Spanish Greetings
Essential Spanish Greetings
A greeting gives you a manageable first step into a conversation. Start with a simple hello, then add a time-of-day greeting or a polite question. These phrases come from HeyHola’s authored beginner lessons and are meant to be practiced as complete expressions.
Useful Spanish phrases
Read each phrase with its English meaning. Then cover the translation and picture when you would use it.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hola. | Hello. |
| Buenos días. | Good morning. |
| Buenas tardes. | Good afternoon. |
| Buenas noches. | Good evening / Good night. |
| ¿Cómo está usted? | How are you? (formal) |
| Muy bien, gracias. | Very well, thank you. |
| Mucho gusto. | Nice to meet you. |
| Hasta luego. | See you later. |
| Hasta pronto. | See you soon. |
Like learning through everyday situations? See how HeyHola brings them into practice.
Choose a greeting that fits the moment
Hola is a simple hello. The list also includes greetings for the morning, afternoon, and evening or night. Learn the expressions as whole phrases. Real usage and the time people switch between greetings can vary, so listen to what people around you use rather than treating the clock as a strict rule.
Keep the level of formality consistent
The question below uses usted and is marked formal in the source lesson. It is useful for practicing a polite exchange. Start with the greeting, ask the question, and recognize the short reply. You can make a friendly connection without trying to build a complicated conversation immediately.
Notice the written details
Buenos días includes an accent on í. The app’s beginner note explains that this separates dí-as into two syllables. Keep the accent when you write the phrase. This is a written learning note, not automated pronunciation feedback; HeyHola does not currently provide speech recognition or pronunciation scoring.
Give the exchange an ending
A conversation feels more complete when you also have a goodbye ready. The list includes both see you later and see you soon. Practice a beginning and an ending together, even if the conversation between them is only a few words.
Try a short conversation
An illustrative practice scene using the phrases above. Pauses leave room for replies that may vary in a real conversation.
- Ana
- Buenos días.Good morning.
- Carlos
- ¿Cómo está usted?How are you? (formal)
- Ana
- Muy bien, gracias.Very well, thank you.
- Ana, as she leaves
- Hasta luego.See you later.
A common mistake to avoid
Do not mix the formal question with a familiar question by accident. Notice usted in the formal example and keep the whole phrase together while learning it.
A note for real life
Time-of-day boundaries and choices of address vary. Listen to local usage rather than assuming a fixed hour or a single rule applies everywhere.
PICO’S PRACTICE TIP
Your turn
Choose a morning, afternoon, or evening setting. Say the matching greeting, ask the formal check-in question, and practice the reply. Finish with a goodbye. Next time, cover the translations and try to remember the meaning from the situation.
Phrase source: HeyHola’s authored app lessons.