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Greetings and goodbyes in Spanish

10 words in Spanish on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: hola — hello, buenos días — good morning, buenas tardes — good afternoon, buenas noches — good evening (good night). 10 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

10 words on the topic

  • hola
    hello
    the h is silent: OH-lah
  • buenos días
    good morning
    Literally 'good days', in the plural: Spanish wishes you all of them at once. Said until midday
  • buenas tardes
    good afternoon
    From lunchtime until dark
  • buenas noches
    good evening (good night)
    One phrase for arriving late in the evening and for leaving for the night — then it means good night
  • adiós
    goodbye
    From 'a Dios' — 'to God': a farewell commending someone to God. For long partings; for 'see you soon' they say hasta luego
  • hasta luego
    see you later
    In Spain this is the everyday goodbye, said more often than adiós
  • ¿cómo estás?
    how are you?
    Built on estar — to be in a state. It asks how you are right now, not how life is in general
  • ¿cómo está?
    how are you? (formal)
    The usted twin of cómo estás: the -s drops, and the verb agrees with usted — literally 'your mercy' — not with the person in front of you
  • ¿qué tal?
    how's it going?
    Literally 'how is it?'. Lighter and shorter than ¿cómo estás? — it fits strangers and friends alike
  • chao
    bye
    From Italian ciao, but in Spanish it's only for parting, never for greeting. Also spelled chau. Adiós is heavier; hasta luego is 'see you later'

Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet

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How it sounds in a sentence

A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.

What is worth knowing about these words

hola — hello. Works at any hour of the day and with anyone — unlike the more specific buenos días.

buenos días — good morning. Literally 'good days', in the plural: Spanish wishes you all of them at once. Said until midday.

buenas tardes — good afternoon. From lunchtime until dark.

buenas noches — good evening (good night). One phrase for arriving late in the evening and for leaving for the night — then it means good night.

Test yourself

First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.

  1. What is this word?

  2. What is this word?

  3. What is this word?

  4. What is this word?

  5. What is this word?

Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

  1. How do you say “hello” in Spanish?

  2. How do you say “how are you? (formal)” in Spanish?

  3. How do you say “goodbye” in Spanish?

  4. How do you say “good morning” in Spanish?

  5. How do you say “how's it going?” in Spanish?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.

A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.

Frequently asked

How do you say “hello” in Spanish?

«hola». The h is silent: OH-lah. It is one of 10 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.

How many greetings do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 10 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.

Is there audio?

Yes, 10 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.

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