Common Spanish Greetings: Saludos
The Spanish greetings and everyday phrases you'll actually use in a real conversation, including when to use the formal usted instead of tú.
Greetings are the vocabulary you’ll use the most, the earliest, and probably the first thing anyone notices about how comfortable you are in Spanish. This list covers the phrases that come up in almost every conversation.
The List
- hola: hello
- buenos días: good morning
- buenas tardes: good afternoon
- buenas noches: good night / good evening
- ¿cómo estás?: how are you (informal)
- ¿cómo está usted?: how are you (formal)
- muy bien, gracias: very well, thank you
- ¿qué tal?: what’s up / how’s it going
- mucho gusto: nice to meet you
- ¿cómo te llamas?: what’s your name (informal)
- por favor: please
- gracias: thank you
- de nada: you’re welcome
- adiós: goodbye
- hasta luego: see you later
Tú vs. Usted
Spanish has two ways to say “you,” and greetings are where this shows up first. Tú is informal, used with friends, family, and peers. Usted is formal, used with strangers, elders, or anyone in a professional context. ¿Cómo estás? asks a friend how they’re doing; ¿Cómo está usted? asks the same question more respectfully, and the verb ending changes to match. When in doubt in a new interaction, usted is the safer default until the other person signals it’s fine to be more casual.
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