Which one should you use?
For greetings tied to the time of day, use buenos días for good morning, buenas tardes for good afternoon and buenas noches for good evening or night. For goodbye, Hasta luego means see you later, Hasta pronto means see you soon, Nos vemos means we will see each other and Hasta la próxima means until next time. cuídate mucho adds take care of yourself.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, adiós is often replaced with chao.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word y means and, but it changes to e when the next word starts with the sound /i/.
How do you pronounce it?
The IPA is /ˈola aˈdjos i ˈɡɾaθjas/. The h in hola is silent. The th sound in gracias is the pronunciation of Spain, while Latin America uses an s sound there.
When do people say it?
When greeting someone formally, adding señor for a man or señora for a woman is polite.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a greeting like hola is often accompanied by a beso, a light kiss on one or both cheeks.
- The word adiós is a shortened version of a longer religious phrase meaning 'to God'. It is a close relative of the English word 'adieu'.
- While adiós is the standard term for goodbye, many Spanish speakers use chao, which is a loanword from the Italian ciao.
Examples in context
- ¡Buenas tardes! ¿Cómo te va?Good afternoon! How are you doing?
- Adiós, nos vemos mañana.Goodbye, see you tomorrow.
- Hasta luego, señor. Cuídese mucho.Goodbye, sir. Take care.
- Nos vemos la próxima semana. Cuídese.See you next week. Take care.
- Le agradezco su ayuda en este asunto.I appreciate your help with this matter.
- Solo quiero decir hola, adiós y gracias.I only want to say hello, goodbye, and thank you.
- Aprendí hola, adiós y gracias en clase.I learned hello, goodbye, and thank you in class.
- Usa hola, adiós y gracias para ser amable.Use hello, goodbye, and thank you to be kind.
Example conversation
Daniel is teaching Sofía basic Spanish greetings.
- DanielSofía, ¿sabes decir hola, adiós y gracias?Sofía, do you know how to say hello, goodbye, and thank you?
- SofíaNo, Daniel, ¿me enseñas?No, Daniel, will you teach me?
- DanielClaro, es muy fácil.Of course, it is very easy.
- Sofía¡Qué bien, gracias!That's great, thank you!
