hola
/ˈola/
The English phrase "hi" is translated into Spanish as hola.
hola is a friendly, informal greeting.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Which one should you use?
While hola is a general greeting, buenos días (good morning), buenas tardes (good afternoon) and buenas noches (good evening) are more formal and time-specific ways to greet someone. Specifically, buenas tardes can be used from around 12 p.m. until the sun sets, while buenas noches is used from the moment the sun sets until late evening or before going to bed.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
Did you know?
- The Spanish language uses hola as a general greeting, but it is completely different from the word for 'hello' when answering a telephone, where people typically say ¿Dígame? or ¿Aló?
- In some Caribbean countries, it is common to greet people with a very casual ¿Qué lo qué?, which functions like hola but literally translates to something closer to 'What is what?'
- The word hola may have originated as a command to 'stop' or 'hey there', rather than a friendly greeting.
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 when stating that you are new to a place.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Alejandro sees María at a local cafe.
- Alejandro¡Hola, María!Hi, María!
- MaríaHola, Alejandro. ¿Cómo estás?Hi, Alejandro. How are you?
- AlejandroMuy bien, gracias.Very well, thanks.
- MaríaMe alegra mucho oír eso.I am very glad 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.
