What does "de ley" mean?

For sure, definitely.

Country: 🇪🇨 Ecuador
Say it: deh LAY
Register: Friends & informal

How it's actually used

Confirms plans and agrees emphatically. "De ley que voy" means I am definitely going.

Examples

¿Vienes mañana? —De ley. "Are you coming tomorrow?" "For sure."
De ley que te llamo. I'll definitely call you.

Where it comes from

Literally "by law" — as certain as legislation.

Now actually use it out loud

Reading a definition isn't the same as saying it to someone. Lingo Kaiava is a voice tutor set to Ecuadorian Spanish — it uses de ley the way locals do, corrects you in the moment, and never "fixes" the way real people actually talk into textbook Ecuadorian Spanish.

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