Skip to content
SlangWordsOnline

¡ave María pues!

AH-veh mah-REE-ah PWESSinterjectionRegionalMedellín & Antioquia

A Colombian Spanish slang term. Browse all Colombian slang.

What it means

  1. A paisa exclamation covering surprise, admiration, exasperation and mild scandal, depending entirely on the vowel length. Religious in form and not remotely religious in use.

  2. The pues is fixed; a paisa saying the phrase without it sounds like they are actually praying.

Literally: Hail Mary, then.

Examples with translations

  • ¡Ave María pues, qué elegancia!

    Well I never, look how smart you are!

  • Ave María, mijo, ¿y esa cara?

    Goodness, love, what's with the face?

Where it comes from

From the opening of the Hail Mary, in a region where Catholic formulas supplied a large share of everyday interjections. It is the most instantly recognisable marker of Antioquian speech and is imitated, affectionately and not, by the rest of the country.

Other forms

Spellings and variants:
ave maría pues, ay ave María
Similar terms:
ay juemadre, hombe