Introduction
Ā It is very likely that āHOLAā was one of the first words you learned in Spanish.
- After all, greeting and farewell formulas are usually the first thing we learn in a new language, right?
Of course, those formulas are very important for daily communication.
Although you can make yourself understoodĀ with a very basic repertoire of expressions (āHOLAā, āCHAOā, and āĀæQUĆ TAL? ā, for example), Spanish is a language with a vast array of greeting formulas.
- That is, even if you only use a handful of greeting formulas, when you talk to native Spanish speakers you will notice that they do useĀ many more expressionsĀ to greet when they meet an acquaintance.
To speakĀ Spanish as naturally as a native does, you should get familiarĀ withĀ those expressionsĀ that natives use to break the ice.
- You should also knowĀ which of said formulas are standardĀ in the language andĀ which are more informal or slangĀ and, in consequence, use them properly.
In this video you will find the 89+ phrasesĀ for greeting, for saying goodbye and alternative ways to ask āhow are you? ā in Spanish
You have the same video explainedĀ entirely in SpanishĀ with subtitles in Spanish and English. You also have theĀ explanations in SpanishĀ andĀ the material to download for free, if you want to doĀ language immersion.
Who is this Spanish greeting guide for?
You will see that those 89+ day-to-day formulas are simple and, above all, frequent. Therefore, the greeting guide is suitable for any student of the Spanish language.- You do not need to have previous knowledgeĀ of Spanish to enjoy this very complete guide of typically Spanish and Latin American greetings.
If you do not speak any Spanish, you can startĀ studying it with this guide.
- However, I advise you thatĀ your first stepĀ in Spanish should be to get familiar with the pronunciation.
- You have it in this video, which includesĀ free material to download.
- You have aĀ complete pronunciation guideĀ with many audios and examples.
You also have a FREE online mini-course: Spanish forĀ English-speaking beginners.
- The free course starts from scratch.
- The beginnerās course includes video classes, varied digital materials and aĀ certificate.
- You sign up withĀ two clicksĀ and you can learn at your own pace,Ā without deadlines.
- You have a previewĀ of the courseĀ that you can access without having to enroll.
Free course previewĀ (sneak peek), with many free learning tips,Ā available here, no registration needed.
You can also check out this Spanish classĀ available without having to sign up for the course.
Do I need to know all those formulas to speak Spanish?
If you do not want to consider these 89+ phrases a priorityĀ in your Spanish learning process now, you do not need to learn them systematically.I advise you to ā at least ā watch the video to make these phrases sound familiar. Little by little you can actively incorporate them into your Spanish vocabulary.
If you consider those 89+ phrases to be too many for you at this point in your learning process, that is okay.
- You can manage perfectly a more limited repertoire of greetings and farewell formulas in Spanish.
- The free guide includes greetings, goodbyes, ways to ask and answer āhow are you?ā and basic politeness formulas.
My advice is:
- If youĀ do not know any greeting phrase, start by learning the 38+ formulas from the most basic guide.
- If you already knowĀ those basic greeting phrases, delve into this topic with the comprehensive guide with 89+ greetings.
And if you want to continue exploring the Spanish language, there is the first video in this series with short videos with the most relevant Spanish phrases for English-speaking beginners. The free guide includes further explanation and free material to practice.
What you are going to learn in this Spanish guide for beginners
In the guide with the 89+ phrases to break the ice in Spanish you will learn:- Greeting formulas in Spanish for English speakers.
- Goodbye formulas in Spanish for English speakers.
- The different ways of asking āhow are you?ā and answering in Spanish for English speakers.
- Informal expressions and slang for these communicative situations.
- Expressions to address a friend inĀ colloquial Spanish (in Spain and Latin America).
- Different ways of saying āUN BESOā Ā and āUN ABRAZOā Ā in Spanish.
Spanish material for English speakers: greetings, farewells, āhow are you?ā
Attention: some phrases vary depending on whether the speaker is a man or a woman. I indicate that variation with the comma (,).- For example, āEstoy cansado. , Estoy cansada.ā The first phrase is the one that a man will say to indicate tiredness and the second, the one that a woman will use.
