hola
/ˈola/
Hi in Spanish is hola.
hola is a friendly, informal greeting used to say hi.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Which one should you use?
While hola can be used at any time, buenos días is a more formal or time-specific way to greet someone in the morning. Additionally, you might use buenas tardes to mean "Good afternoon".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
hola is a versatile greeting that is appropriate for informal or neutral social situations.
Is it said differently in some regions?
hola is the universal way to say "Hi" in Nicaragua.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
When do people say it?
When greeting someone, you may also use ¿Cómo estás? as a friendly and informal way to ask "How are you?" or ¿Qué tal? to mean "What's up?" Other casual options include Ey, ¿qué onda?, which roughly translates to "Hey, what's up?"
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, saying hola is often accompanied by a single kiss on the cheek or a light touch of the cheeks between friends.
- The Spanish greeting hola may share an ancestor with the English word 'hello', both likely originating from a Germanic command to stop or fetch something.
- In certain regions of Spain, people might skip hola entirely and greet you simply by saying '¡Buenas!', a shortened version of the formal time-based greetings.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?Hi! How are you?This example shows how to use hola to ask how someone is doing.Tatoeba #535238 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hola chicos, soy Mike.Hi guys, I'm Mike.This example uses 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 example uses hola to introduce oneself as a newcomer.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- Buenos días, Señor García. ¿Cómo está usted?Good morning, Mr. García. How are you?
- Hola, ¿cómo estás?Hi, how are you?
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
María and Alejandro meet in the street during the morning.
- 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 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.
