How to Say Hi in Spanish
Learn how to say hello and greet people in Spanish for any situation. Covers casual, formal, and time-based greetings with pronunciation.
We took four years of Spanish in school and somehow still froze the first time someone said "hola" to us in real life. Knowing a language in a textbook and using it with an actual person are completely different experiences.
Greetings in Spanish are genuinely simple. There are only a handful you need to know, and the most useful one 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.
This guide covers the greetings people actually use in conversation. Not the textbook list of 30 phrases you will never remember, but the five or six that cover every situation you are likely to encounter. Casual, formal, time-based, and the one to use when you are not sure which is appropriate.
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." Once you know these five sounds, you can pronounce almost any Spanish word reasonably well. 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 rest of the evening, 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 of 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." Those three lines will carry you through most short exchanges, and you will be able to run them without thinking after you have said them a few times.
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 there are three levels rather than two, 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.
That covers the greetings you are likely to need. We use "hola" for almost everything and switch to "buenos días" in professional settings. Nobody has ever corrected us or seemed put off by a simple, friendly greeting in their language. The key is to just go for it. Hola on its own opens almost any exchange, and everything else here builds on it. A slightly imperfect "hola" beats an awkward silence or defaulting to English without trying.
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 only learn one word from this guide, hola is the one to pick.
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 Central America. Spain uses "vale" (VAH-leh) as an all-purpose "okay." 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 all three.
"Adiós" (ah-dee-OHS) is the standard goodbye. "Hasta luego" (AH-stah loo-EH-goh) means "see you later" and is the more casual option. "Nos vemos" (nohs VEH-mohs) means "we'll see each other" and is used among friends. "Chao" (from the Italian "ciao," and often spelled "chau") is widely used in Latin America as a casual goodbye. 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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