Greetings & Introductions
Spanish greetings change with the time of day and how formal the situation is. Start with these core phrases and you can open almost any conversation.
Notice that Spanish has no equivalent of the English "good afternoon/evening" split at 5pm — buenas tardes runs until it gets dark, which in Spain can mean 9pm in summer.
Vocabulary
- Hola
- Hello
- Buenos días
- Good morning
- Buenas tardes
- Good afternoon
- Buenas noches
- Good evening / good night
- Adiós
- Goodbye
- Hasta luego
- See you later
- Por favor
- Please
- Gracias
- Thank you
- De nada
- You are welcome
- Lo siento
- I'm sorry
Example Phrases
¿Cómo te llamas?
What is your name?
Me llamo Ana.
My name is Ana.
¿Cómo estás?
How are you?
Estoy bien, gracias.
I'm well, thank you.
Mucho gusto.
Nice to meet you.
Grammar note
Tú vs. usted
Spanish has two ways to say you. Use tú with friends, family, and peers. Use usted in formal situations, such as speaking with someone older or in a professional setting.
The verb changes with it: ¿Cómo estás? (tú) becomes ¿Cómo está? (usted), and ¿Cómo te llamas? becomes ¿Cómo se llama? When in doubt, usted is the safer choice until the other person invites you to use tú.
Cultural note
Two kisses, or a handshake?
In Spain, friends and family typically greet with a kiss on each cheek (starting with the right). In most of Latin America it's a single kiss, and in professional settings across the Spanish-speaking world a handshake is standard.
Following the other person's lead is always safe — nobody expects a learner to know the local default.