What Does "Dale" Mean in Spanish?

Quick Answer

dale= go ahead, do it, go for it; okay, sounds good

Diving Deeper...

You've likely heard dale in popular club and Latin reggaeton songs, like Pitbull's famous song "Dale." But what does it mean, exactly?

Dale is a conjugated command form of the verb dar that is used with the indirect object pronoun le. It is colloquially used to encourage someone to do something or to express agreement with someone or something.

When encouraging someone to do something, dale translates as go ahead, do it, go for it.
When expressing agreement, dale translates as okay or sounds good.

When to Use Dale

Dale is commonly used in two ways:

As a form of encouragement:

examples
¡Dale, tú puedes! ¡No te rindas! Go ahead, you can do it! Don't give up!
¡Dale, Mario! Avanza y tírate del avión antes de que te dé miedo. Do it, Mario! Hurry up and jump from the plane before you get scared.
Le voy a pedir a Ana su número de teléfono. - ¡Dale! I'm going to ask Ana for her phone number. - Go for it!

As a response to a suggestion, recommendation, or idea:

examples
¿Quieres ir a la fiesta en casa de Patricia esta noche? - ¡Dale! Do you want to go to the party at Patricia's tonight? - Okay!
¡Vayamos a la playa hoy. - ¡Dale! Let's go to the beach today. - Sounds good!