# Valga'm Deu!



## *medialuna*

I am having trouble translating this phrase and would be really grateful for some help.  It is obviously an exclamatory phrase referring to God, and maybe something to do with worth?? but other than that I have no ideas!

Moltes gracies


----------



## Mei

Hi there,

I don't know a literal translation but it's something like "Oh my God".

Mei


----------



## NoOrK

I think the reply of Mei is correct, but you say:*
"grateful for some help".

*And in Calatonia, when you say "Valga'm Deu", is when we are surprised about something, no for give a thanks 

If your case is give a thanks, better say:

"Thanks a lot!"
"Cool"
"Oh yeah, thanks"

And if your case is say "Wow!" "It is terrible.." (states), I suggest you "Oh my god".


I hope you understand.

Bye bye friend !*


----------



## *medialuna*

That's great, thank you so much! I think I understand what it means in the context given now.

Moltes gracies...


----------



## TraductoraPobleSec

What about *Goodness gracious!* Even the tone is the same when pronouncing _Goodness gracious_ and _Valga'm Déu_!

Have a good one, kids!


----------



## Orreaga

Hello Catalan friends,

I was curious about this phrase (and equivalents in other Romance languages) and wonder if I can "resurrect" this thread...

Is *Valga'm Deu!* still widely used in Catalonia today?  Is it considered "old-fashioned", and not something a young person would say?  Is it more typical of females? Or is it universal?  Somehow it always reminds me of an older woman, fanning herself rapidly with her "ventall."  

Salutacions...


----------



## Mei

Orreaga said:


> Hello Catalan friends,
> 
> I was curious about this phrase (and equivalents in other Romance languages) and wonder if I can "resurrect" this thread...
> 
> Is *Valga'm Deu!* still widely used in Catalonia today?  Is it considered "old-fashioned", and not something a young person would say?  Is it more typical of females? Or is it universal?  Somehow it always reminds me of an older woman, fanning herself rapidly with her "ventall."
> 
> Salutacions...



 I would be surprised if I hear it from a young person but I would like it. In fact, I use this expression everytime I can. You can hear it from a man or a woman, it doesn't matter... I remember... when I used to watch Magnum, P.I. that Higgins used to say "valga'm Déu" a lot in the catalan version.  

See you around!


----------



## TraductoraPobleSec

_Valga'm Déu_, as Mai has just said, is not commonly heard anymore. It's one of the most recurrent expressions in the _Obra Completa_ by Josep Pla, who lived from the end of the 19th century to 1981.


----------



## Orreaga

Thanks Mei and TPS, I suppose there's a little touch of nostalgia when saying it.  Kind of like in English, most people won't say, "Isn't that queer?" anymore (meaning "odd" or "strange", more dated than "valga'm Déu"), except I like to say it anyway.


----------

