Spanish Greetings
Greetings play a vital role in any language, and it’s essential to know how to greet people correctly in Spanish to communicate effectively. This class provides a detailed guide to help you learn essential Spanish vocabulary for greetings, enabling you to make an excellent first impression with native speakers.
Familiarize yourself with the basics
Start by learning the most common Spanish greetings. This list will help you get started:
- Hello
- Hola
- (OH-lah)
- Good morning
- Buenos días
- (BWAY-nos DEE-as)
- Good afternoon
- Buenas tardes
- (BWAY-nas TAR-des)
- Good evening / Good night
- Buenas noches
- (BWAY-nas NO-chess)
- How are you? (informal)
- ¿Cómo estás?
- (KOH-moh ES-tas?)
- How are you? (formal)
- ¿Cómo está usted?
- (KOH-moh ES-tah oos-TEHD?)
- How’s it going?
- ¿Qué tal?
- (keh TAL?)
- Goodbye
- Adiós
- (ah-dee-OHS)
- See you later
- Hasta luego
- (AH-sta LWAY-go)
- See you soon
- Hasta pronto
- (AH-sta PROHN-to)
Learn polite phrases and expressions
Aside from saying hello, knowing courteous phrases and expressions when talking with Spanish speakers is essential. Check out these examples:
- Please
- Por favor
- (pohr fah-BOHR)
- Thank you
- Gracias
- (GRAH-see-yahs)
- You’re welcome
- De nada
- (deh NAH-dah)
- Excuse me / Sorry (informal)
- Perdón / Disculpa
- (pehr-DOHN / dees-KOOL-pah)
- Excuse me / Sorry (formal)
- Perdone / Disculpe
- (pehr-DOH-neh / dees-KOOL-peh)
- Nice to meet you
- Mucho gusto
- (MOO-choh GOOS-toh)
- Pleased to meet you (male/female)
- Encantado / Encantada
- (ehn-kahn-TAH-doh / ehn-kahn-TAH-dah)
Practice greetings in different contexts
Once you have grasped the basic greetings and polite expressions, practicing using them in various contexts is advisable. You can role-play with a language partner, implement them in real-life situations, or even practice online language exchanges. Here are a few examples:
- Hello, how are you? (Greeting a friend)
- Hola, ¿cómo estás?
- (OH-lah, KOH-moh ehs-TAHS)
- Good morning, how are you? (Greeting a stranger)
- Buenos días, ¿cómo está usted?
- (BWAY-nos DEE-as, KOH-moh ehs-TAH oos-TEHD)
- See you later, have a good day (Saying goodbye to a coworker)
- Hasta luego, que tengas un buen día.
- (AHS-tah LWEH-goh, keh TEHN-gahs oon BWEHN DEE-ah)
- Sorry, it was a mistake (Apologizing for a mistake)
- Perdón, fue un error.
- (pehr-DOHN, fweh oohn EH-ror)
To become fluent in Spanish, learning vocabulary related to greetings is essential. This guide provides steps to help you become familiar with these words, practice them in context, and understand cultural norms surrounding greetings. Click the button below to access a complete list of Spanish greetings with audio.
