Hola, ¿quién eres?
The English phrase 'hi, who are you?' is translated into Spanish as Hola, ¿quién eres?
In formal contexts, you might instead use ¿Buenos días/tardes, disculpe, pero ¿podría decirme su nombre? to say 'Good morning/afternoon, excuse me, but could you tell me your name?'
Which one should you use?
You may see ¿Hola, quién eres? in informal digital communication like texting, where Spanish speakers often omit the opening inverted question mark (¿).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, it is common to hear ¡Hola! ¿Cómo te llamas? in casual settings. In Argentina, people might say ¡Hola! ¿Quién sos? when speaking informally.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word quién must include an accent mark when used in a question.
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, asking ¿Quién eres? can sound much more confrontational or suspicious than the polite English 'who are you?'
- The verb form eres is a linguistic relic from the Latin future tense, 'eris', which actually meant 'you will be'.
Example conversation
Alejandro sees a stranger standing in his garden.
- AlejandroHola, ¿quién eres?Hi, who are you?
- SofíaHola, soy Sofía, la nueva vecina.Hi, I am Sofía, the new neighbor.
- AlejandroMucho gusto, Sofía. Yo soy Alejandro.Nice to meet you, Sofía. I am Alejandro.
- SofíaEncantada de conocerte, Alejandro.Delighted to meet you, Alejandro.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries eres, hola, quién, CC BY-SA 4.0.
