¡hola!, ¿cómo estás?
The English phrase "hey, how are you?" is translated into Spanish as ¡hola!, ¿cómo estás?
This is a common informal greeting used to start a conversation and ask about someone's well-being.
Which one should you use?
While ¡hola!, ¿cómo estás? is a standard way to ask how someone is, you might also use ¡Hola, ¿qué tal? to mean "Hi, how are you?" or the very informal ¡Ey, ¿qué pasa? which translates to "Hey, what's up?"
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, exclamations and questions must begin with an inverted punctuation mark (¡ or ¿) at the start of the phrase. The form ¿cómo estás? is the singular informal version. If you are addressing a group of people, you must use the plural form ¿cómo están?
When do people say it?
A common and natural way to respond to this greeting is Bien, ¿y tú? (Fine and you?).
Did you know?
- The greeting ¡hola! might share an ancestor with the Old High German command holā, which was used to hail a ferryman to stop.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, it is common to accompany hola with a single kiss on the cheek between women or between men and women.
- If you are greeting a group in Spain, you might hear ¿cómo estáis?, whereas in Latin America, you would almost exclusively hear ¿cómo están? for the same group.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola!, ¿cómo estás?Hey, how are you?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cómo, hola, CC BY-SA 4.0.
