hola
/ˈola/
Hi in Spanish is hola.
hola is a friendly, informal greeting.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
How does it change in a sentence?
In written Spanish, an exclamation is often marked with an inverted exclamation point at the beginning: ¡Hola!
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 the English 'h', but it should be silent.
Did you know?
- The word hola may have its roots in an old command used to hail ferrymen in Germanic languages, meaning 'to fetch'.
- While hola is the standard greeting, in many Spanish-speaking cultures it is physically paired with a single kiss on the cheek or a handshake depending on the gender and relationship.
- Depending on the country, hola can be used as a way to get someone's attention from a distance, similar to shouting 'Hey!' in English.
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
Javier sees Sofía at a coffee shop.
- Javier¡Hola, Sofía!Hi, Sofía!
- SofíaHola, Javier. ¿Cómo estás?Hi, Javier. How are you?
- JavierMuy bien, gracias.Very well, 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.
