Is Spanish "Aúpa!" the same as the Greek "Opa!" ???

Question

Aúpa! in Spanish means 'get up!'. Is this the same as the phrase "Opa!" in Greek to describe a festive event in which they are to dance? For, example, in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" the family members are always shouting "Opa!" at the parties and then dancing ensues.

welcome to the forum ! - 00b6f46c, Dec 22, 2010

Answer 1

¡Hola!, Catcarp07:

The dictionaries I looked at indicate that "aúpa" means:

• to encourage someone to stand up or lift something.
• Used especially by/for children when they want them to be lifted into someone's arms as in "Up!" or "Upsadaisy!"
• Also used in other figures of speech, such as "a good thrashing", "a whale of a storm" or "it's absolutely awful".

Given these meanings, I suggest it is not an equivalent for the Greek "Opa".

Just a thought, but, maybe the Spanish "¡Olé!" is closer to the Greek "Opa!".

Muchos saludos/Best regards

I agree, particularly with the last bit about "Olé". - Gekkosan, Dec 22, 2010

Answer 2

Funny, in Hungarian, we have "hoppá" (accent is NOT for stress, but more-open vowel), which means almost the same, but usually used as an exclamation for "Oops!".

I wonder if there is a universal onomatopoeia behind these words.

Answer 3

I believe so, yes...

Answer 4

I think you are right Catcarp, listen to this song :

Opa opa