct 6, 2010

So ahorita is more of a colloquialism for certain countries? - SiempreAprendo, Oct 6, 2010

Answer 5

We use "ahorita" in some Latin American countries but we know that it is incorrect. Ahora is the right word.

"Ahorita" is even in the dictionary. Colloquial does not mean incorrect. - lazarus1907, Oct 6, 2010