Are you wondering how to say hello in Spanish? Or maybe you also want to know how to introduce yourself? If you’ve ever found yourself retreating from the flurry of questions and comments in the middle of a Spanish conversation, you’ll have realized that Spanish-speaking people are very chatty. You can be sure that they’ll ask you for your name immediately, followed by dozens of other questions in rapid-fire succession.
Want to make a good first impression? Let us guide you through the best ways to start and end a conversation with someone in Spanish, armed with just a few essential words. Then you can move on to some of the other Spanish vocab basics you’ll want to master.
How To Say Hello In Spanish
Hola is the Spanish equivalent to “hello,” and we’re pretty sure you’ve already heard it many times before. The more formal way to greet someone would be buenos días (good day) in the morning, buenas tardes (good afternoon) in the afternoon and buenas noches (good night) in the evening.
Spanish speakers are generally quite relaxed when it comes to time, so don’t be surprised if you hear buenos días until 3 pm or so. Equally, buenas tardes can be used without arousing suspicion up until about 8 pm. What’s more, in Spain ¡la noche es joven! (the night is young) even when it’s actually rather old, so you can start using buenas noches from 9 pm onwards. Although you wouldn’t wish someone good night in English unless they’re about to go to bed, it’s perfectly normal to do so in Spanish!
What’s Your Name?
After learning to say hello in Spanish, you’ll want to be able to tell people what your name is!
- Yo me llamo _______. (My name is _______.)
Don’t let the conversation get one-sided, now… Here’s how to ask what someone else’s name is:
- ¿Cómo te llamas? (What’s your name?)
Ok, so you’ve now broken the ice with your new Spanish-speaking friends. You can bet that they’ll want to find out more about you!
Where Are You From?
Knowing how to say hello in Spanish will only take you so far. Your conversation partner might want to move things along with this next question:
- ¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)
To which you can reply:
- Yo soy de _______. (I am from ______.)
Try learning the different country names in Spanish and putting them into this sentence to switch up your nationality!
Good Bye!
Of course you can’t just learn to say hello in Spanish without knowing how to say good bye, too! To close a conversation, you can simply say ¡Adiós! — or use the more informal chao (yes, just like they say in Italian!). If you expect to see the person again soon, you can always combine hasta (literally, “until”) with luego (later), pronto (soon) or mañana (tomorrow).
Shall we review that quickly? It’s very simple:
- ¡Hasta luego! (See you later!)
- ¡Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)
- ¡Hasta mañana! (See you tomorrow!)
Now It’s Your Turn
Ok, so you’ve mastered how to say hello in Spanish. Next, remember what you’ve just learned and think about how you’d say:
“Good evening! My name is Cristina and I come from Argentina. See you tomorrow!”