Ways to say it
| Spanish | Note |
|---|---|
| ¡bienvenido! | masculine |
| ¡bienvenida! | feminine |
In Spanish, the word used to greet someone upon their arrival must change depending on who you are talking to. You use ¡bienvenido! or ¡bienvenida! as an interjection or adjective to greet an individual. To describe the act of receiving someone, you can use the noun bienvenida or acogida. If you want to express the action of welcoming someone, Spanish speakers often use the phrase dar la bienvenida, which literally means to give the welcome, instead of a single verb.
Which one should you use?
While bienvenida can be used as an interjection to greet a female, it also functions as a noun meaning 'the welcome' (the act of receiving someone).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form must agree in gender and number with the person or people being welcomed. Use ¡bienvenido! for a single male and ¡bienvenida! for a single female. When addressing a group, use the masculine plural form ¡bienvenidos! even if the group contains women or is of mixed gender. Use the feminine plural form ¡bienvenidas! only when addressing a group consisting exclusively of women.
Did you know?
- Unlike the English 'welcome' used to respond to a thank you, Spanish speakers use de nada or no hay de qué. Using bienvenido in that context would be nonsensical to a native speaker.
- The word bienvenido is a compound of bien meaning 'well' and venido which is the past participle of 'come'. It literally describes someone who has 'come well'.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, the greeting ¡bienvenido! is often accompanied by a physical gesture like a warm embrace or a kiss on the cheek, much more so than in many English-speaking contexts.
Examples in context
- ¡Bienvenida!Welcome!This sentence is useful for practicing the feminine singular form ¡bienvenida!Tatoeba #5200372 by cueyayotl, translation #4771541 by garborg
- ¡Bienvenido!Welcome.This sentence is useful for practicing the masculine singular form ¡bienvenido!Tatoeba #375833 by megamanenm, translation #138919 by CM
- ¡Bienvenidos a todos! Me alegra tenerles aquí para compartir esta noche especial.Welcome, everyone! I'm glad to have you here to share this special evening.
- ¡Bienvenido! ¿Cómo estuvo tu viaje?Welcome! How was your trip?
- ¡Sean bienvenidos a esta conferencia internacional! Espero que disfruten de las charlas y establezcan valiosas conexiones.Welcome to this international conference! I hope you enjoy the talks and make valuable connections.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo is greeting Elena at the door of his office.
- MateoHola, Elena. ¡Bienvenido!Hello, Elena. Welcome!
- ElenaMuchas gracias, Mateo.Thank you very much, Mateo.
- MateoPasa, por favor.Come in, please.
- ElenaQué bonita oficina.What a beautiful office.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “welcome” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
