Spanish greetings
How to say hello and goodbye
Question words in Spanish
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How to ask questions in Spanish
Formal vs. Informal "You"
The two kinds of address and when to use each one
Spanish plurals
How to get more than one of something
Definite and indefinite articles
The difference between "the" and "a", and how to say these in Spanish
Negating statements
How to say youdon'tknow what you're doing
Adjectives in Spanish
Where to put them and how to use them
Ser vs Estar: The two kinds of "to be"
How to know when to sayyo soyvs. when to sayyo estoy.
Weather vocabulary
The ultimate icebreaker
Feelings and moods
How to talk about how you're feeling using the verbsestarandsentirse
Spanish false cognates ("false friends")
9 Spanish words that seem similar to English, but are actually dangerously different
Telling the time
How to ask and give the time in Spanish
¿Dóndeestá? or ¿Dóndehay?
How to know whether to useestarorhaberwhen talking about something's existence
Comparisons of inequality
Bigger, smaller, faster, slower: How to compare two things and use superlatives in Spanish
Directions in Spanish
How to ask directions, and a few common prepositions that will help you get there
Being sore or sick
How to talk about illnesses and afflictions in Spanish
You probably already know that "hello" in Spanish is"hola", right?
But Spanish greetings and pleasantries don't stop there. Just like in English, there are a bunch of ways you can say "hi", "how are you?" and "goodbye", depending on the situation.
How to say "hello"
We'll start with the greetings you'll probably see in a Spanish phrase book. There's a good chance you've probably already learned these, but here's a quick refresher:
Play
¡Hola!
Hi!
Play
Buenos días
Good morning
Play
Buenas tardes
Good afternoon
Play
Buenas noches
Good evening
Note that Spanish greetings are always in the plural ("Good days"), but you might occasionally hear the singular "buen día"instead of"buenos días".
Play
Buen día
Good day
"Buen día"is not very commonly used. So if in doubt, stick to"buenos días".
How to say "how are you?"
Just like in English, it's nice to follow up with"how are you?"(Although just like in English, don't always expect to get an answer.)
Play
¿Cómo está?
How are you? (formal)
Play
¿Cómo está usted?
How are you? (also formal)
For casual, everyday conversations you can take your pick from any of the following. They all mean "how are you?", "what's up?" "how's it going?" "how you doin'?" etc. Which one you pick depends on which Spanish-speaking country you come from, or your own personal preference.
Play
¿Qué tal?
Play
¿Cómo andas?
Play
¿Cómo va?
Play
¿Qué haces? *
how are you? / what's up? / how's it going? how you doin'? (very casual)
* Note that ¿Qué haces? can also mean "what do you do?" or "what are you doing?", depending on the context.
How to say "good, thanks!"
Yup, just as you do in English, if someone asks you "How are you?" you will usually say "good, thanks!" Although just like in English, often the person blurting out a quick "¿Qué tal?" isn't really expecting a response.
Play
Bien, gracias, ¿y usted?
Good, thanks, and you? (formal)
Play
Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
Good, thanks, and you? (informal)
If things are a little better than "good" in your world, you can use one of these instead:
Play
Todo bien
Everything's good
Play
Muy bien
Very good
If things are a bit more so-so, you could also use one of these:
Play
Aquí estamos
Play
Acá andamos
Literally "here we are", but it's usually used like "I'm hanging in there", or "I'm alive".
Play
Bien...¿o te cuento?
Good... or shall I really tell you about it?
Even if you're feeling really terrible, it's bad form to ever come straight out and say "mal" ("bad").
In some Spanish-speaking countries (eg, Argentina) people will often only say that they're "very good" when they're being ironic. If you hear someone say "¡Mejor imposible!" ("it doesn't get any better than this!") — there's a good chance they're probably not having a very good day.
How to say "goodbye"
When it's time to say goodbye, again you've got some polite options, and some more casual options.
Play
Adiós
Goodbye
Play
Chau
Bye! (casual)
Play
Nos vemos
See you (casual)
Play
Hasta mañana
See you tomorrow
Play
Hasta luego
See you later
Play
Hasta la próxima semana
See you next week
Play
Hasta el próximo lunes
See you next Monday
(It's well worth getting familiar with Hasta. It's very adaptable and useful for saying goodbye, and it's easy to remember: Just think of Arnie in Terminator: Hasta la vista, baby.)
You might also like...
- Introducing yourself in Spanish (video)
- Children's stories in Spanish