Hello and Goodbye
Learn essential Spanish greetings: hola, buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches, adiós, hasta luego.
A lesson of Spanish A1 — Beginner, in Greetings & Introductions, about 10 minutes.
Hello and Goodbye in Spanish
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to greet people at any time of day and say goodbye appropriately in Spanish.
The Most Important Word: Hola
¡Hola! — Hello!
Hola works any time of day, with anyone — a friend, a stranger, a teacher. It's warm, universal, and always correct. When in doubt, say hola.
The exclamation mark before the sentence (¡) is a Spanish convention — it signals that exclamation is coming so you can prepare your voice. You'll see it at the start and end: ¡Hola!
Time-Based Greetings
Spanish has three time-sensitive greetings that replace "hello" in more formal situations:
| Greeting | When to use | Literal meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Buenos días | Morning (until ~noon) | Good morning (good days) |
| Buenas tardes | Afternoon/evening (~noon–7pm) | Good afternoon |
| Buenas noches | Evening/night (~7pm onward) | Good night/Good evening |
Shortcut: In informal speech, many speakers just say "¡Buenas!" — it works at any time of day as a friendly greeting.
Pronunciation Guide
Hola: OH-lah. The "h" in Spanish is always silent.
Buenos días: BWEH-nos DEE-ahs
- buenos = good (masculine plural)
- días = days
Buenas tardes: BWEH-nahs TAR-des
- buenas = good (feminine plural — because tardes is feminine)
- tardes = afternoons
Buenas noches: BWEH-nahs NO-ches
- noches = nights (feminine)
Notice: The adjective changes from buenos (masculine) to buenas (feminine) depending on the noun. This is gender agreement — we'll cover it fully in a later lesson.
Saying Goodbye
| Spanish | Pronunciation | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Adiós | ah-dee-OHS |