hola tú
/ola tu/from spelling rules
The Spanish phrase for "hello you" is hola tú.
hola tú is an informal greeting used to address one person. In Spanish, it is more common to simply say hola rather than adding the pronoun tú unless one is being particularly emphatic or playful.
Did you know?
- Some linguists have attempted to link the greeting hola to the Arabic phrase wal-lāh, which translates to 'by God!' However, this theory is not widely accepted by the academic community.
- Because the pronoun tú is often dropped in natural Spanish, saying hola tú can sound like you are pointing a finger at someone to grab their attention.
- If you were to address a group using the same structure, you would use hola vosotros in Spain, but this would sound extremely unnatural or archaic to speakers in Latin America.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Cómo está usted?Hello! How are you (formal)?
- ¡Hola! Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y usted?Hello! I am fine, thank you. And you (formal)?
- ¡Buenos días! ¿Cómo se encuentra usted?Good morning! How are you (formal)?
- ¡Buenas tardes! ¿Cómo le va?Good afternoon! How is it going (formal)?
- ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?Hello! How are you (informal)?
- ¡Hola! Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?Hello! I am fine, thank you. And you (informal)?
- ¡Buenos días! ¿Cómo estás?Good morning! How are you (informal)?
- ¡Buenas tardes! ¿Cómo te va?Good afternoon! How is it going (informal)?
Example conversation
Javier and Lucía run into each other at a park.
- Javier¡Hola tú! No te esperaba aquí.Hello you! I wasn't expecting you here.
- LucíaHola, Javier. Yo también estoy paseando.Hello, Javier. I am also taking a walk.
- Javier¿Quieres caminar un rato conmigo?Do you want to walk for a bit with me?
- LucíaSí, me encantaría.Yes, I would love to.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hola, tú, CC BY-SA 4.0.
