Basic Greetings in Spanish

Whether you have just started learning Spanish or you are a well seasoned Spanish learner, each day starts with some sort of greetings. A simple “hello” can open up a door to a more meaningful conversation or a great friendship. Even though you might feel a bit uncomfortable in the beginning, I would definitely encourage you to learn these easy greetings in Spanish and start greeting people in Spanish. It’s a good practice and most Mexican people are very friendly. They will greet you with a smile even if they don’t know you yet.

As in English, there are many ways to greet people in Spanish. First, let’s take a look at an example of a casual conversation. Then you’ll see some of the most common phrases for Spanish greetings.

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General Spanish Greetings

In Latin America, friends and family tend to greet with a hug (abrazo) and a kiss (beso) on their cheeks. And in Spain, two kiss greeting is customary. It’s actually more like a peck on the cheek or an air kiss than a real kiss. So don’t be too alarmed if your friends pull you closer and try to kiss you on your cheek:)

Hola

(Hi)

Buenos Días

(Good morning)

Buenas Tardes

(Good afternoon)

Buenas Noches

(Good night)

Other Ways to Say “How Are You?” in Spanish

¿Cómo estás?

(How are you?)

¿Cómo andas?

(How are you?)

¿Qué onda?

(What’s up?)

¿Qué tal?

(How’s it going?)

Describe Your Physical Conditions in Spanish

Bien

(good)

Genial

(great)

Muy bien

(very well)

Resfriado

(male) / Resfriada (female) (have a cold)

No muy bien

(not very well)

Mal

(bad)

Fatal

(really bad)

Cansado (male) / Cansada (female)

(tired)

Agotado (male) / Agotada (female)

(exhausted)

Chido (male) / Chida (female)

(Cool, super, really good) – in Mexico

Good-byes in Spanish

Nos vemos (luego)

(See you (later))

Hasta luego

(See you later)

Hasta mañana.

(See you tomorrow)

Hasta el sábado

(See you on Saturday)

Nos estamos viendo

(See you soon)

Adiós

(Good bye)

Quick Ways to Show You Care

Just some easy phrases you can add at the end of the greeting in Spanish or when you are saying good-bye to your friend instead of just saying “adios.”

¡Que te mejores!

(Feel better!)

¡Que te diviertas!

(Have fun!)

¡Que lo disfrutes!

(Enjoy!)

¡Que la pases bien!

(Have a good time!)

¡Que descanses!

(Get some rest.)

¡Que te vaya bien!

(Hope everything goes well.)

¡Que te vaya bien en tu viaje!

(Hope everything goes well with your trip = Have a safe trip.)

¡Que te salga bien en tu viaje!

(Hope everything goes well with your trip / Hope everything turns out well for your trip = Have a safe trip.)

¡Que vuelvas sano y salvo!

(Hope you return safe and sound = Have a safe trip, safe returns, be safe etc.)

¡Que regreses sano y salvo!

(Hope you return safe and sound = Have a safe trip / safe return, be safe, etc.)

¡Que vuelvas pronto!

(Come back soon. Hurry back!)

¡Que regreses pronto!

(Come back soon. Hurry back!)

¡Que tengas buen viaje!

(Have a nice trip!)

Spanish Conversation Example

In this example, Luis runs into his friend Maria and they briefly chat about how they are. A typical conversation when you see someone you know may go like this…

Luis: Hola María, ¿Cómo estás?

(Hi Maria, how are you?)

Maria: Bien, ¿y tú?

(Good and you?)

Luis: No muy bien. Ando un poco resfriado.

(Not so good. I’ve got a little bit of a cold.)

Maria: ¿Y eso? ¿Qué te pasó?

(Really? What happened?)

Luis: Ayer salí a pasear y empezó a llover. Y regresé a casa todo mojado.

(Yesterday I went for a walk and it started raining. And I got home all wet.)

Maria: Ah, por eso. Bueno, cuídate mucho y que te mejores.

(Ah, that’s why. Well, take care and feel better.)

Luis: Gracias.

(Thank you.)

Maria: Nos vemos.

(See you.)

Luis: Nos vemos.

(See you.)

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