---
title: "pásale"
translation: "Come in. Go ahead."
type: "word"
category: "greeting"
url: "https://consalsa.app/words/pasale"
canonical: "https://consalsa.app/words/pasale"
published: "2026-10-20"
updated: "2026-10-20"
author: "Andrey the Nomad"
site: "ConSalsa.App"
license: "https://consalsa.app/terms#ip"
---

# pásale
URL: https://consalsa.app/words/pasale
Translation: Come in. Go ahead.
Pronunciation: /ˈpa.sa.le/
Category: greeting
Region: Mexico
Register: warm, hospitable, safe in every direction
Variants: pásele, pásenle, pase usted, pásele, pásele
Literal meaning: Pasar plus the intensive -le - the same dative as ándale and órale. It means come through, with the -le adding the emphasis and the Mexican flavor.
Published: 2026-10-20

Quick answer:
- Pásale means come in, or go ahead - the word for a threshold.
- Strangers get pásele, the usted form - hosts, vendors and drivers all use it. Pásale is for friends.
- At a door it is hospitality and you should walk in. In a shop doorway it is a sales call and you can keep walking.

What it means:
- An invitation across a threshold. A door, a gate, a shop entrance, a line - somebody is telling you to come through, and the word does it in one syllable more than the verb needs.
- It also means go ahead in the sense of take your turn. Held at a doorway with somebody else, pásele is how you let them through first, and it is the standard piece of small courtesy in an elevator or a narrow aisle.
- And on public transport it means move down. ¡Pásele, pásele, hasta atrás! from a microbús driver is one of the most-heard uses of this word in CDMX, and it is neither hospitality nor a sale.

Literal meaning:
- Pasar is to pass or come through, and the -le on the end is the intensive dative that also gives ándale, órale and córrele. It is a real piece of grammar rather than decoration - it just does not point at anybody.
- It does not convert an order into an invitation, though. Pasa, pasa is a perfectly warm thing to say to a friend at your door. What the -le adds is emphasis and a distinctly Mexican sound.

How Mexicans use it:
- At a door it is the whole arrival. Pásele, and then usually esta es su casa or con confianza - a host saying it expects you to walk in rather than to protest, and hesitating twice reads as declining.
- In markets and shop doorways it is a sales call, delivered at volume and in usted. ¡Pásele, pásele, güerita! - and güerita there is a friendly address term based on reading as light-skinned or foreign, not an insult and not personal. It requires no answer; smiling and continuing is entirely normal.
- As a courtesy it means after you. Two people at a doorway, one says pásele, and the other goes through. It is the same move as holding a door and it is expected rather than optional.
- The plural is what a host uses on a group: pásenle. It arrives as everybody is still on the doorstep working out who goes first.

Common mistake:
- Hesitating at a door. Pásele is not a first offer to be politely refused - it is the invitation, and the polite thing is to accept it and come in. That instinct to demur once belongs to a different ritual, the one about food.
- Taking the market version personally. Pásale from a vendor is aimed at whoever is walking past, not at you specifically, and it is not rude to keep going. Answering every one of them would take an afternoon.

Examples:
- Pásele, pásele, está en su casa. — Come in, come in, make yourself at home.
- Pásale, ya casi está la comida. — Come in, lunch is nearly ready.
- Pásele, por favor, usted primero. — Go ahead, please, after you.
- Pásenle, aquí hay lugar. — Come on in, there's room here.
- ¡Pásele, pásele, hasta atrás! — Move down, all the way to the back!

Mini dialogue:
A: ¡Pásele, joven! Qué bueno que vino.
B: Gracias. Traje un pan para el café.
A: Ay, no se hubiera molestado. Pásele, siéntese donde guste.
B: ¿Aquí está bien, señora?
A: Donde usted quiera. Esta es su casa.

FAQ:
Q: What does pásale mean?
A: Come in, or go ahead. It is the word for crossing a threshold - a door, a gate, a shop entrance.

Q: Should I say pásale or pásele?
A: Pásele with anybody you would address as usted - which includes hosts, vendors and drivers talking to strangers. Pásale is for friends.

Q: What does the -le in pásale mean?
A: It is the intensive dative that also gives ándale, órale and córrele - real grammar, just not pointing at anybody. It adds emphasis and a Mexican sound rather than converting an order into an invitation.

Q: What is pase usted?
A: The bare, more formal version - what a reception desk, a doctor's office or a security booth says. Pásele is the warmer form of the same move.

Q: Why does the bus driver keep saying pásele?
A: He means move down. ¡Pásele, pásele, hasta atrás! on a microbús is one of the most-heard uses of the word in CDMX and has nothing to do with welcome.

Q: Should I hesitate before going in?
A: No. Pásele is the invitation itself, not a first offer to be politely refused. Hesitating twice reads as declining - the demur-once ritual belongs to food, not to doorways.

Q: Why do vendors shout pásale at me?
A: It is a sales call, aimed at whoever is walking past rather than at you. Smiling and continuing is completely normal and not rude.

Q: What is the difference between pásale and pásame?
A: Less than it looks. Pásame la sal is pass me the salt; pásale la sal is pass her the salt. Pásale only means come through when there is no object after it.

Q: What is the plural?
A: Pásenle, and it is what a host uses on a group standing on the doorstep working out who goes first.

Related words: con-confianza, andale, provecho, mande, orale