Which one should you use?
While hola is a general greeting, you can also use time-specific greetings to show a higher level of politeness or to acknowledge the time of day. Use buenos días for "good morning" (typically before noon), buenas tardes for "good afternoon" (used in the afternoon until early evening) and buenas noches for "good evening" or "good night" (used to say "hi" in the evening or before going to bed).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
hola is appropriate for informal or neutral social situations. For very informal greetings with friends or peers, you might use ¿Qué tal? (What's up?) or Hola, ¿cómo te va? (Hi, how's it going?).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico and other Latin American countries, the informal greeting ¿Qué onda? is widely used to mean "What's up?"
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
When do people say it?
Common friendly greetings often include asking how someone is, such as using ¿Cómo estás? (How are you?) as a friendly greeting.
Did you know?
- The roots of hola may be linked to Old High German calls used specifically to hail a ferryman.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a greeting like hola is often accompanied by a single or double kiss on the cheek, depending on the region.
- In Spain, it is common to pair hola with buenas as a shorthand greeting that works at any time of the day or night.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?Hi! How are you?This example shows how to use hola when asking how someone is.Tatoeba #535238 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hola chicos, soy Mike.Hi guys, I'm Mike.This example shows how to use hola when introducing yourself to a group.Tatoeba #1020897 by Shishir, translation #1020895 by CP
- ¡Hola! Soy nuevo aquí.Hi! I'm new here.This example shows how to use hola to state that you are new.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- Hola, ¿qué estás haciendo?Hello, what are you doing?
- ¿Hola, qué haces?Hi, what are you doing?
- ¿Qué tal? ¿En qué andas?What's up? What are you up to?
- Hola, ¿cómo te va? ¿En qué andas metido?Hi, how's it going? What are you up to?
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro see each other in a hallway.
- Sofía¡Hola, Alejandro!Hi, Alejandro!
- AlejandroHola, Sofía. ¿Cómo estás?Hi, Sofía. How are you?
- SofíaMuy bien, gracias.Very well, thanks.
- AlejandroMe 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.
