Ahora vs Ahorita vs Ahora Mismo: The Multiple Nuances of Now in Spanish

Beyond the straightforward translation of ahora, there are a number of related ways to express the concept of now in Spanish. In this post, we’ll cover the three similar terms ahora, ahorita, and ahora mismo, explaining the specifics of each one along with their main differences.

So without further ado, let’s get started in examining ahora vs ahorita vs ahora mismo!

Overview of Ahora vs Ahorita vs Ahora Mismo

Before we go into the details of each one, let’s just have an overview of their main particularities.

Ahora is the root word of all three, and refers to the time just now. There can be a bit of delay just before or after the immediate moment, but in general, when we use ahora we’re always talking about a time pretty close to now.

Ahorita introduces an intentional vagueness to the timing. It could be a little while ago, or a little while from now, or even some undetermined time in the future. Or maybe even right now, at this very moment.

Ahora mismo clears things up, and always means right now, at this very moment.

Ahora: Just now

When we use the word ahora on its own, we’re referring to the current time in general. This could be the current moment that you’d translate as right now, or even the current period of time that you’d translate as these days or nowadays.

Nonetheless, ahora generally has a bit of delay implied in its use, whether just before or just after the moment it’s used. This delay can’t be very exaggerated with ahora though, so we can translate it using in a moment for a short delay into the future, or just for a short delay in the past.

All in all, ahora is used to denote the moment right around now, or just now.

• Ahora, el mundo necesita tecnología. – Nowadays, the world needs technology.

• Ve a tu habitación. ¡Ahora! – Go to your room. Now!

• ¡Tranquilo! Vamos a comer ahora. – Relax! We are going to eat in a moment.

• Vengo de llegar ahora. – I just arrived.

Ahorita: The vague now

When we look at ahora vs ahorita, we see a clear similarity between the words, with just the diminutive suffix -ita tacked on. Diminutives are a very common transformation to many Spanish words, and in the case of ahora to ahorita it introduces an intentional vagueness to the timing.

Ahorita can essentially refer to four moments in time relative to the current moment, ranging from the immediate past to the distant future. Let’s take a look at each of these uses of ahorita.

Ahorita: Just now in the past

This use of ahorita is similar to one of the common uses of ahora we saw above, where the action has just been finished. Another way to express this moment of immediate past is to use the expression acabar + de.

• ¿Ya terminaste? / Sí, ahorita terminé mis tareas. – Are you done yet? / Yes, I just finished my tasks.

• Mi clase terminó ahorita. – My class just finished.

• So sorry! The teacher just left. – ¡Lo siento! La profesora se fue ahorita.

• Llegamos ahorita del supermercado. – We arrived just now from the supermarket.

Ahorita: Right now, Right away

Despite the vagueness implied in using ahorita, sometimes it can indeed refer to the actual moment that it’s uttered. In this case the speaker often states ahorita emphatically, underlining that they really mean right now.

Another way to express this immediate time frame is ahora mismo, which we’ll look at in more detail below.

• ¡Arreglemos esto ahorita! – Let ‘s solve this right now!

• Voy a hacer mi tarea ahorita. – I am going to do my homework right now.

• I won’t procrastinate any longer, I will do my chores now. – Ya no voy a procrastinar más, voy a hacer mis quehaceres ahorita.

• Quiero verte ahorita. – I want to see you right away.

Ahorita: In a bit, In a while

This use of ahorita is where we start getting vague, as the choice of ahorita vs ahora is intentionally blurring the delay between when we’re talking, and when whatever we’re talking about might happen. In general, this use of ahorita implies an intent to do something soon, without necessarily committing to doing it straight away.

• Ahorita te ayudo. – I am going to help you in a bit.

• Dame un segundo y leeré tu ensayo ahorita. – Give me a second, then I’ll read your essay.

• Sé paciente, ahorita vamos a ordenar la pizza. – Be patient, we’re going to order the pizza soon.

• ¿Podemos irnos? / Ahorita. – Can we go now? / In a minute.

• Por favor no te vayas, estaré ahí ahorita. – Please don’t leave, I will be there in a while.

Ahorita: Later, Sometime (maybe)

Here, our choice of ahorita stretches the previous use even further into the future. It’s basically used as a promise that something is likely to happen, without really implying when.

In extreme cases, this use of ahorita can even be used as a false promise, when the speaker really has little intent of really following through. Obviously, ahorita is very vague sometimes!

• They hope their package arrives soon. – Ellos esperan que su paquete llegue ahorita.

• I’ll do my homework in a minute, I just need to finish my game first. – Haré mi tarea ahorita, solo necesito terminar mi juego.

• Iré a esa fiesta ahorita, apenas me sienta mejor. – I will go to that party later, as soon as I feel better.

• Iremos al parque de diversiones ahorita, no te preocupes. – We will go to the amusement park later, don’t worry.

Ahoritita: Right now!

Do you see the difference with this one? Yes, we’ve added another diminutive -ita to ahorita! This is how we can take the vagueness away, and emphatically insist on immediacy. No, don’t do it ahorita, do it ahoritita! – right now!

For added emphasis, you can even tack on additional -itas to make your point, creating even stronger commands like ¡ahorititita! Some regions also create similar variants, such as in Colombia and Venezuela where you’ll hear ahoritica. Note that these forms are very informal, so best used with people you know well.

• El jefe se fue ahoritita. – The boss just left.

• ¡Dime la verdad ahoritita! – Tell me the truth right now!

• Quiero que limpies tu cuarto ¡ahorititita! – I want you to clean your room right away!

Ahora Mismo: At this moment

So far we’ve looked at ahora vs ahorita, and seen that both have some level of imprecision as to how close to the current moment they’re talking about. Though both of them can sometimes imply the immediate moment, fortunately we have another phrase which is specific to right now: ahora mismo.

When we consider ahora mismo vs ahora, we’re always better off using ahora mismo when we want to be precise. Ahora mismo is always really right now, right away, at this moment. It’s also much more formal than the familiar term of ahoritita, so it’s usually the best choice if you’re not close to the person you’re speaking with.

• Come tu desayuno ahora mismo. – Eat your breakfast right now.

• Ella necesita las respuestas ahora mismo. – She needs the answers right now.

• El problema será resuelto ahora mismo. – The problem will be solved right away.

Ahora phrases

Now that we’ve seen the main meanings of ahora and its variants to talk about now in Spanish, let’s see a few Spanish phrases which are formed around the word ahora. These phrases need to be taken in their entirety, without trying to apply any of the previous explanations of the word on its own. Their English equivalents are straightforward:

Ahora phrase	English phrase
Ahora bien	However
Por ahora	For now
Hasta ahora	Until now, So far
Desde ahora	From now on
De ahora en adelante	From now on

Conclusion

Wow, we just covered all these different ways to say now in Spanish with a few versions of the humble word ahora. First we saw how, although its direct translation is now, ahora can actually refer to a slightly broader stretch of time from the immediate past to the immediate future. The we looked at the diminutive ahorita, examining all its vagaries spanning from the near past to the some undefined moment in the future. We even saw how to remove the vagueness from ahorita and insist on immediacy by adding -itas with ahoritita or even ahorititita.

Finally, we looked at some Spanish phrases built around ahorita, starting with ahora mismo to explicitly refer to the immediate moment. Overall, we’ve covered the whole range of ways to talk about now in Spanish, explaining ahora vs ahorita vs ahora mismo.

Did you catch all the nuances, or do you need to review them all again? If you don’t do it now, you can always do it ahorita!