Nomás is a word you're gonna hear
EVERYWHERE.
And I mean
EVERYWHERE.
Because it's a
VERY colloquial and
VERY Mexican way of saying:
👉
just / only (colloquial version)
And why?
Well, using
nada más instead of
solo is a hallmark of Mexican Spanish!
And you can think of
nomás as the shorter, more colloquial version of
nada más.
Simple (even if it might seem weird at first!).
Oh, and you might also hear
nomás being used to mean:
➡️
as soon as / right afterLet’s run through its main uses…
1️⃣ So, nomás often works like just or only in English:
Nomás uno, por favor.Just one, please.Nomás tantito.Just a tiny bit.Nomás otro episodio y ya.Just one more episode and that’s it.And you’ll also hear it with conjugated verbs:
Nomás voy a calentar la comida.I’m just going to heat up the food.Nomás deja termino mi chamba.Let me just finish my work.Nomás se está vistiendo.He’s just getting dressed.And in a few classic set phrases:
¡Mira nomás!Would you look at that!No, pásate nomás.No, just come in.Nomás estoy echando un ojo.I'm just taking a look.
2️⃣ But it can also mean as soon as / right after
Nomás llegue a la casa, lo reviso.As soon as I get home, I’ll check it.Nomás termine esto, te marco.As soon as I finish this, I’ll call you.Nomás me levanto, me pongo a hacer café.Right after I get up, I start making coffee.Nomás acabe la junta, me lanzo para allá.As soon as the meeting ends, I’ll head over there.