How to Say Hello in Spanish: 27 Ways to Greet Like
Last updated: November 2, 2025
Most Spanish classes teach you "hola" and maybe "buenos días," then move on like that's all you need. But if you actually want to greet people like a native speaker instead of sounding like you memorized three phrases from a dictionary, you need to understand the different ways to say hello in Spanish—and when each one is appropriate.
Because walking up to your Mexican friend and saying "¿cómo está usted?" (formal) instead of "¿qué onda?" (casual) makes you sound ridiculous. And using casual greetings with your Spanish teacher or your girlfriend's parents? That's just rude.
Let's break down the actual ways Spanish speakers greet each other, from formal to casual, with the regional variations nobody bothers teaching you.
Basic Spanish greetings: Start hereHola — The universal hello in SpanishHola is your baseline. It means "hello" or "hi" in Spanish, and it works in pretty much any situation. You can use this phrase with friends and family, strangers, your boss, whoever.
Pronunciation: OH-lah (not "HOE-lah")
The "h" is silent in Spanish. Always. This is one of the most common pronunciation mistakes beginners make. If you pronounce the "h," you immediately sound like someone who learned Spanish from Google Translate.
Hola is neutral—not too formal, not too casual. It's the safest way to greet someone when you're not sure what's appropriate.
Buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches — Time-based greetingsThese are slightly more formal ways to say hello in Spanish, and they change based on the time of day:
Buenos días (good morning) — From when you wake up until around noon
Buenas tardes (good afternoon/evening) — From midday until sunset
Buenas noches (good evening/good night) — After dark
Quick grammar note: These are all plural in Spanish—literally "good days," "good afternoons," "good nights." Don't ask me why. That's just how Spanish works.
You'll also hear people shorten these to just "buenas" as an informal greeting at any time of day. It's like saying "hey" instead of "good morning"—more casual but still polite.
One thing about buenas noches: unlike English where "good night" is basically just for saying goodbye, in Spanish you can use buenas noches both when you arrive somewhere in the evening AND when you leave. It's both a hello and a goodbye.
Formal vs. informal Spanish greetings: Don't mess this upThis is where most beginners screw up. Spanish has different ways to say "you," and using the wrong one can actually offend people.
Tú = informal "you" (friends, family, people your age)
Usted = formal "you" (strangers, older people, bosses, authority figures)
When you greet someone and ask how they are, the entire phrase changes:
Informal greetings in Spanish:¿Cómo estás? — How are you? (informal)
¿Qué tal? — How's it going? / What's up?
¿Qué pasa? — What's up? / What's happening?
Formal ways to greet in Spanish:¿Cómo está? — How are you? (formal, singular)
¿Cómo está usted? — How are you? (explicitly formal)
Mucho gusto — Nice to meet you (when meeting someone new)
Encantado/Encantada — Delighted to meet you (encantado if you're male, encantada if you're female)
The default rule for beginners: Start formal. Use usted until someone explicitly tells you it's okay to use tú. Being overly formal is awkward but harmless. Being inappropriately informal can genuinely offend people.
In Spanish, there's even a verb for this—tutear—which means "to address someone informally." If someone says "puedes tutearme" (you can address me informally), that's your green light to switch.
Regional ways to say hello: How Spanish speakers actually talkHere's where Spanish gets fun. Each Spanish-speaking country has its own casual expressions that you won't find in any textbook. If you want to sound like you actually know how to greet people instead of like you learned from Duolingo, you need to know a few of these.
Mexico: Casual Mexican greetings¿Qué onda? — What's up? (super common, very casual)
This is probably the most common way to say "hi" among friends in Mexico. The literal translation is "what wave?" which makes zero sense in English, but trust me—every Mexican under 40 uses this phrase constantly.
¿Qué pasó? — What happened? / What's up? (Northern Mexico)
Bueno — Hello (but ONLY when answering the phone)
Mexicans don't say "hola" when they answer the phone—they say "bueno." It's just a weird quirk. Don't use this as a general greeting or you'll sound confused.
Argentina & Uruguay: The vos greeting style¿Cómo andás? — How are you?
Argentina and Uruguay use vos instead of tú for informal "you," which changes the verb conjugation. Instead of "¿cómo estás?" (with tú), they say "¿cómo andás?" The literal translation is "how are you walking?" but it just means "how are you?"
Che — Hey (used to get someone's attention)
You've probably heard this one. "Che, boludo" is an extremely common—and colloquial—way friends greet each other in Argentina.
Colombia: Friendly Colombian greetings¿Quiubo? or ¿Qué hubo? — What's up?
Quiubo is a contraction of "qué hubo," and you'll hear it constantly in Colombia. Add "parce" (buddy/dude) and you've got "¿quiubo, parce?"—a super casual way to greet a friend.
Venezuela: Energetic greetingsÉpale — Hi / What's up
This is uniquely Venezuelan—an informal, energetic way to say hello. You'll hear it from kids, teenagers, and adults. It's basically their version of "hey!"
Spain: European Spanish greetings¿Qué tal? — How's it going?
This is extremely common in Spain—probably more common than "¿cómo estás?" It's informal but not as casual as some of the Latin American slang.
Oye — Hey / Listen
This literally means "hear" or "listen," but Spanish speakers use it as an informal greeting to get someone's attention. Be careful with this one—it can sound slightly rude if you use it wrong. It's more like "hey!" to grab someone's attention than a standard hello.
Costa Rica: The pura vida greetingPura vida — Pure life
Costa Ricans use this expression for everything: hello, goodbye, how are you, I'm good, everything's great. It's their national motto and you'll hear it constantly. When someone asks "¿cómo estás?" you can just respond "pura vida."
