How to Say Hello in Spanish: A Complete Guide (2023)

You probably know how to greet people in a few languages:Goodbye!in Italian,Nice day!in French,Hallo!in German, and evenHallo!in Spanish. Today, however, we're not only going to focus on how to say hello in Spanish, but also how to greet people in general. We will try to teach you different greetings in Spanish so that you are prepared for different situations. Let's go there!

Hello in spanish

As we've seen, saying hello in Spanish isn't the most challenging. It's a small four-letter word that also begins withh:Hallo🇧🇷 However, you should keep in mind that unlike English, thehin Spanish it is silent (unless preceded by the letter c).

You can see how it's pronouncedHallo on here🇧🇷 You can hear different accents, which is a big plus!

You've probably come across this greeting with an exclamation mark:

Hallo!

Of course, whether you use them in writing depends on the context, intent, or even your mood. However, we believe that it is an ideal moment to remember that in Spanish there are two exclamation marks, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the word or phrase in question.

So far so good, right? But as we all know, just saying hello in Spanish is not enough. There are many different greetings in Spanish depending on, for example, the time of day or the level of formality. So let's keep going!

Greetings of the day in Spanish

In the English language, our day is divided into four parts: morning, afternoon, afternoon and night. Spanish speakers have decided to make this a little easier and narrow it down to three options. How to say hello in Spanish depending on the time of day.

good morning in spanish

Good morning Good Morning.

While these phrases technically mean "good morning" literally and can be used any time the sun comes up, they work as the equivalent of "good morning" in Spanish.

You can use it to say “good morning” in Spanish until around 2 p.m.

Hello in Spanish

Buenas tardes.

A Spanish afternoon starts at 1 or 2 p.m. and ends every time the sun goes down. However, if the sun goes down too soon, you might still sayGood eveningsomewhat later. Depending on the daylight and region, you can useBuenas tardesuntil 8 p.m. or later.

good night and good night in spanish

Good evening.

Unlike in English, there is no difference between "hello" and "goodbye" after dark. If you have just arrived at a party or are ending the night,Good eveningis the way to go.

In this video you can see how "good morning" is pronounced in Spanish, as well as other greetings:

"How are you?" in Spanish

Saying hello in Spanish isn't everything. We often accompany our greetings by asking someone how they are. So let's look at some expressions to do just that.

• How are you?(How are you?)
• How are you?(How are you?)

These are the most common phrases to ask someone how they are. It is important to note here that these rates change depending on the formality. In English we only use "you" to refer to the person we are talking to, but in Spanish things get a little more complicated.

There are three different ways to refer to the second person singular:Tu,Tumi.Fromused in an informal context (to talk to family and friends) andTuformally (e.g. at work or when talking to older people). Includedis another informal option, but only used in some Latin American countries like Uruguay. If you want more information about pronouns in Spanish, take a look atour article on this topic.

The reason why pronouns are so important here is that the Spanish conjugation changes for each pronoun. So now that we've settled our formalities, let's get back to our prayers, okay?

How are you?miHow are you?are the formal option whileI likemiHow are you?are the informal ones let's look at some examples.

• how are you aunt(how are you aunt)
• How are you, Ms. Rodriguez?(How are you, Ms. Rodriguez?)

If you want to learn more about these two idioms, clickon here.

colloquial terms

We've covered our greetings in Spanish, but we've stayed within the realm of formality and grammatical correctness. It's time we looked at more informal phrases and slang used to say hello in Spanish.

• Hallo!(equalsHallo!ÖNo!)

This is fairly informal and is often used by younger people as a nice way to say hello.

• Hello good!(Tomorrow afternoon evening!)

Just like English, Spanish has an abbreviated way of saying "good morning". Here Spanish again simplifies things and just usesBoa(literally translates well) so it works any time of the day.

Note that this does not mean saying goodbye; You should only use it to say hello.

• No!(No!)

You can use this option when calling someone or surprised to see someone.

• How are you?(And since?)

This is an informal way of asking someone how they are.

• How are you?(How are you'?)

Another informal way to ask someone how they are.

• All is well?(All is well?)

Surprisingly, this is more of a casual way of saying the same thing.

• Which accounts/accounts?(what's new)

This last phrase is used when speaking to someone to ask what they are up to.

There are two options depending on whether you are usingTu(And since?) Ö(What works?).

Let's put it into practice

We've looked at vocabulary in general, but you may want to put this in context. Here are some easy conversations that start with different ways to say hello in Spanish.

formal greetings

• Hello Mr. Lopez. How are you? 🇧🇷Good day Mr. Lopez. How are you?)
• I'm fine, Ms. Slender. And you? 🇧🇷I'm fine, Ms. Delgado. And you?)
• Very good thank you. To have a good day! 🇧🇷Very good thank you. Have a nice day!)

informal greetings

• Good morning Lucy! How are you? 🇧🇷Good morning Lucy! How are you?)
• Hello Lukas! Very good and you? 🇧🇷Hello Lukas! Very good and you?)
• Big. I can not complainI am well. I can not complain.)

Greetings colloquially

• Hello good! How are you? 🇧🇷listen! What's up Lou?)
• barbarian what do you say julia 🇧🇷Big. What's new with you, Julia?)
• Very good, study hard. 🇧🇷I'm fine, I'm learning a lot.)

how to greet someone

We've covered all the different ways to say hello in Spanish, but how you physically greet someone when meeting face-to-face is also important. We went from the more formal to the less formal, just like we did with our vocabulary.

handshake

Any formal situation, like a job interview or a business meeting, requires a handshake. However, when two men greet each other, they usually shake hands as well.

A kiss on the cheek

This is the standard informal greeting in Latin America, except for two males as noted above. However, in some countries like Argentina, men also greet each other with a kiss on the cheek.

A kiss on each cheek

In Spain, two kisses are preferred to one. One on each cheek!

hug

Finally, when it comes to close friends or family members, people may also choose to greet each other with a hug.

goodbye in spanish

Yes, this is an article on how to say hello in Spanish. But we couldn't abandon him without teaching him to say goodbye too. Here are some phrases to help you close the conversation.

• Goodbye!(Goodbye!)

This is the most common and easiest way to say goodbye in Spanish. It works in both formal and informal situations.

• ¡Chau!(Goodbye!)

This word is more colloquial and mainly used in some Latin American countries like Peru and Chile.

• Bye!(Bye!)

We use this expression when we hope to see the person again someday. It works in both formal and informal contexts.

• Until tomorrow!(Until tomorrow!)

When saying goodbye to someone you see the next day, this is definitely the way to go.

Final remarks on how to say hello in Spanish

There are several ways to say hello in Spanish. We probably haven't covered all of the informal variants that may differ from country to country, but we hope we've given you enough to get you started.

If you want to continue learning Spanish, be sure to seek advicethis article.