hola
/ˈola/
The Spanish word for "hi" is hola.
hola is a general-purpose greeting that can be used at any time of day.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Which one should you use?
While hola is a versatile greeting for any time, Spanish also uses time-specific greetings such as buenos días (good morning) or buenas tardes (good afternoon).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, a greeting like hola is accompanied by a single kiss on the right cheek, though the two people do not actually touch lips to skin.
- The word hola likely shares a common ancestor with the English 'hello' and the German 'hallo', originating from an ancient command used to catch someone's attention or hail a boatman.
- The Spanish word hola is a homophone for the English word 'ola', which actually means 'wave' in Spanish, even though the spelling is different.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?Hi! How are you?This sentence 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 sentence shows how to use hola when greeting a group of people.Tatoeba #1020897 by Shishir, translation #1020895 by CP
- ¡Hola! Soy nuevo aquí.Hi! I'm new here.This sentence shows how to use hola when introducing yourself in a new place.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
María and Alejandro meet in the hallway.
- María¡Hola, Alejandro!Hi, Alejandro!
- AlejandroHola, María. ¿Cómo vas?Hi, María. How is it going?
- MaríaTodo bien, gracias.Everything is good, thanks.
- 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.
