La abuela viaja a Marruecos y cocina cuscús

What does “yalla” mean in Spanish slang?

Yalla isn’t originally Spanish — it’s Arabic (يلا), meaning “come on!” or “let’s go,” and it has spread into everyday Spanish slang, especially online, as a snappy way to hurry someone along. In this clip, a grandmother uses it to shoo her new boyfriend, Mohamed, out the door — a small sign of how thoroughly the word has been adopted.

Across the Arab world yalla covers a lot of ground: yalla bye (“okay, bye”), yalla bina (“let’s go”), khalas yalla (“alright then”). Spanish has borrowed just the bare interjection — you’ll now hear yalla dropped into Spanish sentences the same way English speakers use “vamos” or “let’s go,” no translation needed.