Vaya con dios bedeutung

Hi, everyone,

I always believed that 'Vaya con Dios' meant 'Go with God' and was a nice thing to say on parting, but I see from the net that it can now be used as a form of swearing, which is quite offensive.

Is that in fact true?
Would I be safe to use it in the 'nice' sense for a fictional character to say in the 17th century?

Many thanks for your help,

Louisa

Hi Louisa,
It's a nice thing to say but it is not used any longer in Spain, I don't know about the rest of the countries. I have never herad of it as a form of swearing!
Alexa

It does mean "Go with God" similar to "Goodbye" que se deriva de "God be with you" ---> Godbewiye etc.

Hmmm...well, I've never heard of it being used profanely...I've heard "vete al diablo." Although, the expression is certainly archaic...I've never heard a true native speaker use it.

Vaya con Dios my Darling

Now the hacienda's dark
The town is sleeping
Now the time has come to part
The time for weeping

Vaya con Dios, my darling
Vaya con Dios, my love

Now the village mission bells are softly ringing
If you listen with your heart
You'll hear them singing

Vaya con Dios, my darling
Vaya con Dios, my love

Wherever you may be, I'll be beside you
Although you're many million dreams away
Each night I'll say a pray'r
A pray'r to guide you
To hasten every lonely hour
Of every lonely day
Now the dawn is breaking through a gray tomorrow
But the memories we share are there to borrow

Vaya con Dios, my darling
Vaya con Dios, my love

[Musical Interlude]

Vaya con Dios, my darling
Vaya con Dios, my love

In México is rarely used, but I've heard it in movies, and it means "may God be with you", but never as a form of swearing.

Thank you all very much for your most helpful answers.

The 'swearing' notion may be completely wrong. I found it in a discussion thread when doing a general search on the phrase 'Viya con dios'. I'm afraid I don't seem to be able to post the link, but here is what the Latin American speaker said:

Another Spanish term that is widely misinterpreted is “vaya con dios”. The strict translation is “go with God” which sounds nice, but the connotation is more of a “go to hell” kinda thing.

Either way, it sounds as if I should be quite safe to use the phrase in a novela histórica set in the 17th century. From my point of view, 'archaic' is good!

Thank you all again.

Louisa

Thank you all very much for your most helpful answers.

The 'swearing' notion may be completely wrong. I found it in a discussion thread when doing a general search on the phrase 'Viya con dios'. I'm afraid I don't seem to be able to post the link, but here is what the Latin American speaker said:

Either way, it sounds as if I should be quite safe to use the phrase in a novela histórica set in the 17th century. From my point of view, 'archaic' is good!

Thank you all again.

Louisa

Well, in that context, I can see what s/he means...it's like a death threat. I mean if you are being told "Go with God" it might mean: I hope you die!...but, that might be stretching it a bit.

It might be like saying "I hope you wake up with the angels" which might sound nice but means "I wish you were dead". I've heard "vaya con Dios" said as a parting remark by our local priest but it's not used in normal coversation anymore.

Translated it says, 'Go WITH God', not 'Go to God'. You can go with God while you are still alive and kicking. In Genesis it mentions Adam walking with God (while he was still alive).