Spanish 1 / Unit 1: Greetings and Introductions
1.1 Saying Hello
Notes
Spanish greetings change with the time of day. Hola works any time.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hola | Hello, hi |
| Buenos días | Good morning |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon (noon to evening) |
| Buenas noches | Good evening, good night |
| ¿Qué pasa? | What's up? (informal) |
- Buenos días uses the masculine buenos because día is masculine; tardes and noches are feminine, so they use buenas.
- Questions and exclamations open with upside-down marks: ¿Qué tal? and ¡Hola!
- Example: at 8:00 in the morning you say ¡Buenos días, profesora!
Practice
It is 3:00 in the afternoon. Which greeting fits best?
Buenas tardes is used from about noon until evening. Tarde is feminine, so it takes buenas.
Which greeting can be used at any time of day?
Hola means hello and is not tied to a time of day. Adiós is a goodbye.
Which is written correctly?
Días is masculine (buenos), and an exclamation starts with ¡.
Ready for more? Take the Unit 1 test.