Hello in Spanish is hola (OH-lah). The h is silent, and the word works with anyone, from a close friend to a shop assistant. To sound a little more polite, pair it with the time of day: hola, buenos días in the morning or hola, buenas tardes after lunch. In Spain, a quick buenas is a friendly, casual hello.
- Hello
- hola
- Pronunciation
- OH-lah (silent h)
- More polite
- hola, buenos días
- Casual
- buenas
- Level
- A1
Is hola formal or informal?
Neither: hola is neutral. English has hi and hello for different moods, but Spanish uses the same word for a child, a neighbour or a bank manager. What makes a greeting formal is what comes after it, such as buenos días, usted and a title like señor or señora.
| Spanish | Formality | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Hola | Neutral | Anyone, any time of day |
| Hola, buenos días | Polite | Walking into a shop, office or waiting room before lunch |
| Buenas | Casual | A short form of buenos días, buenas tardes or buenas noches |
| ¡Muy buenas! | Casual, friendly | A cheerful hello, common in Spain |
| Hola a todos | Neutral | Hello, everyone: greeting a group |
| Hola, ¿qué tal? | Neutral | Hello and how's it going, in one breath |
In a real Contos chapter, the musician on the fifth floor opens his door to Alba with a plain hola and a welcome:
"Hola, Alba. Bienvenida", dice.How do people greet each other in Spain?
Spaniards greet out loud more than many English speakers do. It is normal to say hola or buenos días when you step into a lift, a small shop or a doctor's waiting room, and hasta luego when you leave. When people meet in person, two women, or a man and a woman, usually exchange dos besos: a light kiss on each cheek. Men who are not close usually shake hands.
Hola, soy Lucía.
Hi, I'm Lucía.
Introducing yourself.
Encantado.
Nice to meet you.
A man speaking; a woman says encantada.
Hola, buenas. Una barra de pan, por favor.
Hello there. A baguette, please.
At a bakery in Spain.
¡Hola, chicos!
Hi, guys!
Informal, to a group of friends.
Sometimes a single hola is all a nervous person can manage. Lucía has a perfect conversation ready in her head when Mateo reaches the park bench:
En la vida real solo dice: "Hola".How do you say hello on the phone in Spanish?
Answering the phone is one place where Spanish varies a lot from country to country. In Spain you pick up with ¿Sí?, ¿Diga? or ¿Dígame? (literally "tell me"), all of which sound perfectly polite there.
- Mexico: ¿Bueno?
- Colombia and much of South America: ¿Aló?
- Argentina and Uruguay: ¿Hola?
- Anywhere: ¿Sí? is understood.
What mistakes do learners make with hola?
The most common slip is sounding the h. Spanish h is always silent, so hola sounds like "OH-lah", never "holler". The second is spelling: ola without an h means a wave in the sea. Written Spanish also opens an exclamation with an upside-down mark: ¡Hola!
In emails, Hola plus a first name is fine with colleagues and friends. For a formal letter or a first message to a stranger, Spanish uses Estimado (to a man) or Estimada (to a woman) followed by the name.
Read A1 Spanish stories full of everyday greetings, and tap any word to see what it means.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce hola?
Say "OH-lah". The h is silent and both vowels are short and clear. The stress falls on the first syllable.
What is the difference between hola and ola?
They sound the same, because Spanish h is silent. Hola is the greeting; ola means a wave, in the sea or a wave of heat or cases.
What does buenas mean as a greeting?
Buenas is short for buenos días, buenas tardes or buenas noches. It is a casual hello you can use at any time of day, very common in Spain when walking into a bar or shop.
How do you say hello to a group in Spanish?
Hola a todos (hello, everyone) works anywhere. With friends, ¡Hola, chicos! is common; chicos covers a mixed group, and chicas is used for a group of women.
Is hola Spain Spanish or Latin American Spanish?
Both. Hola is used in every Spanish-speaking country. The differences are in the extras: phone greetings, cheek kisses and casual slang vary by country.