Different ways to say hello when meeting new friendsWhen you're being introduced to someone for the first time, you need phrases beyond just "hola." Here are the common ways to greet an acquaintance or someone new:
Mucho gusto — Nice to meet you (most commonly used)
Encantado/Encantada — Delighted (formal, remember to match your gender)
Un placer — A pleasure (more formal)
Es un placer conocerte — It's a pleasure to meet you (informal)
Es un placer conocerle — It's a pleasure to meet you (formal)
Mucho gusto is your safest bet. It works in basically any situation and won't make you sound overly formal or too casual.
Spanish greetings for groups: Saying hi to everyoneNeed to greet a group of people? Here are different ways to say hello to multiple Spanish speakers:
Hola a todos — Hello everyone (use "todos" for mixed or male groups)
Hola a todas — Hello everyone (use "todas" for all-female groups)
Buenos días a todos — Good morning everyone
¿Qué tal, chicos? — What's up, guys? (informal, among friends)
One important cultural note: In Spain especially, you're expected to greet each person individually when you enter a room. Walking into a party and saying "hey guys!" to the group doesn't fly. You go around and say hello to everyone—it takes longer, but it's basic politeness. Skip this and you look either clueless or rude.
How to pronounce Spanish greetings correctlyLet's talk pronunciation basics so you don't sound like a beginner:
Silent H: The letter "h" in Spanish makes no sound. Hola, hasta, hamburguesa—the "h" is completely silent. If you pronounce it, native speakers immediately know you're new to the language.
Stress patterns: In "hola," the stress is on the first syllable: HO-lah, not ho-LAH. Getting stress wrong makes you harder to understand.
The ¿Cómo problem: English speakers tend to pronounce "¿cómo estás?" like "KOH-moh ehs-TAHS" but rush through it. Slow down. Each syllable should be clear: KOH-moh ehs-TAHS.
Unfortunately, you can't really learn pronunciation from reading a blog post. You need audio from native speakers and lots of practice. When you're learning Spanish with Migaku's immersion method, you're constantly hearing these greetings in context with proper pronunciation, which is how you actually internalize the right way to say them.
Physical greetings: The handshake vs. kiss situationSpanish-speaking cultures are generally more physical than English-speaking ones, and this shows up in how people greet each other:
In Spain: Two cheek kisses are standard when greeting friends and family. You start with the right cheek (lean to your left), then the left cheek. These aren't real kisses—you're touching cheeks and making a kiss sound. Women give kisses to pretty much everyone. Men shake hands with other men unless they're family or close friends.
In Latin American countries: It varies significantly. Mexico tends to be more reserved—handshakes are common, with a single cheek kiss among friends and family. Argentina is more like Spain, with cheek kisses even among male friends. Colombia often combines a cheek kiss with a hug.
The rule: Follow the other person's lead. If they extend their hand, shake it. If they lean in for a kiss, go with it. Nobody expects you to be perfect at this—they know you're learning.
In professional settings everywhere, stick with handshakes until you know people better.
Common mistakes when greeting people in SpanishUsing time-based greetings at the wrong time: If it's 3pm and you say "buenos días," you'll get corrected. These greetings are time-specific.
Being too formal with friends: If you're hanging out with people your age and you use "¿cómo está usted?", they'll think you're being sarcastic.
Only knowing "hola" with no follow-up: You need something after "hola." Standing there in silence after saying hello is awkward. Have at least "¿qué tal?" ready.
Not greeting people individually: Again, especially in Spain, the group "hey everyone!" doesn't work. Take the extra 30 seconds.
Mixing up formal and informal: This is the biggest mistake. Using tú with someone who expects usted (or vice versa) immediately marks you as someone who doesn't understand Spanish formality.
Learning Spanish greetings like a native speakerHere's the honest truth: Memorizing a list of 27 different ways to say hello won't help you much if you don't know when to use each one.
You need context. You need to see how Spanish speakers greet each other in real situations—the tone, the body language, the regional variations, the formal vs. casual shifts. You need to understand that "¿qué tal?" at 9am Monday in an office has a completely different vibe than "¿qué tal?" at midnight Friday at a bar.
Textbooks can't teach you this. Spanish classes barely touch it. You learn it through exposure to actual Spanish content.
When you use Migaku to learn Spanish from real content, you're seeing people greet each other naturally—in Spanish TV shows, YouTube videos, podcasts, whatever you're into. You hear the regional differences, the formality levels, the casual expressions that native speakers actually use.
The browser extension lets you instantly look up any greeting or phrase you don't recognize. See "¿qué onda, wey?" in a Mexican video and don't know what it means? Click on it, get the translation, add it to your flashcard deck if you want. The mobile app means you can review these real examples anywhere.
This matters because greetings are context-dependent. You can't learn them from a dictionary. You need to hear "¿cómo andás?" in an Argentine show, "¿qué onda?" in a Mexican video, "¿qué tal?" in a Spanish series—and see how people respond, what situations they're used in, what the vibe is.
Plus, you're not just learning what to say—you're learning what to expect when someone greets you. If a Colombian says "¿quiubo, parce?" and you've never heard it before, you'll freeze up. But if you've heard it 50 times in content, you'll automatically know how to respond.
Migaku helps you learn Spanish the way you actually learned English—through massive exposure to real language, not through memorizing lists of phrases. Try it free for 10 days and see how much faster you pick up natural Spanish greetings when you're learning from actual native-speaking content instead of textbook dialogues.
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