hola, mamá
/ˈola maˈma/word by word
The English phrase "hi mother" is translated into Spanish as hola, mamá.
hola, mamá is a commonly used informal greeting used when speaking to one's mother.
Is it said differently in some regions?
While ¡Hola, mamá! is a greeting used in Spain, other variations exist in different regions: in Mexico, you might hear Hola, mami. or ¡Buenos días, mamá! and in Argentina, ¡Buen día, mamá! is used.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola maˈma/
Did you know?
- The word hola may have evolved from an old command to 'stop' or 'halt', making it a distant cousin of a shout used to hail a ferryman.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, calling one's mother mami is common long after the child has grown into an adult.
- Spanish has a distinct word for 'mother' (madre) and 'mom' (mamá), and using madre in a greeting like Hola, madre can sound unusually cold or overly formal.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola, mamá!Hi, mom!
- Hola, mamá, ¿cómo estás?Hi, mom, how are you?
- Hola, mamá, ya llegué.Hi, mom, I'm home.
Example conversation
Mateo enters the kitchen where his mother is cooking.
- MateoHola, mamá.Hi, mom.
- LucíaHola, Mateo, ¿qué tal tu día?Hi, Mateo, how was your day?
- MateoMuy bien, ¿y tú?Very good, and you?
- LucíaBien, hijo, ven a comer.Good, son, come eat.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (hola, mamá) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries hola, mamá, CC BY-SA 4.0.
