Hello! And welcome to
Your Daily Pinch of Spanish. Today I'll be showing you some greetings, and at
what time of day to use which.
It's really one of the
first things your want to learn and that you should learn. This is a simple
lesson that surely will be very useful.
If you need to know
more about how to pronounce Spanish, I have prepared three tables to help you.
You can see them here.
Let's begin!
- Hola (Oh-lah) - Hello
Hola is the most common greeting you will hear
anywhere Spanish is spoken. It's for any occasion, any time of day. Depending
on your tone, you can make it more casual or formal. Just like the English
greeting 'hello' or 'hi'.
- ¿Cómo estás? (koh-moh es-tahs) - How are you?
Follow Hola with this one to ask the other person how
they're doing. Just like in English when you say 'hi, how are you?' (Remember,
the accent's function is to add strength to the syllable.)
Say 'Hola, ¿Cómo estás?' to your friends or family next
time you meet with them and show them that now you can greet them in Spanish!
To make this greeting formal, simple change estás with está. It becomes Hola, ¿Cómo está? And
you can also add usted which is the formal
version of tú, and translates
to 'you'. Hola, ¿Cómo está usted? Add
'usted' when you're meeting a person who is not in familiar terms with you or
someone like your boss, for example. To greet friends, co-workers, and
family, use Hola, ¿Cómo estás?
*
A variation can be ¿Cómo está todo? Which translates to 'How's everything?' or
'How's it going?'
And also ¿Cómo estamos? Which translates to 'How are we?'
Here in Puerto Rico I hear men greet each other with this one all the
time. ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estamos?
- Saludos (Sah-loo-dohs) - Greetings, Regards
This one is used when
you're addressing people, like when talking in public. Here in Puerto Rico I
hear older men greet each other with it, too. Jovially, ¡Saludos! ¿Cómo estás? Or ¡Saludos! ¿Cómo está todo? And also ¡Saludos! ¿Cómo estamos? So it seems it was very common to use it casually some time ago.
- Buenas (boo-eh-nahs) Hello, regards (Literally it's a variation
of 'Bueno' and translates to 'good')
I use this when I make
a phone call, like for example when I call a doctor's office. I would say 'Buenas, ¿es la oficina del doctor?' (Hi, is this the
doctor's office?). Also when I approach a person who is working, like a store
cashier for example, to ask a question. It's a short little greeting that's
useful for both casual and formal settings. I use it for the situations I
mentioned.
- Bienvenido (bee-ehn-veh-nee-doh) Welcome
When a person enters a
place, he or she is received by Bienvenido. Exactly
like in English. To mention the place where you're receiving the person, add
'a'. For example: ¡Bienvenido a Your Daily Pinch of
Spanish! (Welcome to Your Daily Pinch of Spanish!)
- Buenos días (boo-eh-nohs dee-ahs) Good morning; good day
Use this greeting
during the morning hours. Also used when it's still daytime, even in the afternoon.
But for the afternoon, we have the next one I'm going to mention now.
- Buenas tardes (boo-eh-nahs tahr-dehs) Good afternoon
Use this after midday,
like in English.
- Buenas noches (boo-eh-nahs noh-ches) Good evening; good-night
This is the greeting
for evenings and nights, but you can use it too when saying good-night to a
person before they go to bed.
Here you have them,
some greetings in Spanish. I hope you've found this lesson useful, and that you
can understand. There's a lot of information here, but I think it's pretty
simple and easy to understand. If you have any doubt, don't hesitate in
contacting me! Here is my Twitter page and here is my Facebook page. Hit follow and like! I'm there to answer
your questions and comments. :)
Keep looking forward
to more free lessons and tips! Until next time!
~ María
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