How does it change in a sentence?
The word for welcome must agree in gender with the person being greeted. Use gracias y bienvenida when welcoming a female. The word for welcome must be plural if you are greeting more than one person. If you are addressing a group of people, or a mixed group of men and women, use the plural form gracias y bienvenidos. The word for welcome must be feminine plural if the group being greeted consists only of women. If the group consists entirely of women, use gracias y bienvenidas. In written form, if the gender of the person is unknown, you may see the slash used to indicate both options. In written communication, you may see gracias y bienvenido/a used to cover a person of unspecified gender.
Did you know?
- If you want to say 'you are welcome' as a response to gracias, you cannot use bienvenido, as that only refers to arriving at a place.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, a greeting like bienvenido is often accompanied by a light kiss on the cheek or a hug, even in semi-formal settings.
- The word gracias is the plural form of gracia, which originally meant 'grace' or 'charm'.
Examples in context
- Gracias y bienvenido al equipo.Thank you and welcome to the team.
- Gracias y bienvenido a nuestra casa.Thank you and welcome to our home.
- Gracias y bienvenido a la conferencia.Thank you and welcome to the conference.
Example conversation
Sofía greets Mateo as he arrives at her office.
- SofíaHola Mateo, gracias y bienvenido.Hello Mateo, thank you and welcome.
- MateoGracias por recibirme, Sofía.Thank you for receiving me, Sofía.
- SofíaEs un placer tenerte aquí.It is a pleasure to have you here.
- MateoEstoy muy feliz de estar aquí.I am very happy to be here.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