āESTOY CANSADOā
āESTOY CANSADAā
Attention: I will indicate informal expressions with an asterisk (*) and slang phrases with two asterisks (**). In this Spanish guideĀ for English speakers you will find: The PDF with theory, exercises, answers and summary to download for free.saludar-despedirse-que-tal-espanol
Tables with vocabulary and audios.Ā Ā 
You can reduce the playback speed of the audios, if you prefer.
Interactive cards with Spanish vocabulary. You can choose your preferred gaming or learning mode.
A quiz at the end of this post to practice what you learned.
The main greetings in Spanish: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 02:56| *Ā”Hola! | to greet, informally |
| Ā”Buenos dĆas! | to greet (morning/during the day) |
| Ā”Buenas tardes! | to greet (afternoon) |
| Ā”Buenas noches! | to greet (evening/night) |
| *Ā”Buenas! / Ā”Muy buenas! | to greet (afternoon/evening/night), informally |
The main farewells in Spanish: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 04:45| *Ā”Chao! | to say goodbye, informally |
| Ā”Hasta ahora! / Ā”Hasta ahorita! | See you later! |
| Ā”Hasta pronto! | See you soon! |
| Ā”Hasta maƱana! | See you tomorrow! |
| Ā”Hasta la prĆ³xima semana! | See you next week! |
| Ā”Hasta la prĆ³xima! | See you next time! |
| Ā”Hasta la vista! | See you! |
| Ā”Hasta otro dĆa! | See you! |
| Ā”Hasta otra! | See you! |
| Ā”Hasta otro rato! | See you! |
| Ā”Nos vemos! | See you! |
| Ā”A ver si nos vemos! / Ā”Tenemos que quedar! | Hope we can see each other! / We should meet! |
| Ā”AdiĆ³s! | to say goodbye, formally |
| Ā”Ve con Dios! / Ā”Vaya con Dios! | āMay God be with you!ā (farewell) |
| Ā”Que Dios te/le acompaƱe! | āMay God be with you!ā (farewell) |
| Ā”Que vaya bien! | āI hope everyting goes well!ā |
| Venga, un saludo. | āOk, greetings!ā |
| Venga, un abrazo. | āOk, a hug!ā |
| Venga, un beso. | āOk, a kiss!ā |
| Ā”Buen dĆa! | Have a nice day! |
| Ā”Buen fin de semana! / *Ā”Buen finde! | Have a nice weekend! |
| Ā”Feliz viernes! | Have a good Friday! |
| Ā”Buena semana! | Have a good week! |
| Ā”Que descanses! | Get some rest! |
| Ā”A pasarla bien! = Ā”A disfrutar! | Have a good time! |
| Ā”Suerte! | Good luck! |
The main Spanish formulas to ask āhow are you?ā and how to react to them: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 18:03| ĀæQuĆ© tal? | How are you? |
| ĀæCĆ³mo estĆ”s? / ĀæCĆ³mo estĆ”? | How are you? |
| ĀæCĆ³mo vas? / ĀæCĆ³mo va? | How are you? |
| ĀæCĆ³mo te encuentras? / ĀæCĆ³mo se encuentra? | How are you feeling? |
| Bien, gracias, Āæy tĆŗ? / Bien, gracias, Āæy usted? | Well, thank you, how about you? |
| *Como Dios. | Great! (informal) |
| *En la gloria (de Dios). | Great! (informal) |
| Mejor, imposible. | As good as it gets! |
| Fenomenal. = Estupendamente. | Great! |
| Muy contento. , Muy contenta. | Very happy! |
| No me puedo quejar. | I canāt complain. |
| Muy liado. , Muy liada. | Very busy. |
| Regular. = Normal. | I am ok. |
| *Pues por aquĆ. = AhĆ, ahĆ. = Ni fu ni fa. = Tirando. = Tirandillo. = AquĆ andamos. = He estado mejor. | So-so! (informal) |
| *Vamos paālante, como el elefante. | I am ok. (informal), literally: āmoving forward, like the elephantā |
| Mal. = Fatal. = Horrible. | Not good. |
| Estoy un poco enfermo. , Estoy un poco enferma. | I am a little ill. |
