Updated on January 28, 2024 by Lou Mac
Learning greetings in Spanish is the next step after learning how to say “hi.”
It’s important to get these greetings right so you can start out your interactions on the right foot – plus if you fumble, you might find that whoever you’re talking to will try to switch to English (this has happened to me before!).
But don’t worry, because I’m going to help you nail these exchanges.
In this post I’ll go over every sort of Spanish greeting you need to know: From the most common ones you’ll use all the time, to country-specific ones, to ones used in formal and written correspondence.
Let’s get into it!
Most Common Greetings in Spanish
To kick things off, here’s a list of the basic essentials. You’ll hear and use these greetings all the time, so make sure these are well ingrained into your brain!
- Hola – Hi / hello (click here to read my full post on this)
- Buenos días – Good morning
- Buen día – Good morning
- Buenas tardes – Good afternoon
- Buenas – Good afternoon (often used in Spain)
- Buenas noches – Good night
- ¿Cómo estás? – How are you? (informal)
- ¿Cómo está? – How are you? (formal)
- ¿Qué tal? – How are you? (common in Spain)
Initial Greetings and Introductions in Spanish
Once you’ve got those basics down, you can start learning some more greetings. These help get the small-talk going and make some good impressions!
These will include things like introducing yourself, saying “nice to meet you” and getting to know someone a little bit more.
- ¿Qué tal estás? – How are you?
- ¿Qué pasa? – What’s up?
- ¿Cómo va? – How’s it going?
- ¿Cómo va todo? – How is everything?
- ¿Cómo te llamas? – What’s your name?
- Me llamo… – I’m called…
- ¿De dónde eres? – Where are you from? (Informal)
- ¿De dónde es? – Where are you from? (Formal)
- Mucho gusto – It’s nice to meet you
- Un gusto – It’s nice to meet you
- Encantado/a – It’s nice to meet you
- Bienvenido/a – Welcome
- ¡Qué gusto verte! – It’s nice to see you
- ¡Tanto tiempo sin verte! – Long time no see
For more ways of saying “hi” and “what’s up,” check out this full post on the topic.
Spanish Greetings from Specific Countries
If you’re travelling (or just talking to someone from a particular country) it can come in handy to know greetings from different areas of the Spanish-speaking world. Plus, it’s always fun to see people’s reactions when you say something that’s unique to the Spanish in their country!
- Argentina: Che, ¿cómo andás? – How are you going?
- Chile: ¿Cómo estai? – How are you? (Click here for my full post on Chilean slang)
- Colombia: ¿Quiubo? – What’s up?
- Mexico: ¿Qué onda, güey? – What’s up, dude?
- Spain: ¿Qué pasa, tío? – How’s it going?
Spanish Greetings to Answer the Phone
I know that talking Spanish over the phone is scary (I still don’t particularly like calling strangers!) but it’s probable that you’ll need to do it at some point.
You can use the greetings we’ve already covered, but here are a couple more words and phrases that are very commonly used to answer the phone in Spanish.
- ¿Aló? – Hello?
- ¿Sí? – Yes?
- Dime – Tell me (informal)
- Dígame – Tell me (formal)
- ¿En qué puedo ayudar? – How can I help?
Spanish Greetings for Correspondence
Addressing people in emails or letters was something that I used to struggle with until pretty recently. It’s pretty specialised vocabulary, and not something that you can easily pick up in day to day interactions with people!
You never know when you’ll need to write formal correspondence in Spanish, so I’d recommend you learn some of these phrases for if the moment arises!
- Querido [nombre] – Dear [name] (informal)
- A quien corresponda – To whom it may concern
- Estimado/a [nombre] – Dear [name]
- Estimado señor / señora – Dear sir / madam
You can then end the message with the formal Atentamente (Yours) or the somewhat informal Saludos (Kind regards/Cheers).
Holiday and Special Occasion Greetings in Spanish
The last sort of greetings that are worth knowing in Spanish are those said around holidays and specific days. You probably already know Feliz Navidad from this classic Christmas song, but there are lots more to know!
- Feliz Navidad – Merry Christmas
- Feliz Año Nuevo – Happy New Year
- Felices Pascuas – Happy Easter
- Feliz cumpleaños – Happy birthday
- Feliz Día de la Madre – Happy Mother’s Day
- Feliz Día del Padre – Happy Father’s Day
Spanish greetings are as diverse as the cultures they represent.
The words and phrases I’ve shared here will be more than enough when you’re starting out, but always be on the look out for other interesting vocab to add to your arsenal.
Good luck!