Hola: the one greeting that always works
Say hola to a friend, a shop assistant, your partner’s grandmother, or a stranger on the street. It is neither formal nor rude; formality in Spanish comes from what follows it (tú or usted), not from the greeting itself.
- Pronunciation: OH-lah. Never pronounce the h. Spanish h is always silent.
- Spelling: hola has no accent mark. In writing, an exclamation gets the opening mark: ¡Hola!
- Group greeting: ¡Hola a todos! (hello, everyone).
- Hola, ¿qué tal? is the most common two-part greeting: "hi, how’s it going?"
Greetings by time of day
Spanish splits the day into three greetings. They are more common than "good morning" in English: people say them when they walk into a shop, a waiting room, or an elevator.
| Spanish | English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Buenos días | Good morning | From waking up until about noon or lunch |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon | From noon or lunch until it gets dark |
| Buenas noches | Good evening, good night | After dark, as a hello and as a goodbye |
The line between tardes and noches follows daylight and dinner, not the clock, so buenas tardes can last until 8 pm in a Spanish summer. In casual speech all three shrink to buenas, which is a friendly hello at any hour.
More on each: good morning in Spanish and good night in Spanish.
Casual greetings
With friends, hola usually comes with a question that is really just part of the greeting. Nobody expects a detailed answer.
| Spanish | Literally | Feels like |
|---|---|---|
| ¿Qué tal? | What such? | How’s it going? |
| ¿Cómo estás? | How are you? | How are you? |
| ¿Qué hay? | What is there? | What’s up? |
| ¿Qué hay de nuevo? | What is there that’s new? | What’s new? |
| Buenas | Good (ones) | Hi there |
For the full range of answers, see how are you in Spanish.
Regional greetings
Every country has its own "what’s up". Use these with friends in that country; with strangers, hola and the time-of-day greetings are safer.
| Country | Greeting | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | ¿Qué onda? | What’s up? |
| Mexico | ¿Qué pasó? | What’s up? (not "what happened?" here) |
| Spain | ¿Qué pasa? | What’s up? |
| Spain | ¿Qué tal? | How’s it going? (very common) |
| Argentina, Uruguay | ¿Todo bien? | All good? |
| Argentina, Uruguay | ¿Qué hacés? | What’s up? (literally "what are you doing?") |
| Colombia | ¿Qué más? | What’s up? |
| Colombia | ¿Quiubo? | What’s up? (from ¿qué hubo?) |
| Chile | ¿Qué onda? | What’s up? |
| Puerto Rico | ¿Qué es la que hay? | What’s up? |
| Dominican Republic | ¿Qué lo que? | What’s up? |
Formal greetings and meeting someone
In a formal setting (a job interview, an older stranger, a customer), use the time-of-day greeting and ask after the person with usted:
- Buenos días, ¿cómo está usted? Good morning, how are you?
- Mucho gusto. Nice to meet you. Said when you are introduced.
- Encantado (said by a man) or encantada (said by a woman): delighted to meet you.
- Es un placer. It’s a pleasure.
In most of Latin America and Spain, friends and family greet with a single kiss on the right cheek (two in Spain), or a handshake in business. Men who are close friends often hug instead.
Hello on the phone
Answering the phone has its own words, and they differ by country:
| Country | You answer with | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| Most of Latin America | ¿Aló? | Hello? |
| Mexico | ¿Bueno? | Good? |
| Spain | ¿Diga? or ¿Dígame? | Speak? Tell me? |
| Argentina, Uruguay | ¿Hola? | Hello? |
| Anywhere | ¿Sí? | Yes? |
Example sentences
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? | Hi! How’s it going? |
| Hola, me llamo Ana. | Hi, my name is Ana. |
| Buenos días, señora. | Good morning, ma’am. |
| Buenas tardes a todos. | Good afternoon, everyone. |
| Hola, mucho gusto. Soy Carlos. | Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Carlos. |
| Dile hola a tu hermana de mi parte. | Say hi to your sister for me. |
| Solo pasé a saludar. | I just stopped by to say hello. |
How to reply
Answer a greeting with the same greeting, then return the question if there was one:
- Hola. → Hola. or ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?
- Buenos días. → Buenos días. (just say it back)
- ¿Qué tal? → Bien, ¿y tú? (good, and you?)
- Mucho gusto. → Igualmente. (likewise) or El gusto es mío. (the pleasure is mine)
Common mistakes
- Pronouncing the h. "HO-la" marks you as a beginner right away. Start with the vowel: OH-lah.
- Buenos noches, buenas días. Día is masculine (buenos días) even though it ends in a; tarde and noche are feminine (buenas tardes, buenas noches).
- Buen día everywhere. Buen día is normal in Argentina, Uruguay, and parts of Mexico, but in Spain people say buenos días.
- Skipping the greeting. Walking into a small shop or a doctor’s waiting room without a buenos días or buenas tardes can come across as rude in Spanish-speaking countries.
- Answering "¿qué tal?" with a long story. Like "how’s it going?" in English, it is part of the greeting. "Bien, ¿y tú?" is enough.