hola
/ˈola/
The English phrase "hi" is translated to Spanish as hola.
hola is a way to say "hi" or "hello". It is the most common way to greet someone informally in Spanish. While it serves as a friendly greeting, it is more versatile than the English "hi" because it can be used in both casual and semi-formal settings.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
Did you know?
- The word hola likely comes from an old Germanic command used to hail ferrymen to fetch a boat.
- The silent h in hola is a remnant of older spelling and is never pronounced, making the word sound exactly like ola, the word for 'wave'.
- While hola is a general greeting, Spanish speakers often immediately follow it with ¿qué tal?, which functions more as a social ritual than a literal question about how one is doing.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?Hi! How are you?Tatoeba #535238 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hola chicos, soy Mike.Hi guys, I'm Mike.Tatoeba #1020897 by Shishir, translation #1020895 by CP
- ¡Hola! Soy nuevo aquí.Hi! I'm new here.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Mateo see each other in a park.
- Elena¡Hola, Mateo!Hi, Mateo!
- MateoHola, Elena. ¿Cómo estás?Hi, Elena. How are you?
- ElenaMuy bien, gracias.Very well, thank you.
- MateoMe 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.
