How to Say "Hi" in Spanish - How To Say Guide

hola

/ˈola/

hola is the Spanish way to say hi.

hola is a universal greeting similar to 'hello' in English. It can be used in both formal and informal contexts.

Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)

How do you pronounce it?

/ˈola/

While 'hola' is used to greet people, its distant linguistic ancestors were actually used to shout 'hey, stop!' to get a ferryman's attention.
In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a simple 'hola' is often accompanied by a 'besito', or a light kiss on the cheek, even if you have only just met.
While hola is common, many Spanish speakers use buenas as a shorthand greeting that works at any time of day or night.

¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?
Hi! How are you?
This example shows how to use hola to ask how someone is doing.
Tatoeba #535238 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
Hola chicos, soy Mike.
Hi guys, I'm Mike.
This example uses hola to introduce yourself to a group.
Tatoeba #1020897 by Shishir, translation #1020895 by CP
¡Hola! Soy nuevo aquí.
Hi! I'm new here.
This example uses hola when announcing that you are new to a place.
Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
75 more sentences on Tatoeba

Elena and Javier meet on the street.

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.

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