27 Greetings In Spanish | Use These In Any Situation
There are many greetings in Spanish that you can use upon meeting someone. Today we will look at—and listen to—some of them so that you can start using them in your daily Spanish conversations so that way you don’t have to greet people with “Hola” every time. We will begin by looking at the “informal” Spanish greetings, and then we will proceed to the formal greetings in Spanish.
One quick note before we begin. In Spanish, there are a few ways you can address “You.” We will keep today’s article simple by focusing on the main ones, those being the “Tú” form and the “Usted” form.
Remember that the “Tu” form is informal. You should use it when you’re talking to people you are friends with or people of your similar age. In this article, you will find that the informal greetings primarily use the “Tú” conjugation.
The “Usted” form is the formal way to say “You” in Spanish. Usted should be used when talking to someone you don’t know, someone who is older than you, or someone you want to show respect to—like your boss at your job.
Watch the video below to see a thorough explanation of Spanish Greetings:
Informal Spanish Greetings
Below is a list of informal greetings in Spanish, along with their translations and pronunciations. These can be used in many different social situations like when you’re talking with your friends or with coworkers.
It’s vital to master the pronunciation while learning these words because the better you can pronounce them, the better you’ll understand them when spoken to you. Some of these are very standard and used throughout all Spanish speaking countries in the world, while others are more colloquial. We will continue to add to this list as we become aware of more informal greetings in other countries.
Here is a list of informal greetings in Spanish (hear the pronunciation of each word below the list).
- Hola — Hello
- ¿Cómo estás? — How are you?
- ¿Cómo están? — How are y’all?
- Hola, ¿cómo estás? — Hey, how are you?
- Hola ¿cómo están? — Hey, how are y’all?
- ¿Qué hay de nuevo? — What’s new?
- ¿Cómo te va? — How’s it going?
- ¿Cómo les va? — How’s it going for y’all?
- ¿Cómo va todo? — How’s everything?
- ¿Qué pasa? — What’s up?
- ¡Bienvenidos! — Welcome!
- ¿Qué tal? — What’s up?
- ¿Qué es la que hay? — What’s up? (Puerto Rican Spanish)
- ¿Qué lo que? — What’s up? (Dominican Spanish)
- ¿Qué onda? — What’s up? (Mexican Spanish)
- ¿Qué fue? — What happened?
- ¿Cómo estamos? — How are we doing?
- ¿Qué me dices? — What do you say?
(Click the play bar below each word to hear how it’s pronounced)
Hola — Hello
¿Cómo estás? — How are you?
¿Cómo están? — How are y'all?
Hola ¿cómo estás? — Hi, how are you?
Hola ¿cómo están? — Hi, how are y'all?
¿Qué hay de nuevo? — What’s new?
¿Cómo te va? — How’s it going?
¿Cómo les va? — How’s it going for y’all?
¿Cómo va todo? — How’s everything?
¿Qué pasa? — What’s up?
¡Bienvenidos! — Welcome!
¿Qué tal? — What’s up?
¿Qué es la que hay? — What’s up? (Puerto Rican Spanish)
¿Qué lo que? — What’s up? (Dominican Spanish)
¿Qué onda? — What’s up? (Mexican Spanish)
¿Qué fue? — What happened?
¿Cómo estamos? — How are we doing?
¿Qué me dices? — What do you say?
Formal Greetings In Spanish
Next we have a list of formal greetings in Spanish, along with their translations and pronunciations. Remember, these will be used for situations where you’re speaking with someone older than you or someone you want to show respect. So for example, you may want to use these when talking with someone like your boss, a president, a doctor, etc.
- Hola — Hello
- ¿Cómo está usted? — How are you?
- Mucho gusto — Nice to meet you
- Un placer en conocerlo — pleasure to meet you
- Gusto en verlo — pleasure to meet you
- Gusto en verlos — pleasure to meet y’all
- Buenos días — Good morning
- Buenas tardes — Good afternoon
- Buenas noches — Good night
Hola — Hello
¿Cómo está usted? — How are you?
Mucho gusto — Nice to meet you
Un placer en conocerlo — pleasure to meet you
Gusto en verlo — pleasure to meet you
Gusto en verlos — pleasure to meet y’all
Buenos días — Good morning
Buenas tardes — Good afternoon
Buenas noches — Good night
It's Time To Put These to Use
Now you have a list of greetings in Spanish that can prepare you for any situation. The next time you go to talk to somebody, try mixing it up. Also, turn on your listening and try to notice how other Spanish speakers not only greet you but how they welcome others. You can do this in person or even when you are watching Spanish shows on Netflix or whatever the case may be.
This can also serve as a way to help you break the ice when trying to talk to others. Now there is no excuse for saying you don’t know what to say. We’ve given you 27 Spanish phrases you can use whether you’re chatting with a friend or somebody that’s high up in your company.
If you enjoyed this article and you’re looking to take your Spanish to the next level, definitely check out our 3 Secrets To Learn Spanish Faster Free Training. Don’t forget to comment below if you have any other questions and check out more articles on our blog or check out our flagship training programs that can help you rapidly elevate your Spanish speaking and comprehension ability.
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