hola
/ˈola/
The Spanish word for "hi" is hola.
hola is a standard casual greeting used in informal contexts. You can also use time-specific greetings such as Buenos días for "Good morning", Buenas tardes for "Good afternoon" (used from midday until early evening) or Buenas noches for "Good evening/night" (the customary greeting used after sunset or during the evening/night).
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In parts of Latin America, particularly Argentina, the informal phrase ¿Cómo andas? is a common way to ask "how are you?"
How does it change in a sentence?
In written Spanish, the word is written with an exclamation mark at both the beginning and the end: ¡Hola!
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
When do people say it?
When greeting someone casually, you might also use ¿Qué tal? or ¿Cómo estás? to ask how they are doing. For a more laid-back greeting meaning "what's up?", you can say ¿Qué pasa?
Did you know?
- The word hola likely originated not as a friendly greeting, but as a command to 'stop!' or 'hey!' in French and Germanic languages.
- While hola is the standard greeting, in many Spanish-speaking cultures, a greeting is often accompanied by a single kiss on the cheek or a light handshake.
- The word hola is a homophone of the Spanish word ola, which means 'wave' in the ocean.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?Hi! How are you?This example shows how to use hola when asking how someone is.Tatoeba #535238 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hola chicos, soy Mike.Hi guys, I'm Mike.This example uses hola to introduce yourself to a group.Tatoeba #1020897 by Shishir, translation #1020895 by CP
- ¡Hola! Soy nuevo aquí.Hi! I'm new here.This example uses hola to state that you are new.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía meets Alejandro at a cafe.
- Lucía¡Hola, Alejandro!Hi, Alejandro!
- AlejandroHola, Lucía. ¿Cómo estás?Hi, Lucía. How are you?
- LucíaMuy bien, gracias.Very well, thank you.
- AlejandroMe alegro mucho.I am very glad.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hi” translations and entries hola, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hola, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
