Mastering Greetings and Goodbyes in Spanish

One of the most fundamental aspects of learning a language is knowing how to greet people and say goodbye. Spanish offers many different ways to say hello and goodbye depending on the context, the level of formality, and the time of day. In this ultra-comprehensive guide, you’ll learn every possible greeting and farewell so you can confidently interact in Spanish in any situation!

Saying Hello: Different Ways to Greet People in Spanish

We’ll start by saying Hi. This topic will cover all the possible greetings that you can encounter during your day-to-day in a Spanish speaking country.

Basic Greetings (Neutral & Common in All Situations)

These are the basic greetings in Spanish. You will use these very commonly in almost all situations. Whether it’s entering a small shop or meeting friends, these expressions always come in handy.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation	When to use?
Hello	Hola	OH-lah	Any time, informal or formal
Hi	¡Hey! / ¡Ey!	ey	Very informal, friendly
Good morning	Buenos días	BWEH-nos DEE-ahs	Until noon
Good afternoon	Buenas tardes	BWEH-nas TAR-des	From noon to sunset
Good evening/night	Buenas noches	BWEH-nas NOH-ches	After sunset

✅ Examples:

• ¡Hola, Juan! ¿Cómo estás? (Hello, Juan! How are you?)
• Buenos días, señora López. (Good morning, Mrs. López.)
• Buenas tardes, chicos. (Good afternoon, guys.)

Informal & Friendly Greetings 👫

Do you want to up your informal game? These expressions will come to the rescue when talking to friends and famly.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation	When to use?
Hey!	¡Hola, qué tal!	OH-lah keh TAL	Casual and friendly
What’s up?	¿Qué pasa?	keh PAH-sah	Very informal, friendly
What’s new?	¿Qué hay de nuevo?	keh ay deh NWAY-bo	Casual, catching up
How’s it going?	¿Cómo te va?	KOH-moh teh VAH	Friendly, informal
How are you?	¿Cómo estás?	KOH-moh es-TAS	Common and informal

✅ Examples:

• ¡Hola, qué tal! Hace tiempo que no te veo. (Hey, what’s up! I haven’t seen you in a while.)
• ¿Qué pasa, hermano? (What’s up, brother?)
• ¿Cómo te va en el trabajo? (How’s work going for you?)

💡 Tip: Use “¿Qué tal?” instead of “¿Cómo estás?” for a quicker, more casual greeting.

Formal Greetings (Polite & Professional) 🏛️

Remember these formal greetings whenever you are meeting someone new in a professional setting.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation	When to use?
How are you? (formal)	¿Cómo está usted?	KOH-moh es-TAH oos-TED	Formal settings
Pleased to meet you	Mucho gusto	MOO-choh GOOS-toh	First-time meetings
It’s a pleasure	Es un placer	es oon plah-SER	Very formal and polite
Delighted (to meet you)	Encantado/a	en-kahn-TAH-doh (a)	Formal or polite
Good to see you	Qué gusto verte	keh GOOS-toh VER-teh	Friendly but polite

✅ Examples:

• Buenos días, ¿cómo está usted, señor García? (Good morning, how are you, Mr. García?)
• Mucho gusto, soy Elena. (Nice to meet you, I’m Elena.)
• Es un placer conocerlo. (It’s a pleasure to meet you.)

💡 Tip: Use “usted” for formal situations and “tú” for informal ones.

Saying Goodbye: Different Ways to Say Farewell

After saying hello it’s time to move on to goodbyes. Master these expressions, and you’ll be saying your farewells like a local in no time.

Basic Goodbyes (Common & Neutral) 👋

Once again, we start with the basics. These expressions will be used every day by you if you move to a Spanish speaking country.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation	When to use?
Goodbye	Adiós	ah-DYOS	Formal & neutral
Bye	Chao / Chau	CHOW	Informal, friendly
See you later	Hasta luego	AS-tah LWEH-go	Neutral, polite
See you soon	Hasta pronto	AS-tah PRON-toh	When expecting to see the person soon
See you tomorrow	Hasta mañana	AS-tah mah-NYAH-nah	When seeing them the next day

✅ Examples:

• Adiós, nos vemos la próxima semana. (Goodbye, see you next week.)
• Hasta luego, Juan. (See you later, Juan.)
• Chao, cuídate. (Bye, take care.)

Informal Goodbyes (Friendly & Casual)

These informal goodbyes will help you with friend and family situations.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation	When to use?
See you!	Nos vemos	nos VEH-mos	Casual & friendly
See you later (literally “until then”)	Hasta entonces	AS-tah en-TON-ses	Friendly, planned meeting
See you around	Nos vemos por ahí	nos VEH-mos por ah-EE	Informal, casual
Catch you later!	¡Nos vemos luego!	nos VEH-mos LWEH-go	Friendly

✅ Examples:

• Nos vemos, hermano. (See you, brother.)
• Hasta entonces, que tengas un buen día. (See you then, have a good day.)

Formal Goodbyes (Polite & Professional) 🎩

Whenever you encounter formal situations or professional settings, these will be your go-to expressions.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation	When to use?
Have a nice day	Que tenga un buen día	keh TEN-gah oon BWEHN DEE-ah	Polite, formal
It was a pleasure	Fue un placer	fweh oon plah-SER	Business/formal setting
Until next time	Hasta la próxima	AS-tah lah PROK-see-mah	Formal & friendly
Take care	Cuídese	KWEE-deh-seh	Formal & polite

✅ Examples:

• Que tenga un buen día, señor Martínez. (Have a nice day, Mr. Martínez.)
• Fue un placer hacer negocios con usted. (It was a pleasure doing business with you.)

Slang & Fun Goodbyes 🤙

Finally, let’s finish the lesson with some fun expressions. These slang goodbyes will be your friend if you want to sound local.

English	Spanish	Pronunciation	When to use?
Later!	¡Nos vidrios!	nos VEE-dree-ohs	Mexico (slang for “nos vemos”)
I’m out!	¡Me largo!	meh LAR-goh	Informal, playful
Take care, dude!	¡Cuídate, güey!	KWEE-dah-teh, WEY	Mexico, friendly slang
See ya!	¡Ahí te ves!	ah-EE teh BES	Informal, Latin America

✅ Examples:

• ¡Nos vidrios, amigo! (See you later, buddy!)
• ¡Ahí te ves, bro! (See ya, bro!)

Final Takeaways 🎉

✅ Use “Hola” for most greetings, but adjust based on formality.
✅ Time-based greetings (Buenos días, Buenas tardes, Buenas noches) are very common.
✅ Use “Adiós” for formal goodbyes and “Chao” for casual ones.
✅ Know slang for fun, but use formal phrases in professional settings.
✅ Practice different greetings and farewells to sound more natural in Spanish