Ahora and Hoy

When learning Spanish it is easy to confuse these two words. Both ahora and hoy mean now. But there is a difference and can result in confusion if you tend to use both interchangeably.

Ahora means now, soon or very soon. If you want to emphasize “right now”, say ahora mismo.

Hoy also means now, but it refers to anytime during this particular day, as in today, or, more generally, nowadays, these days (hoy d