Quick answer
Hola. ¿Qué tal?
Hi. How’s it going? — works with anyone, any time of day.
The words of this lesson
The one thing that surprises English speakers
Buenas noches is both “good evening” and “good night”. Spanish does not split them: you say it when you arrive at a dinner at 9pm and again when you leave at midnight.
And adiós is heavier than “goodbye” — it carries a hint of “for a while”. Between friends, in a shop, leaving the office, people say hasta luego. Treat that as your default.
Do you say tú or usted?
Spanish has two ways of saying “you”. The good news for this lesson: none of the eight words above change. Hola works for your friend and for your friend’s grandmother. It only matters from the next question onwards.
Where you are matters
In Spain, friends greet each other with two kisses on the cheek, starting on the right. In Mexico, one kiss. Between men, a handshake or a hug almost everywhere.
Memory trick
The greetings are plural — buenos días, not buen día. Think of it as wishing someone all the good mornings, not just one.
A short dialogue
Typical mistakes
Buenas días
Buenos días
día ends in -a but is masculine — one of a small group of exceptions: el día, el problema, el mapa.
Using adiós every time you leave
Hasta luego
Correct, but distant. Natives reach for hasta luego almost every time.
Practice
Practise these greetings
0/8 matched — tap a Spanish word, then its translation
Check yourself
You walk into a shop at 5pm. What do you say?