hola
/ˈola/
Hi in Spanish is hola.
hola is a friendly, informal greeting. While hola is a general greeting, you can be more specific based on the time of day: use Buenos días for "good day" in the morning, Buenas tardes for "good afternoon" in the afternoon and Buenas noches for "good evening" or "good night" once the sun sets. For a highly informal and colloquial way to say "What's up?", you can use ¿Qué onda?
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, you can use buenas to greet someone casually. In Argentina and Uruguay, che is a popular term used to address someone in an informal way.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈola/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly pronounce the 'h' in hola as an aspirated sound like the English 'h' in 'hi'. However, the 'h' in Spanish should be completely silent.
Did you know?
- Although hola is a greeting, its etymological roots may lie in an exclamation used to get someone's attention or to tell them to stop, similar to the French holà.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a greeting like hola is often accompanied by a single or double kiss on the cheek, regardless of whether the people are related.
- If you use hola in a professional setting, it is often considered too abrupt, and it is safer to use the time-specific buenos días or buenas tardes instead.
Examples in context
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal estás?Hi! How are you?This sentence is useful for asking how someone is after saying hola.Tatoeba #535238 by Shishir, translation #30316 by Zifre
- Hola chicos, soy Mike.Hi guys, I'm Mike.This sentence is useful for introducing yourself to a group using hola.Tatoeba #1020897 by Shishir, translation #1020895 by CP
- ¡Hola! Soy nuevo aquí.Hi! I'm new here.This sentence is useful for stating you are new to a location after saying hola.Tatoeba #1666523 by marcelostockle, translation #1654229 by Spamster
- Hola, ¿cómo está usted?Hello, how are you?
- Buenos días, señor García.Good morning, Mr. Garcia.
- Buenas tardes, señora Rodríguez.Good afternoon, Mrs. Rodriguez.
- Buenas noches, profesor Martínez.Good evening, Professor Martinez.
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal, Juan?Hi! How are you, Juan?
- ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás, amiga?Hi! How are you, friend?
- ¡Hola! ¿Qué onda, compadre?Hi! What's up, buddy?
- 75 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía meet in a coffee shop.
- Mateo¡Hola, Sofía!Hi, Sofía!
- Sofía¡Hola, Mateo! ¿Cómo estás?Hi, Mateo! How are you?
- MateoMuy bien, gracias.Very well, thanks.
- SofíaMe alegro mucho.I'm very glad.
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.
