Disclosure: This site has affiliate links to language products including those on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Thank you.
Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links to language learning products. We receive a commission for purchases made via these links, at no cost to you. Thank you.
Hi Junkies!
You’re here because you want to say hello in Spanish, right?.Read this. It’ll take you 2 minutes to learn all kinds of Spanish Greetings.
If you don’t, I don’t care – this is ONLY for people that truly want to speak Spanish. Here’s what you do:
- Read the translations
- Say the pronunciation out loud
- Listen to the audio below
Okay, let’s get into it.
1) Hola: Hello
- Hello
- “OH-LAH”
This is simply the easiest way to say hello in Spanish!
Note: You should also HEAR how to say Hello in Spanish.
Press play below. Try this Free 2-minute Lesson from SpanishPod101to hear the common Spanish greetings.
- Lesson – 3-Minute Mexican Spanish – Greetings
- Free Lesson by SpanishPod101.com (click here for more free audio lessons).
2) Buenos días: Good morning or good day
- Good morning or good day
- “BWE-NOS DEE-AHS”
Example: If you are watching a morning show in Spanish, the host may begin the show by saying to the audience:
- “¡Buenos días a todos!”
- “Good morning to all!”
3) Buenas tardes: Good afternoon or good evening
- Good afternoon or good evening (depending on the time of the day it is said)
- “BWE-NAHS TAR-DEHS”
Example:
- “Buenas tardes, Señor”
- “Good afternoon, Sir”
4) Buenas noches: Goodnight
- “Goodnight”
- “BWE-NAHS NOH-CHEHS”
This can also mean “Good evening”, but is most commonly used when someone is heading to bed and they want to indicate that they will sleep soon.
Example:
- “Me voy a dormir. ¡Buenas noches!”
- I am going to bed. Goodnight!
—
The next few phrases will teach you various ways to ask “How are you?” or “What’s up?” in Spanish!
While these are not literal ways to say hello in Spanish, you can use them as greetings.
5) ¿Cómo está Usted?: How are you? (formal)
- How are you? (formal)
- “COH-MOH ESS-TAH OO-STEHD”
Usted is used in formal situations, when you do not know someone or are talking to someone who is your superior, such as a university professor.
Example:
- “Hola Señor. ¿Cómo está Usted?”
- “Hello Sir. How are you?”
6) ¿Cómo estás?: How are you? (Informal)
- How are you? (Informal)
- “COH-MOH ESS-TAHS”
This is the simplest, informal way of saying “How are you?”. You would use this to speak to a peer or a member of your family.
Example:
- “Hola mamá. ¿Cómo estás?”
- “Hi Mom. How are you?”
7) ¿Qué pasa?: What’s up? What’s happening?
- What’s up? What’s happening?
- “KAY PAH-SAH?”
This is a much more informal way to say hello, very similar to “What’s up?” in American English.
Example:
- “¿Qué pasa calabaza? Nada nada limonada.”
- What’s up, pumpkin? Nothing, nothing, lemonade.”
I know this example sounds funny, but that’s because it’s actually a cute rhyme that children in Latin America use! It’s similar to how we say, “See you later alligator” in English.
8) ¿Qué onda?: What’s up? (Informal) (Mexico)
- What’s up? (Informal)
- “KAY OHN-DAH?”
¿Qué onda? — Literally translates to “What wave?” in Spanish, but this commonly used slang term from Mexico is used as a relaxed way to say, “What’s up?” or “How’s it going?” to a friend. If you’re really close, you can say,
Example:
- “¿Qué onda güey?”
- (Pronunciation of güey = “WAY”)
- “What’s up dude?” ;)
9) ¿Qué tal?: What’s up? (Informal) (Spain)
- What’s up? (Informal)
- “KAY TAHL?”
If you’re in Spain, you will commonly hear this phrase amongst friends. It means, “How’s it going?”, but you can include estás to your friend, to ask how they are.
Example:
- “¿Qué tal estás”
- How are you doing?
10) ¿Qué hay?: What’s up? (Spain(
- What’s up?
- “KAY EYE?”
This literally translates to “What’s there?”, but is another common informal greeting in Spain meaning, “How’s it going?” or “What’s up?”
Example:
- “Hola Andrea, ¿qué hay?”
- “Hi Andrea, what’s up?”
—————————————————————————————————————————
Now that we know how to say hello in Spanish, and know how someone is doing, here are a few phrases to describe what you like.
11) Me gustas: I like you
- I like you
- “MAY GOOSE-TAHS”
Before getting romantic with someone and saying you love them, you might just want to tell them you enjoy their company. This one is simple: “Me gustas”.
Example: “Penelope… me gustas.” — “Penelope… I like you.”
12) Me gusta… I like…
- I like…
- “MAY GOOSE-TAH”
If you want to describe your taste in movies or chocolate or anything else, simply use the phrase “Me gusta” and add the word that you like.
For example:
- “Me gusta el chocolate”
- “I like chocolate”
**NOTE: If you are describing something that you like in the plural, then make sure to add an “N” to the end of “Me gusta” like so:
- “Me gustan perros”
- “I like dogs”
13) Estoy… I am…
- I am…
- “ES-TOY…”
If someone asks you how you are using phrases like those in numbers 5-10, you can respond with describing how you are. You can say, “Estoy bien” meaning “I am good”, or “Estoy mal”, as in “I am feeling poorly”.
Example:
- You: “Hola Shakira, ¿cómo estás?”
- Shakira: “Buenos días, estoy bien.”
——————————————————————————————————————————
You learned how to say hello in Spanish, right?
Now, let’s learn various ways to say “goodbye” in Spanish.
