Spanish greetings are made up of single words, or combinations of words forming an expression that represent a unity. Many different ways exist to greet someone depending on the setting:
¡Hola, amigo! ¿En qué andas? (informal setting)
Hey buddy! What are you up to?
Buenos días, señor. (formal setting)
Good morning, sir.
Broadly speaking, formal greetings are longer and less straightforward than informal ones. They address the formal pronoun usted, rather than the informal tú, also affecting conjugation. For “how are you today?”, for example, the difference between a formal and a more neutral setting will be:
¿Cómo se encuentra hoy? (formal)
¿Cómo te encuentras hoy? (neutral)
Some of the most common formal and informal greetings in Spanish are:
| Common formal and informal greetings in Spanish | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hola Hello, hi | Hasta luego See you later | ¡Suerte! Good luck! |
| Hola, ¿qué tal? Hi, how's it going? | Nos vemos mañana See you tomorrow | Bienvenidos Welcome |
| Buen día Good morning | Encantado/encantada Pleased to meet you | ¡Salud! Cheers/Bless you |
| Buenas tardes Good afternoon | ¡Un gusto! A pleasure | Felicitaciones Congratulations |
| Buenas noches Good evening / Good night | ¡Qué bueno verte! Great to see you! | Felices vacaciones Happy vacation |
| ¡Buenas! Greetings! | Buen fin de semana Have a nice weekend | Feliz Navidad Merry Christmas |
| Adiós Goodbye | Buen viaje Have a nice trip | Feliz Año Nuevo Happy New Year |
| Chau/Chao Bye | Que te mejores Get better | Felices fiestas Happy holidays |
Quick tip: In Spanish-speaking countries, it is customary to accompany greetings with a kiss on arriving and parting if the setting is informal (or two kisses in Spain). Hand shaking is reserved for very formal contexts.
Saying hello
Formal greetings are used when social distance is required, particularly when addressing elderly people. Informal settings, in contrast, call for casual, informal greetings:
| Saying “hello”: Informal greetings | Saying “hello”: Formal greetings |
|---|---|
| Hola Hi, hello | Buenos días Good morning Buenas tardes Good afternoon Buenas noches Good evening |
| Hola, ¿cómo estás?/¿cómo están? (plural “you”) Hello, how are you doing? | Buenos días, ¿cómo está? Good morning, how are you? |
| Hola, ¿qué tal? Hi, how is it going? | Hola, ¿cómo le va? Hello, how are you? |
| ¡Buenas! Greetings! | Buenos días Good morning |
| ¿Todo bien? Everything OK? | ¿Cómo se encuentra? How are you today? |
| ¿Cómo va todo? How are things? | ¿Cómo se siente? How are you feeling? |
| Hola, ¿qué onda? Hey, what’s up? | Buen día, ¿cómo le va? Good morning, how are you? |
| Hey/Holi Hey | Buenos días Good morning |
Typical answers include:
Todo bien (Everything’s good)
Muy bien, ¿y tú? (Very well, and you?)
- See also: How to say “hi” in Spanish
Saying goodbye
| Saying “goodbye”: Informal greetings | Saying “goodbye”: Formal greetings |
|---|---|
| Chau/Chao Bye | Adiós Goodbye |
| Nos vemos mañana See you tomorrow | Hasta mañana Until tomorrow |
| Nos vemos See you around | Espero verlo en otra ocasión I hope to see you some other time |
| Hasta luego See you later | Hasta más tarde I’ll see you later |
| Nos vemos pronto See you soon | Espero verlo pronto I hope to see you soon |
| Me tengo que ir I must be going | Debo irme I must leave |
| Hablamos más tarde Talk to you later | Lo llamaré más tarde I will call you later |
| Que tengas un buen día Have a good day | Espero que tenga un buen día I hope you have a good day |
| ¡Suerte! Good luck! | Le deseo buena suerte I wish you good luck |
| Hasta mañana, ¡buenas noches! Night! | Buenas noches Good night |
| Qué bueno haberte visto Great seeing you | Un gusto de haberlo encontrado It was nice seeing you |
| Un gusto A pleasure | Encantado de haberlo conocido It was nice meeting you |
Typical answers include:
Gracias, igualmente (Thank you, the same to you)
Gracias, lo mismo yo (Thanks, the same here).