| Estoy malo. , Estoy mala. | I am ill. |
| *Estoy pachucho. , Estoy pachucha. | I am under the weather. (informal) |
| Estoy cansado. , Estoy cansada. | I am tired. |
| ĀæTodo bien? = ĀæTodo en orden? | Everything OK? |
| Todo bien. = Todo en orden. | Everything OK. |
| MƔs o menos. | Not so good. |
| ĀæQuĆ© tal de salud? | How is your health? |
| ĀæCĆ³mo va la familia? | How is your family doing? |
| Y de trabajo, ĀæquĆ© tal? | How are things at work? |
| ĀæCĆ³mo van las cosas? | How are things? |
Informal and slang formulas to ask āhow are you?ā in Spanish: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 36:16| *ĀæCĆ³mo va eso? = ĀæCĆ³mo va la cosa? = ĀæCĆ³mo estĆ” la cosa? | Whatās up? (informal) |
| *ĀæQuĆ© me cuentas? | Whatās up? (informal) |
| *ĀæQuĆ© hay (de nuevo)? | Whatās new with you? (informal) |
| *ĀæQuĆ© pasa? | Whatās up? (informal) ā Spain |
| *ĀæQuĆ© pasĆ³? | Whatās up? (informal) ā Latin America |
| *ĀæQuĆ© fue? | Whatās up? (informal) ā Latin America |
| *ĀæCĆ³mo te ha ido? | Whatās up? (informal) |
| *ĀæCĆ³mo andas? | Whatās up? (informal) |
| *ĀæCĆ³mo andamos? | Whatās up? (informal) |
| *Y tĆŗ, ĀæquĆ©? | How about you? (informal) |
| **ĀæQuĆ© onda? | Whatās up? (slang) ā Mexico |
| **ĀæQuĆ© bolĆ”? | Whatās up? (slang) ā Cuba |
| **Bien, Āæo quĆ©? | Whatās up? (slang) ā some regions in South America |
| **ĀæQuihubo? | Whatās up? (slang) ā some regions in South America |
| **ĀæQuĆ© mĆ”s, pues? | Whatās up? (slang ā some regions in South America |
| **ĀæQuĆ© lo quĆ©? | Whatās up? (slang) ā some regions in Latin America |
Colloquial expressions to address a friend in Spanish
| **tĆo | dude, bro (slang)- Spain |
| **gĆ¼ey = wey | dude, bro (slang)- MĆ©xico |
| **asere | dude, bro (slang)- Cuba |
| **parce | dude, bro (slang)- Colombia |
| **pana | dude, bro (slang)- some regions in South America |
| *chicos , chicas | guys (informal) |
Informal greeting and farewell formulas in Spanish: phrases for English speakers
| *Holita. | Hello! (informal and ācutesyā) |
| *Adiosito. | Bye! (informal and ācutesyā) |
| *Hola, caracola. | Hello. (informal) |
| *Estoy feliz como una lombriz. | I am happy as a clam. (informal), literally: āI am happy as a wormā |
| *Estoy feliz como un regaliz. | I am happy as a clam. (informal), literally: āI am happy as liquoriceā |
| *Estoy feliz como una perdiz. | I am happy as a clam. (informal), literally: āI am happy as a partridgeā |
| *Hasta luego, cocodrilo. | See you later, alligator! (informal) (literal) |
| *Chao, bacalao. = Chao, pescaoā. | See you later, alligator! (informal): literally: ābye, codā / ābye, fishā |
| *Hasta luego, Lucas. | See you later, alligator! (informal) (Spain), literally: āsee you later, Lucasā |
| *Sayonara, baby. | āHasta la vista, babyā (Spanish translation!) |
| **Me piro! = Ā”Me abro! = Ā”Me largo! | I am off! (slang) |
| *Ā”Hasta nunca! | See you never! (informal) |
| *Ā”Que te vaya bonito! | I wish you well. (sarcastic) |
How to say ākissā and āhugā in Spanish: vocabulary for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 46:31| un abrazo | a hug |
| un beso | a kiss |
| un besito | a kiss |
| un besote | a kiss |
| un beso muy fuerte | a big kiss |
| un beso muy gordo | a big kiss |
A free quiz, so you can put your knowledge to test!
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