14) Adiós — Goodbye
- Goodbye (Literally: “To God”)
- “AH-DEE-OHS”
The simplest way to say goodbye in Spanish is “adiós”. This can be used formally or informally depending on the context. Literally, it means “to god” because it’s a mix “a” and “dios.” Add them together and you have bye in Spanish.
Example:
- “Adiós, amigos. Ya tengo que irme.”
- “Goodbye, friends. I have to go.”
15) Hasta luego: Until then
- Until then
- “AHS-TAH LOO-EH-GO”
This is another very common “goodbye” greeting that it most similar to “see you later” in English.
Example:
- “Necesito dar de comer a mi perro. ¡Hasta luego!”
- I need to go feed my dog. See you later!
16) Hasta la próxima: Until next time
- Until next time
- “AHS-TAH LAH PROX-EE-MAH”
This phrase is commonly used as a farewell greeting as well and shows how you can add many different words to “hasta” to indicate the next time you will meet. For example, if you have agreed to meet with a client again on Monday, you could end the conversation with, “Until Monday!”, “¡Hasta lunes!”
Example:
- “Gracias por ayudarme. ¡Hasta la próxima!”
- “Thanks for helping for me. Until next time!”
17) Hasta la vista: Until the next sighting; Until we see each other again
- Until the next sighting; Until we see each other again
- “AHS-TAH LAH VEE-STAH”
Of course this phrase was popularized by Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Terminator 2”, but it actually is a common way to say goodbye in Spanish.
Example:
- “Hasta la vista, baby”
- “Until next time, baby” ;)
Conclusion – Back to You
Boom! Done!
Now you know how to say HELLO in Spanish.
And, you learned a whole bunch of other phrases in the process.
Are there other phrases i should include here? What’s your favorite? Why are you learning Spanish? Leave a comment!
What’s next?
- How to Learn Spanish in 5 Minutes
- How Are You in Spanish
– The Main Junkie
P.S. Want to learn & speak Spanish? I recommend SpanishPod101.com
You get 1,000+ audio/video lessons made by real teachers. They teach you conversations so you can start speaking — from Beginner to Advanced. Also, I like them because they release new lessons which are free for all users. So, go check out their Spanish learning program.
Click here to visit SpanishPod101 & sign up for a free lifetime account
FAQs
10+ Ways to Say Hello in Spanish (Listen to the Audio)? ›
- 1) Hola: Hello.
- 2) Buenos días: Good morning or good day.
- 3) Buenas tardes: Good afternoon or good evening.
- 4) Buenas noches: Goodnight.
- 5) ¿Cómo está Usted?: How are you? (formal)
- 6) ¿Cómo estás?: How are you? (Informal)
- 7) ¿Qué pasa?: What's up? ...
- 8) ¿Qué onda?: What's up? (Informal) (Mexico)
How to Say "Hello" | Spanish Lessons - YouTube
What are 5 ways to say hello? ›5 Way to Say Hello: Common English Greetings - YouTube
What are three ways to say hello in Spanish? ›| Spanish | English equivalent | Literal translation |
|---|---|---|
| Hola | Hello | Hello |
| Buenos días | Good morning | Good (pl.) days |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon | Good (pl.) afternoons |
| Buenas noches | Good night/Good evening | Good (pl.) nights |
Hola is the Spanish hello everyone knows
In Spanish, the “h” is silent, so hola is pronounced “oh-la.”
...
Slang English Greetings
- Yo! Audio Player. ...
- Are you OK?, You alright?, or Alright mate? Audio Player. ...
- Howdy! Audio Player. ...
- Sup? or Whazzup? Audio Player. ...
- G'day mate! ...
- Hiya!
Buenos días.
This is more common and polite than “Hola”.
In Spanish, the correct way to greet people is with the word hola, whether it be in a formal or informal setting, Hola means hello, but the “h” is silent, so we say /ola/. In fact, the word ola in Spanish actually means wave. But that's not all — if you are learning Portuguese, the correct expression for hello is olá.
What do you say after Hola? ›A good, appropriately casual response to this greeting would be something like Todo bien (all good) or No me quejo (can't complain).
How do Spanish greet each other? ›The common verbal greeting is “Buenos dias” (Good day), “Buenas tardes” (Good afternoon) or “Buenas noches” (Good evening/night) depending on the time of day. People may also say “¿Como está?” (How are you). A more casual greeting is “Hola” (Hello).
How do u greet in Spanish? ›
Learn Spanish - How to Greet People in Spanish - YouTube
How do I respond to Ola? ›2 Answers. Muy bien, gracias, is the straightforward reply and as Annie says it is polite to ask how they are. You could also say 'genial' or if your feeling out of sorts 'asi, asi' [so, so] The last two answers are to someone who is interested in how you feel ie a friend.
How do you greet in Spanish? ›- Hola – Hello.
- Buenas – Hi (informal)
- Buenos días – Good morning.
- Buen día – Good morning (less common, used in Argentina)
- Buenas tardes – Good afternoon.
- Buenas noches – Good evening.
- Bienvenido – Welcome.
1- Hola. It means “hello” or “hi” in Spanish and, as we've already mentioned, this word is the most common Spanish greeting and can be used at all times.
Does Ola mean hello? ›In Spanish, the correct way to greet people is with the word hola, whether it be in a formal or informal setting, Hola means hello, but the “h” is silent, so we say /ola/. In fact, the word ola in Spanish actually means wave. But that's not all — if you are learning Portuguese, the correct expression for hello is olá.
How do you reply Hola in Spanish? ›Pronounced: kohm-oh eh-stas. This phrase means “how are you?” and can be used not only to find out how somebody is feeling, but can also be used as a way to say hello. If in passing someone says “hola!” to you, it would acceptable to reply: “como estas?”