hola, hombre
/ˈola ˈombɾe/word by word
The English phrase "hello, man" is translated into Spanish as hola, hombre.
This phrase is an informal greeting used when speaking to a man. However, note that while it is a literal translation, it is rarely used by native speakers in this exact way to greet a friend.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, people more commonly use hola, tío to mean "hello, man" or "hello, dude." In Mexico, the term güey is a much more common and casual way to say "man" or "dude," such as in hola, güey. In Argentina, the slang term che is used to refer to a person, similar to saying "hey, you!" or "man."
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola ˈombɾe/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often use hola, hombre as a direct translation for "hello, man" in greetings, but in Spanish, this sounds unnatural and is rarely used as a casual greeting.
Did you know?
- In Mexico, the word güey is used as a casual filler like 'man', but it originally comes from a word meaning 'ox'.
- While hombre means 'man', Spanish speakers often use it as an interjection to express surprise, frustration or disbelief, regardless of who they are talking to.
- The word hola likely comes from the French holà, which was used to tell someone to stop. It is related to an Old High German term used to hail a ferryman.
Examples in context
- Hola, señorHello, sir
- Buenos días, caballeroGood morning, gentleman
- Hola, amigoHello, friend
- ¿Qué tal, compadre?What's up, buddy?
- ¡Ey, tío!Hey, dude!
- Buenas, hermanoHi, brother
Example conversation
Sofía sees Daniel at a coffee shop.
- Sofía¡Hola, hombre! No te esperaba aquí.Hello, man! I didn't expect you here.
- Daniel¡Hola, Sofía! Yo tampoco.Hello, Sofía! Me neither.
- Sofía¿Quieres tomar un café conmigo?Do you want to have a coffee with me?
- DanielSí, me encantaría.Yes, I would love to.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (hola, hombre) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hola, hombre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
