¡hola!
To say hi to a friend in Spanish, use ¡hola! It is the simplest casual greeting and works with friends and strangers alike.
To sound warmer, add amigo for a male friend or amiga for a female friend after hola. ¡Qué tal! greets a friend and asks how they are doing at the same time.
Which one should you use?
¡hola! is more informal than Buenos días or Buenas tardes, which suit formal settings.
Is it said differently in some regions?
¿Qué hubo? is a casual greeting in several Latin American countries, including Mexico and Colombia. ¿Cómo va? is used in Spain and some Latin American countries as an alternative to ¿Cómo estás?
How does it change in a sentence?
Written Spanish puts an exclamation mark at both the start and the end of the greeting, as in ¡Hola!
Did you know?
- In Mexico, a common way to say 'hi' to a group of friends is ¿Qué onda?, which literally translates to 'What wave?', but is used to mean 'What's up?'
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, friends may skip the word hola entirely and instead use a physical gesture, like a single kiss on the cheek or a light hug, to say hi.
- The phrase ¡hola! is one of the few Spanish words that remains the same regardless of whether the person being greeted is male, female, singular or plural.
Examples in context
- Buenos días, Juan. ¿Cómo estás hoy?Good morning, Juan. How are you today?
- Buenas tardes, María. ¿Cómo ha sido tu día?Good afternoon, Maria. How has your day been?
- ¡Hola, Andrea! ¿Cómo te va?Hello, Andrea! How is it going?
- ¡Hola, amigo! ¿Cuándo nos veremos?Hello, friend! When will we see each other?
- ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?Hi! How are you?
Example conversation
Alejandro sees María at a coffee shop.
- Alejandro¡Hola! ¿Cómo vas, María?Hi! How are you doing, María?
- MaríaHola, Alejandro. Muy bien, gracias.Hi, Alejandro. Very well, thanks.
- Alejandro¿Vas a tomar un café?Are you going to have a coffee?
- MaríaSí, me vendría muy bien.Yes, I could really use one.
