hola, ¿quién eres?
In Spanish, "hello, who are you?" is expressed as hola, ¿quién eres?
This phrase is a greeting used to ask for the identity of a person whom you do not know.
Which one should you use?
The default form hola, ¿quién eres? uses the informal tú conjugation, whereas the formal version ¿quién es usted? uses the formal usted conjugation.
How does it change in a sentence?
When you wish to be formal, such as when speaking to someone older, a person in a position of authority or in a formal setting, you should use the form hola, ¿quién es usted?
Did you know?
- While hola is a friendly greeting today, it likely originates from the French holà, which was used as a command to tell someone to stop.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, asking ¿quién eres? can feel significantly more blunt or confrontational than the English 'who are you?'
Examples in context
- Buenos días, ¿me podría decir su nombre? Soy Sofía Martínez, encantada de conocerlo.Good morning, could you tell me your name? I am Sofía Martínez, pleased to meet you.
- Hola, ¿quién eres? Soy María, la amiga de Antonio.Hi, who are you? I'm María, Antonio's friend.
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal? ¿Cuál es tu nombre? Soy Pedro, mucho gusto.Hi! How are you? What is your name? I'm Pedro, nice to meet you.
- Hola, ¿quién eres? No te conozco.Hello, who are you? I don't know you.
- Perdón, hola, ¿quién eres?Excuse me, hello, who are you?
Example conversation
Lucía meets a new student at the library.
- LucíaHola, ¿quién eres?Hello, who are you?
- AlejandroHola, soy Alejandro. Soy nuevo aquí.Hello, I am Alejandro. I am new here.
- LucíaMucho gusto, Alejandro. Soy Lucía.Nice to meet you, Alejandro. I am Lucía.
- AlejandroEncantado de conocerte, Lucía.Delighted to meet you, Lucía.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eres, hola, quién, CC BY-SA 4.0.
