How to say hello in Spanish

How do you say hello in Spanish?

Say hola to anyone, and add a time-of-day greeting with strangers and older people: Hola, buenas tardes. These are the greetings you'll use every day:

• holaUnit 1

  hi; hello (The h is silent.)

  The h is always silent in Spanish: OH-lah.

• Hola, ¿qué tal?Unit 2

  Hi, how's it going? (casual)

• buenos díasUnit 2

  good morning

  Until about noon. More: how to say good morning in Spanish.

• buenas tardesUnit 2

  good afternoon

  From about noon until dark.

• buenas nochesUnit 2

  good evening; good night (a hello AND a goodbye)

  After dark, as hello and as goodbye.

• Hola a todos.Unit 2

  Hi, everyone.

  To a group.

Is hola formal or informal?

Hola works with everyone, but on its own it can sound a bit casual with a stranger. In Mexico, people usually pair it with the time of day: Hola, buenas tardes. That's exactly what you answer when Ana says hi in CiaoSpeak's first Speak scene:

• Ana says hi in the afternoon

  Meeting Ana · Ana

  Q¡Hola! ¡Buenas tardes!

  Hi! Good afternoon!

  Or they might say:
  ¡Hola, hola! Buenas tardes.Hi, hi! Good afternoon.

  You can answer

  AHola, buenas tardes.

  Hi, good afternoon.

  Buenas tardes runs from about noon until dark. Hola works any time, and Hola, buenas tardes is warm and very common.

How do you say hi casually in Spanish?

With friends, say Hola, ¿qué tal? or just ¿Qué tal?; in Mexico, friends also say ¿Qué onda? ("what's up?"), and you'll hear a quick ¡Buenas! from people serving you.

• ¡Buenas!Speak

  Evening!

  Memo the taxi driver: short for buenas tardes or buenas noches.

• ¿Qué onda? ¿Tienes mucho sueño?Speak

  What's up? Are you really sleepy?

  Ana, who's your friend: what ¿qué onda? means.

What mistakes do English speakers make when saying hello?

The most common mistakes are pronouncing the h in hola, saying buenos tardes (it's buenas, because tarde is feminine), and asking a shop assistant something without greeting first.

• Saying "HO-la" with an English h. The h is silent: OH-lah.
• Buenos tardes or buenos noches. It's buenas tardes and buenas noches; only buenos días takes buenos.
• Skipping the greeting. In Mexico you greet a shopkeeper, a driver or a waiter before asking anything: Buenas tardes, ¿tiene…?
• Using buenas noches only at bedtime. After dark, it's also the normal hello.

How can you practice saying it out loud?

Say it to someone who answers. In CiaoSpeak's Spanish course, set in Mexico City, the lessons teach hola and the time-of-day greetings with a recording and a note on when to use it, and in the Speak tab a character in a real scene (a barista, a taxi driver, your language-exchange partner Ana) talks to you and you answer out loud. The app tells you whether a person would understand you, with one gentle fix if not. Lessons are free; in the Speak tab, today's questions (up to five a day) are free too, and CiaoSpeak+ adds practice in any scene whenever you like. More phrases: how to say everyday things in Spanish.

Frequently asked questions

Is the h in hola silent?

Yes. The letter h is silent in Spanish words like hola, hasta and hablar, so hola sounds like "OH-lah".

What does buenas mean as a greeting?

¡Buenas! is a casual short form of buenos días, buenas tardes or buenas noches, used as a quick hello any time of day. You'll hear it a lot from people serving you in Mexico.

How do you say hello to a group in Spanish?

Say Hola a todos ("hi, everyone"), or greet with the time of day: Buenas tardes a todos.