- You may also like: “Thank you” in Spanish
Other greetings
Meeting someone for the first time, congratulating somebody or wishing them luck, for example, require other types of greetings:
Introductions
| Introductions: Informal greetings | Introductions: Formal greetings |
|---|---|
| Hola Hi, hello | Encantado/encantada How do you do |
| ¿Qué tal? How’s it going? | Un gusto de conocerlo/conocerla Nice to meet you |
| ¿Cómo va? How are you doing? | Encantado de conocerlo/conocerla Pleased to meet you |
| Un gusto conocerte A pleasure | Es un placer conocerlo/conocerla It’s a pleasure to meet you |
| ¡Bienvenido! /¡Bienvenida! / ¡Bienvenidos! / ¡Bienvenidas! Welcome! | Sea bienvenido/Sea bienvenida Receive our warmest welcome |
Typical answers include:
El gusto es mío (The pleasure is all mine)
Igualmente, encantado (Nice to meet you too).
- More on this: “How are you” in Spanish
Meeting someone you know
| Meeting someone you know: Informal greetings | Meeting someone you know: Formal greetings |
|---|---|
| ¡Qué bueno verte! Great to see you! | Es un placer encontrarlo/encontrarla It is a pleasure to see you |
| ¡Qué alegría de verte! Great to see you! | Me alegro de verlo I’m glad to see you |
| ¡Tanto tiempo! Long time no see | Hace mucho tiempo que no lo/la veo It’s been a long time since we last saw each other |
| ¿Cómo has estado? How’s life? | ¿Cómo ha estado en todo este tiempo? How have you been all this time? |
Typical answers include:
¡Tanto tiempo, es verdad! (True, it’s been a long while!)
¡Qué bueno verte a ti también! (Great to see you, too).
Answering the phone
A number of greetings are said for answering the phone, all of them meaning “hello”:
Typical answers include:
Hola, soy María (Hello, it’s María).
Email greetings
Unlike in English, salutations in Spanish are followed by a colon (:), not by a comma (,). The level of formality or informality required will determine not only the style of the email, but also the greetings.
| Starting an email: Informal greetings | Starting an email: Formal greetings |
|---|---|
| Hola Juanita: Hi Juanita, | Buenos días señora Sánchez: Good morning Mrs. Sánchez, |
| Querido Víctor: Dear Víctor, | Estimado señor Ramirez: Dear Mr. Ramirez, |
| Queridos todos: Dear all, | Estimados todos: Dear all, |
Other formal greetings to start an email include:
A quien corresponda (To whom it may concern)
Estimados señores (Dear Sir or Madam)
| Ending an email: Informal greetings | Ending an email: Formal greetings |
|---|---|
| Saludos Best | Lo/La saluda atentamente Yours sincerely |
| Un abrazo Hugs | Le envío un saludo cordial Yours truly |
| Gracias por todo Thanks for everything | Le agradezco mucho de antemano Thank you very much in advance |
| Besos Kisses | Atentamente Sincerely |
| Espero tu respuesta I’ll be waiting for your answer | A la espera de su respuesta I look forward to hearing from you |
Holidays and other greetings
Feliz Navidad
Merry Christmas
Feliz Año Nuevo
Happy New Year
Felices fiestas
Happy holidays
Felices Pascuas
Happy Easter
Feliz Día del Trabajo
Happy Workers’ Day
Feliz Día de la Madre
Happy Mother’s Day
Feliz cumpleaños
Happy Birthday
Felices vacaciones
Happy vacation
Buen fin de semana
Have a nice weekend
Buen viaje
Have a safe trip
¡Salud!
1. Cheers (toast)
2. Bless you (when sneezing)
Congratulating someone
¡Felicitaciones! (formal and informal)
Congratulations
¡Te felicito! (informal)
Lo/La felicito (formal)
My congratulations
¡Felicidades! (formal and informal)
Congratulations!
¡Buen trabajo; sigue así! (informal)
Lo/La felicito por su trabajo; continúe así (formal)
Good job; keep it up!
¡Qué bien! (informal)
Fue excelente (formal)
That was good!
Greeting someone who is sick
¿Cómo te sientes hoy? (informal)
¿Cómo se siente hoy? (formal)
How are you feeling today?
Que te mejores (informal)
Espero que se recupere pronto (formal)
Get better.
Le deseo una pronta recuperación (formal)
I wish you a speedy recovery.
Wishing someone good luck
¡Suerte! (informal)
Le deseo buena suerte (formal)
Good luck!
Te deseo lo mejor (informal)
Le deseo todo lo mejor (formal)
Wishing you the best.
Esperamos que te vaya bien (informal)
We wish you good luck.
Related articles:
References
- Oxford Spanish Dictionary, 3rd edition on CD-ROM, Oxford University Press, accessed June 18, 2024, 2024
- Wordreference.com, accessed June 18, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
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