How to Say Hi in Spanish
Say hello in Spanish in any setting, with hola, the time-of-day greetings, casual openers like qué tal, and the right replies, goodbyes, and choice of tú or usted.
You will end up with a greeting for every situation, casual, formal, and by time of day, plus the replies, the goodbyes, and the choice between tú and usted.
Only a handful of greetings cover all of that, and the most useful one, hola, works in every Spanish-speaking country. The pronunciation is forgiving too, because Spanish vowels each hold a single sound instead of shifting the way English ones do.
Start with hola for most situations
"Hola" (OH-lah) is the greeting you will use most. It works morning or night, with strangers or friends. The Real Academia Española files it as a familiar greeting, so it is warm rather than formal. That does not make it wrong in a shop or an office. It means you pair it with one of the time-based greetings in step 2 when the setting is more formal. The H is silent, so you are just saying "oh-lah" with a slight emphasis on the first syllable. When in doubt, use hola and add to it if the moment calls for it.
Good to know: Spanish vowels hold the same sound wherever they appear. A is "ah," E is "eh," I is "ee," O is "oh," and U is "oo." Learn these five sounds first, and the vowels in every greeting on this page will come out right. The one exception you will hit immediately is the u in "que" and "qui," which the Real Academia Española calls a silent letter in that pairing. That is why "qué tal" below is written keh-TAL and not koo-EH-tal.
Use time-based greetings for formal situations
In professional settings, shops, or when speaking to someone older, add a time-based greeting after hola or use it on its own. "Buenos días" (BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs) means good morning and is used until about noon. "Buenas tardes" (BWEH-nahs TAR-dehs) means good afternoon and covers noon until dark. "Buenas noches" (BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs) covers the hours after dark, and it is the one greeting here that does double duty. The Real Academia Española defines it as a courtesy phrase used during the night or on going to bed, so you say it arriving at a late dinner and again on your way out the door. Notice that "buenos" changes to "buenas" because "tardes" and "noches" are feminine nouns.
Learn casual greetings for friends
Among friends and peers, Spanish speakers use casual greetings just like English speakers say "hey" or "what's up." "Qué tal" (keh-TAL) means "how's it going" and works with anyone you would greet casually. "Qué onda" (keh-OHN-dah) is slang for "what's up" in Mexico and parts of Central America, and it is very informal. "Qué hay" (keh-EYE) means "what's there" and is used like "what's new." These are friendly and warm. Use them with people your age or younger, or anyone you are already comfortable with.
Know the common response patterns
When someone greets you in Spanish, responding is simple. To "hola," just say "hola" back. To "qué tal," you can say "bien" (bee-EHN), meaning "good," or "muy bien" (MWEE bee-EHN), meaning "very good." Add "y tú" (ee-TOO) meaning "and you" to be polite. A typical exchange sounds like this. "Hola, ¿qué tal?" "Muy bien, ¿y tú?" "Bien, gracias." Say those three lines out loud until you can run them without stopping to think.
Choose between tú and usted
Spanish changes the word for "you" depending on how formal you are being. "Tú" (too) is informal and used with friends, family, children, and peers. "Usted" (oo-STEHD) is formal and used with strangers, elders, bosses, and anyone you want to show respect to. When greeting, "¿cómo estás?" (KOH-moh eh-STAHS) uses tú and is casual. "¿Cómo está usted?" (KOH-moh eh-STAH oo-STEHD) is formal. Large parts of Latin America use a third form, "vos," in place of tú, which the note below covers. If you are unsure which to use, start with usted. It is the form that assumes respect, and the other person can always invite you to something more casual.
Good to know: In Spain, Mexico, and most of the Caribbean, tú is the informal form and you can use it freely with people your own age. Elsewhere it is often "vos." The Real Academia Española describes Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay as areas of general voseo, accepted without reserve by every social class. In Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the same entry says vos is used across all social classes, and in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua educated speakers often use three levels, with vos as the familiar form, tú in the middle, and usted the most formal. None of that changes the greeting itself. The verb table for "estar" lists the same form for tú and vos, so "¿cómo estás?" is correct either way. Usted stays the safe opening everywhere.
Practice the exchange from step 4 out loud, then use it the next time you walk into a shop or restaurant where Spanish is spoken, adding buenos días or buenas tardes after hola in a formal setting. A slightly imperfect hola opens the conversation better than switching to English without trying. For more phrases in the same series, our guides on how to say thank you in Japanese and how to count to ten in French take the same approach.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Not at all. A simple hola is polite on its own, and adding buenos días or qué tal just makes it warmer or more formal. It works the way a quick "hi" does in English, which is to say friendly and slightly informal rather than neutral. In a bank, a doctor's office, or any other formal setting, pair it with buenos días or buenas tardes. If you learn only one word, make it hola.
For greetings, the differences are small. Hola, buenos días, and qué tal are understood everywhere, and the main variation is accent and speed. You will also come across "buen día" in the singular, which means the same thing as buenos días. Some slang like "qué onda" belongs to Mexico and parts of Central America. The bigger difference is not the greeting but the word for "you," because Buenos Aires uses vos where Madrid and Mexico City use tú, which step 5 covers. The core greetings themselves work in every Spanish-speaking country.
"Adiós" (ah-dee-OHS) is the standard goodbye. "Hasta luego" (AH-stah loo-EH-goh) means "see you later" and fits formal and casual settings alike. "Nos vemos" (nohs VEH-mohs) means "we'll see each other" and is used among friends. "Chao" (from the Italian "ciao") is a casual goodbye in Chile, Ecuador, Panama, and Cuba, according to the Diccionario de americanismos of the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language. Do not forget "buenas noches," which is a farewell as well as a greeting and is what you say on leaving somewhere at night. For formal situations, stick with adiós or hasta luego.
Aim for the Spanish pronunciation but do not stress over perfection. The phonetic guides here will get you close enough to be understood. Spanish is kinder than English on this, because the five vowel sounds do not shift and the stress in these greetings is short and regular. Get the vowels roughly right and "buenos días" will be understood, accent and all.
Words & Pronunciation
How to Say Hi in Spanish
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