Differences Between “haya”, “halla”, “allá”, “aya” and “¡ah, ya!”

Are your kids having trouble with some Spanish words? Look we get it, learning a second language is never easy and Spanish is no exception. Honestly, it can be confusing at times, like we showed you when we taught you about homophones.

The differences between “haya”, “halla”, “allá”, “aya” and “ah ya” are probably some of the words your kids confuse the most. We know this because it’s a common mistake.

Want to know a secret? Even native Spanish Speakers make some of these mistakes every now and then. So, even though it is important to truly understand these words, there’s no need for students to feel embarrassed or frustrated.

Patience, hard work and this TruFluency Kids guide will help children master the differences between these tricky words.

Haya

Okay, pay attention because this one is tricky, as it has two different meanings. Both are pronounced as “ah yah”.

First, this is a verb and is the most common “haya”. You’ll hear it a lot in Spanish. It is used as the singular first (I) or third person (He/She) of the verb “haber” (To have) in present tense.

For example:

• Estoy feliz de que él haya ganado el concurso. (I’m happy that he won the contest).
• Mamá me dijo que comeré dulces después de que haya limpiado mi cuarto. (My mom told me I will eat candies after I’ve cleaned my room).
• No puedo creer que ella le haya mentido a su mamá. (I can’t believe she has lied to his mom).

But wait! Because “haya” is also a type of tree, more specifically the beech tree.

For example:

• Mi perro se hizo pipí en el haya. (My dog peed on the beech tree).
• ¡El haya está gigante! (The beech is gigantic!)
• Ya es otoño y los colores del haya están cambiando. (It’s already autumn and the colors of the beech tree are changing).

Halla

This is a verb. It works as the singular third person (He/She) of the verb in present tense “hallar” (To find). So it means that someone finds something or someone else or that something can be found somewhere. And it’s also pronounced “ah yah”.

For example:

• Ella siempre halla una solución para todo problema. (She always finds a solution for every problem).
• Mi casa se halla en Colombia. (My house is in Colombia).
• Mi abuelito halla bondad en todas las personas. (My grandpa finds goodness in all people).

“Halla” also works as the singular second person (Tú) of the imperative of the verb (To find).

For example:

• Halla las cinco diferencias. (Find the five differences).
• Halla ese documento lo antes posible. (Find that document as soon as possible).

Allá

This is an adverb of place and it’s used for when someone or something is far from where we are. Basically, it’s used as “there”.

You have to pay close attention, because this word is pronounced differently to the other words presented here. “Allá” is also pronounced as “ah yah”, with the only difference that the accent mark means that the strongest sound falls on the last “á”. So put some emphasis there when you say it out loud.

For example:

• Mamá, ¿has visto mi pelota? Sí, está por allá. (Mom, have you seen my ball? Yes, it’s over there).
• ¡Mira! Allá están regalando helado. (Look! They’re gifting ice cream there).
• ¿Conoces el museo de cera? Yo vivo por allá. (Do you know the wax museum? I live around there).

Aya

This word is not very popular, but it’s still important you learn it so there’s no confusion with the other “hayas”.

“Aya” means a woman that works in a house taking care of the kids and educating them. Basically, it’s a nanny.

It’s also pronounced as “ah yah”.

For example:

• Mi aya me cuenta un cuento todos los días. (My nanny tells me a tale every day).
• Quiero mucho a mi aya. (I love my nanny very much).
• Aunque ya crecí, siempre voy a recordar a mi querida aya. (Although I already grew up, I’ll always remember my dear nanny).

¡Ah, ya!

This one is formed by two interjections: “ah” and “ya”. It goes between quotes, because it’s an expression used to express that you finally understand or remember something. It’s also used for when you finally see something.

Since they’re two interjections, make a very small pause between the two words when you pronounce it.

For example:

• ¡Ah, ya te entendí! (Oh, I finally understood you!)
• ¿De verdad, no te acuerdas de mí? ¡Ah, ya! Ya me acordé. (Really, you don’t remember me? Oh, yes! I finally remembered).
• No logro ver el edificio, ¿en dónde está? ¡Ah, ya! (I can’t see the building, where is it? Oh, I see now!)

Sentences to Remember the Differences Between These Words

Here’s a very cool way to help your kids remember the differences between these words. Just add all the “hayas” in one sentence or one paragraph. So they are all mixed in one expression, idea or story, but they play a different part in it. It’s like a mnemonic exercise.

To help you, we’ve created these sentences. All with the goal of helping your kids understand the differences more easily and remember how to properly use each word.

• ¿En dónde está mi aya? ¡Ah, ya! Está por allá hablando con mi papá para que no me castigue. Porque ella siempre halla solución para cualquier problema en el que yo me haya metido. / (Where’s my nanny? Oh, I see! She’s over there talking to my dad, so he won’t ground me. Because she always finds a solution for whatever problem I’ve gotten myself into).
• ¡Ah, ya! Me acabo de acordar en dónde se halla el parque de diversiones. Está por allá, cerca del haya más alto de la ciudad, que fue plantado por mi aya. / (Oh, right! I just remember where the amusement park is. It’s over there, near the tallest beech of the city that was planted by my nanny).
• Huh, me pregunto qué es eso de ahí. ¡Ah, ya! Es Smith, el patito de mi aya. Smith, haya comido su alimento o no, siempre busca y halla pan en el granero que está allá, al lado del haya. / (Huh, I wonder what’s that over there. ¡Oh, I see! It’s Smith, my nanny’s little duck. Smith, whether he ate his food or not, always looks for and finds bread in the barn that is there, next to the beech tree).
• ¿Me entiendes? ¡Ah, ya! Te refieres a que cualquiera que haya robado el dinero del aya deberá devolverlo al banco que se halla allá o habrá consecuencias, ¿cierto? / (Do you understand me? Oh, I yeah! You mean that anyone that had stolen the money from the nanny will have to give it back to the bank that is there or there will be consequences, right?)

Find the Best Way for Your Kids to Learn Spanish in TruFluency Kids!

OK, so we’ve cleared the confusion over these words, but children still need to practice how to use them. That’s the best way they’ll learn how to use these words fluently in a real situation. TruFluency Kids can help you with this.

We offer Spanish immersion classes, where we encourage speaking. Yes, that’s right. Talking in our classes it’s a super important thing to do. Because we believe that’s the best way children will achieve Spanish fluency.

This means that during our classes, your children will have the opportunity to use the words they learned in the blog. And if they make a mistake, don’t worry. We’re a safe space to make mistakes and learn from them.

But of course, that’s not it. We’ll teach them all the other language skills like grammar, reading, listening and more vocabulary. And we’ll do it in a fun way! That is through all kinds of Spanish activities, like games, crafts and songs.

We’ll clear all of your children’s doubts.

You can take a trial class! Our lessons are live with a native teacher and the classrooms are composed of a maximum of five students. So, everything is more personalized. But the trial classes fill up pretty quickly. So don’t waste any more time. Regístrate ahora y halla en TruFluency Kids las mejores clases de español!