hola
/ˈola/
hola is the Spanish way to say hi.
hola is a friendly, informal greeting. While it is a general-purpose greeting that can be used at any time of day, other Spanish speakers may use time-specific greetings such as Buenos días (good morning) until midday, Buenas tardes (good afternoon/evening) from midday until early evening or Buenas noches (good evening/night) from early evening until late night.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Which one should you use?
Unlike time-specific greetings such as Buenos días, hola is a general-purpose greeting that can be used at any time of day.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, Qué onda is used as an informal way to say hello. In Argentina, Che is informally used to call someone's attention or say "hi" among friends.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly pronounce the 'h' in hola as an aspirated sound like in the English word 'hi'.
When do people say it?
You might hear popular informal phrases like ¿Qué tal? or ¿Cómo estás? to ask "How are you?"
Did you know?
- In much of Latin America, a friendly hola is often accompanied by a single kiss on the right cheek.
- If you are in Mexico, you might hear the informal greeting Qué onda, which literally translates to 'What wave?'
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?Hi! How are you?This sentence shows how to use hola to ask how someone is.Tatoeba #535238 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hola chicos, soy Mike.Hi guys, I'm Mike.This sentence demonstrates using hola to greet a group of people.Tatoeba #1020897 by Shishir, translation #1020895 by CP
- ¡Hola! Soy nuevo aquí.Hi! I'm new here.This sentence illustrates using hola to introduce yourself as a newcomer.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro and Sofía see each other at a local cafe.
- Alejandro¡Hola, Sofía!Hi, Sofía!
- Sofía¡Hola, Alejandro! ¿Cómo vas?Hi, Alejandro! How is it going?
- AlejandroTodo bien, gracias.Everything is good, thanks.
- SofíaMe alegro mucho.I am very happy to hear that.
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.
