¿Cómo estás? - Everyday Spanish Greetings You Can Use (2023)

FAQs

¿Cómo estás? - Everyday Spanish Greetings You Can Use? ›

Hola - Hello/hi (the most common greeting) Buenas tardes - Good afternoon/evening. Hey - Hi (variant) Buenas noches - Good night. Saludos - Greetings.

Hola - Hello/hi (the most common greeting) Buenas tardes - Good afternoon/evening. Hey - Hi (variant) Buenas noches - Good night. Saludos - Greetings.

“Hola” is a greeting suitable for any time of the day. This word can be translated into English as “hello” or “hi”. Can you use the word “hola” with strangers? “Hola” is a totally neutral greetings that you can use in formal and informal situations.

It's an informal greeting, but if you change it just a little bit to ¿cómo está? it becomes a formal greeting. Hola, ¿cómo estás? Hi, how are you?

The most common way to introduce yourself in Spanish is to say "Me llamo" followed by your name. Alternatives include "Mi nombre es" or "Soy" followed by your name. "Hola" can be used for either "hi" or "hello."

To start an informal letter, you'd normally use the form of address, Querido (dear). For example: Querido Juan: (Dear Juan) Querida Ana: (Dear Ana)

1.1 Greetings in Spanish

Use the following phrases to say hello to someone in Spanish. Also check: In Spanish, we say Buenos días from 6 am to 12 pm (before lunch). People say Buenas tardes after having lunch until 8 pm (approximately).

How do you greet someone in Spanish in the morning? ›

Good morning is buenos días.

How do you answer if someone asks you, "¿Cómo estás?" or "How are you?"? The standard answer is probably "Bien" ("Fine") or "Muy bien" ("Very good"). Of course, both of those responses are often expanded: "Muy bien, gracias.

chulo/chula

In Mexican Spanish, chulo/chula is the word you're looking to use if you find something (or someone, but in a kind, non-sexual nor romantic way) really pretty. Use it to compliment a part of someone's outfit or to tell someone you think they look cute today.

Al mal tiempo, buena cara. This phrase is one of the most popular Spanish sayings. It reminds us that even if we have problems and things go wrong, everything will work out better with a positive attitude. It is a way of saying that with a smile, everything looks better.

Mucho Gusto

Pronounced: Moo-cho Goo-stow. This phrase means “nice to meet you.” It is obviously used when you're meeting someone for the first time.

Salutations for business letters

The most formal salutation is Dear, [title], then the last name. If you're unsure of the person's pronouns, it's a good idea to use Dear [First and last name] or Dear [First name]. When you don't know the recipient's name, you can use Hello or Greetings.

How do you start an informal greeting letter? ›

The greeting of a friendly letter always starts with 'Dear' followed by the person's name to whom you are writing the letter. In the below example, the greeting is 'Dear Jason. ' The greeting is followed by a comma, then a skipped line.

¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)

In this episode of Coffee Break Spanish To Go, Marina asks the question, ¿Cómo te llamas? (informal) or ¿Cómo se llama usted? (formal). You can use the answers of our interviewees to help you learn to introduce yourself in Spanish.

To introduce yourself, you can start with a phrase like “HOLA” or “BUENOS DIAS”. Then, you can say your name with: [ME LLAMO + NOMBRE] or [MI NOMBRE ES + NOMBRE] as in this example: “¡Hola! Me llamo Alex”. You can also say your name using the verb SER with the structure [YO SOY + NOMBRE] as in “Yo soy Alex”.

Often the greetings “buenos días”, “buenas tardes” and “buenas noches” are also used to say goodbye as they can be appropriate in several contexts such as when kids go to bed at night or when we finish a conversation on the phone.

regards [noun plural] greetings; good wishes.

Using "Saludos a" to Say Goodbye

Saludos ('Greetings/Regards')

"Hi" Neutral and Informal. "Hey" Informal. Good Bye,greeting used while leaving each other. "Good [morning, afternoon, evening,night], Formal , which changes with the time of day. "What's up?", "Yo", "What's up?", "'Sup" and "What's happening?", which are not formal.

How do you respectfully greet someone? The most respectful greetings are formal ones like "hello," or time-related greetings like "good morning" or "good evening." To make it even more respectful, add the listener's formal title afterwards, like "hello, Mr. or Mrs. ______," or even "hello, sir or ma'am."

What is the meaning of Bon Dia? ›

Greetings for certain moments of the day

“Bom dia” literally means “good day," but you'd only use it to say “good morning” in Portuguese. Note that Brazilians pronounce “dia” like “jee-ah” while the Portuguese say “dee-ah.” Boa tarde.

Refers to how you are as a person — your physical or personality traits. ¿Cómo estás refers to how you are currently — the way you are feeling at the moment. This difference exists because of the two Spanish verbs for to be: ser and estar.

Estoy bien. Nothing. I'm fine.

A more casual greeting is “Hola” (Hello), “¿Qué tal?” (What's up?) or “¿Cómo estás?” (How are you?).

Casual and informal greetings in Spanish

¡Hola, hola! Hey! ¡Oye!

The same rules of plural or formal context apply: “¿Como han estado?” for the plural and, “¿Como ha estado?” for a more formal greeting.

What is a typical greeting in Spanish? ›

The common verbal greeting is “Buenos dias” (Good day), “Buenas tardes” (Good afternoon) or “Buenas noches” (Good evening/night) depending on the time of day. People may also say “¿Como está?” (How are you). A more casual greeting is “Hola” (Hello).

When one says “muchas gracias por tu ayuda”, you can respond with “oh, está bien”.

I'm good, thanks. I'm well. I'm doing well, thanks So far, so good!

If in passing someone says “hola!” to you, it would acceptable to reply: “como estas?”

Spaniards greet each other with a kiss on each cheek. It is likely that even if you just get introduced to someone, they will just reach out to kiss you on the cheek. This does not happen among men but mostly among women and between men and women. A handshake is the rule of thumb, though.

How do you answer if someone asks you, "¿Cómo estás?" or "How are you?"? The standard answer is probably "Bien" ("Fine") or "Muy bien" ("Very good"). Of course, both of those responses are often expanded: "Muy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?" ("Quite well, thank you.

Often the greetings “buenos días”, “buenas tardes” and “buenas noches” are also used to say goodbye as they can be appropriate in several contexts such as when kids go to bed at night or when we finish a conversation on the phone.

For verbal greeting, “¡Hola!” is used as a valid and neutral greeting almost any occasion yet on formal occasions, it will be more correct to use expressions like “¡Buenos días!”, “¡Buenas tardes!” and “¡Buenas noches!” which also can be used to say goodbye.

Does Mucho Gusto mean my pleasure? ›

Mucho gusto ("a pleasure to meet you")

Mucho gusto is what people say immediately after an introduction. In English, we would say "a pleasure to meet you." A common response to mucho gusto is el gusto es mío (literally, "the pleasure is mine").

¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)

Fun fact: One curious detail is that buenos días, buenas tardes and buenas noches are formal ways to greet in Spanish, but when Spanish natives want to greet friends or family or neighbors in an informal way, they will just say “buenas” or "cómo le va" as an alternative to “hola”.

Shake hands with everyone present--men, women and children--at a business or social meeting. Shake hands again when leaving. Men may embrace each other when meeting (friends and family only). Women may kiss each other on the cheek and embrace.