How to Say Hi in Spanish Easy Spanish Lessons for Beginners

It's probably safe to assume that most people know how to say hello in Spanish.

But there are many ways to greet people in Spanish, so why just stick to the old classic?

Using less common words and phrases makes your Spanish sound more natural and fluent, so let's change it up!

CONTENTS

• How to Say Hi in Spanish

• Common Spanish Greetings

• Formal Spanish Greetings

• Spanish Greetings for Different Times of the Day

• Why It's Important to Know How to Say Hi in Spanish

• How to Greet People in Spain and Latin America

• Final Words

How to Say Hi in Spanish

To say 'hello', it's just a simple: hola . This is the standard greeting in the Spanish-speaking world, used in both formal and informal situations alike. When in doubt, just use hola!

And to say 'hi' in Spanish, it's also hola! This is because there is no real equivalent to the English 'hi'.

Same goes with the English 'hey'. It's just hola!

Common Spanish Greetings

Of course, when we greet each other in English, we aren't limited to just saying 'hi' or 'hello'. We use an array of other words and phrases, like 'how's it going?' or 'how are you?', and it's the same in Spanish.

Let's have a look at some basic Spanish greetings that are pretty safe to use in most contexts.

Note that these use informal Spanish , so shouldn't be used when addressing someone respectfully. They are to be used with people who you know well, like friends, family or workmates.

• Hola - hey/hi/hello

• ¿Cómo estás? - how are you? If someone has already asked you how you are and you want to ask them back, you can say: ¿cómo estás tú? Which also means 'how are you', but adding the 'tú' emphasises the 'you' part.

• ¿Cómo andas? - how are you? Literally, it means 'how do you walk?', but in this context it's just asking someone how they are.

• ¿Cómo te va? - how's it going? (Literally, 'how is it going for you'. Some variations below!) ¿Cómo vas? ¿Cómo va?

• ¿Qué tal? - what's up? Qué tal is very commonly used in Spain, but also used in Latin America. It's one of my go-to Spanish greetings! On its own it means 'what's up?', but if you add other words on the end it becomes more like 'cómo' (how). E.g. ¿qué tal estás? = how are you?

• ¿Qué pasa? - what's happening?

• ¿Qué hay de nuevo? - what's new?

• ¿Qué haces? - what are you doing?

Formal Spanish Greetings

Formal Spanish greetings are (clearly) reserved for more formal addresses.

Usually you would use formal greetings when you're talking to people who you want to show respect to. For example you would use them when talking to someone like a teacher, policeman or the parent of a friend.

What constitutes 'formal' may vary quite a bit, but isn't always obvious, so when in doubt just use the formal to be safe! If the formal is new to you, it might be worth checking out my Free Guidebook for Beginners - it's full of tips and guidance for people who are starting to learn Spanish on their own.

These phrases are pretty much the same as the ones above, but conjugated to be used with usted (the formal way of saying 'you' in Spanish).

• ¿Cómo está? - how are you?

• ¿Cómo le va? - how's it going? ¿Cómo va?

• ¿Qué hace? - what are you doing?

Spanish Greetings for Different Times of the Day

Morning

• ¡Buenos días! - good morning!

• ¡Buen día! - good morning! This phrase isn't used as commonly as buenos días, but you still may hear it nonetheless!

Afternoon

• ¡Buenas tardes! - good afternoon! In some places you might just hear buenas! so keep an ear out for that.

Evening

• ¡Buenas noches! - good evening/good night!

Why It's Important to Know How to Say Hi in Spanish

You might ask why it's even important to know several different ways of saying hi in Spanish.

While you could just get by with hola, the language is so colourful and expressive, it would be a shame to just learn hola and be done!

Learning different ways to greet people helps you communicate your personality to others and will create deeper connections in the long run.

How to Greet People in Spain and Latin America

We've learnt a bit about how to greet people with words, but how about other customs?

If you're from a culture which doesn't use much physical touch (like me), it can be a bit daunting to learn that in most cultures in Spain and Latin America, you're expected to greet people with a kiss (or two!).

Of course, you never need to do this if you feel uncomfortable - remember that. But if you would like to respect customs in different parts of the Spanish-speaking world, it's worth knowing a bit about what's expected of you.

I can't speak for every single country in Latin America, but in most places it is expected that people give one kiss on the cheek when greeting each other. In my experience, you give the kiss on the person's right cheek - incase you're awkward like me, and want to know the specifics!

Usually if there are two men greeting one another then they won't do this, however it happens between a man and a woman, or between two women.

In Spain, however, it is customary to give two kisses on the cheek .

I always used to worry that I would accidentally brush someone's lips while changing cheeks, but so far so good!

Final Words

There are many more ways to greet people in Spanish, which you'll no doubt pick up the more you're exposed to the language.

For now, just start with these basics and you'll be set!

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Source: https://www.seeinginspanish.com/post/essential-spanish-greetings

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