How to Say Hello and Goodbye in Spanish

The Spanish language has many expressions for greeting someone and saying goodbye.

Learning how to say "hello" and "goodbye" in Spanish will earn you bonus points with Spanish speakers and make them feel more comfortable with you in conversation. Since greetings and saying goodbye are essential parts of day-to-day conversation, learning how to do so in Spanish is a good basic stepping stone for beginner Spanish students.

Instructions

1. Use "hola" (pronounced "oh-lah") to say "hello" in Spanish. Unlike in English, the "h" is silent in Spanish unless it is paired with a "c", as in "chorro."

2. Say "buenos días" (bweh-nohs dee-ahs) for "good morning" or "good day," "buenas tardes" (bweh-nahs tar-days) for "good afternoon," or "buenas noches" (bweh-nahs noh-chays) for "good evening."

3. Use "adiós" (ah-dee-ose) at the end of your conversation to say "goodbye." You can also say "hasta luego" (ahs-tah loo-ey-go) and "nos vemos" (nohs-bay-mos) (see you later) or "hasta mañana"(ahs-tah mahn-yah-na) (see you tomorrow).

References

• Boise State University; Spanish Greeting: Start with Hello; Nelson Baquero; 2009
• Syvum: Spanish Translation Lesson: Greetings