In Spanish, just as in English, it's polite to greet each person you meet and acknowledge his departure when he leaves. The basic phrases for "hello" and "goodbye" in Spanish are hola and adios. You can use a variety of other phrases, depending on the time of day, how formal you want to be, and when you expect to see the person again. Here are some spanish phrases for beginner spanish speakers
Common Spanish Greetings
The most common way to say hello in Spanish is hola. It's very similar to how we would use "hello" in English; it's appropriate for both formal and informal conversations and can be used at anytime of day or night. If you're greeting someone in the morning, you can say buenos dias. Pronounced "bwen-nos dee-ahs," this phrase translates to "good morning" in English. Buenas tardes can be used to greet someone in the afternoon (meaning good afternoon), and you can use buenas noches in the evening or nighttime meaning good evening or good night.
How Are You?
After greeting you with an "hola" or "buenos dias," someone will typically ask you how you're doing or what’s up. Cómo estás? (coh-moe es-tah) means, "how are you?" If you're in a formal situation or talking to someone much older than you, you can ask cómo está usted? Other variations on "how are you?" include como te va?, qué tal and que pasa? These translate to "how's it going?" and "what's happening?" respectively. You can answer with “bien, muy bien, or todo bien, y tú?” meaning “good, really good, or all good and you?”.
Farewells
Adios is the most common way to say "goodbye" in Spanish and is pronounced "ah-dee-ohs." Although it literally translates as to god, it can be used in almost any situation. Hasta (ah-stah) means "until" and is used in a variety of phrases that indicate departure. Hasta luego means "see you later," and hasta la vista means "until we see each other again."Hasta mañana means see you tomorrow or you can put Proxima semana at the end instead to say “see you next week'“. Another fun, more colloquial way to say goodbye is to exclaim, chao, pronounced, "chow," as you leave. Someone might even say “nos Vemos”, meaning “lets go” before they leave. These are all good ways to say saludos or good day.
Well Wishes
When you say goodbye to someone in Spanish, you may also want to wish them well. If they're off to accomplish a task, you can say buena suerte or just suerte to wish them good luck. If she's not feeling well, you can say que te mejores pronto, which means, "I hope you get well soon." If you're saying goodbye after visiting with someone you haven't seen in a while, you may want to say, me alegro de verte, which means, "it was great to see you." or you can just say a simple thanks with “gracias”. However, for first time interactions you should say “mucho gusto” meaning nice to meet you.
Tip
learn spanish at your own pace, it takes time
Different Spanish-speaking countries such as latin america and spain have slightly different dialects or ways of saying things
Only use informal greetings when you are speaking with friends and family
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Writer Bio
Based in San Diego, Calif., Madison Garcia is a writer specializing in business topics. Garcia received her Master of Science in accountancy from San Diego State University.