Greetings and basic conversation
Greetings, questions, and farewells.
Greet someone, answer a simple question, and say goodbye in Spanish.
Hear the lesson phrases
Google voice when available; device voice as a fallback.
Read the audio transcript
Hola. Buenos días. ¿Cómo estás? Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? Muy bien. Hasta luego. Hasta mañana.
General and time-specific greetings
Hola means hello. You can use it at any time of day, and the h is silent. Say it out loud once before moving on.
For a greeting that matches the time of day, use buenos días in the morning, buenas tardes in the afternoon, and buenas noches in the evening or at night. Exact boundaries vary by place and daily routine.
This can be a greeting or a farewell at night.
Ask and answer “How are you?”
¿Cómo estás? means how are you? Use it when talking to one person informally. In a more formal situation, ¿Cómo está? is a useful alternative.
A short answer is enough: bien, gracias. Add ¿Y tú? to return the question informally, or ¿Y usted? in a formal exchange. Spanish questions have an opening question mark as well as a closing one.
Farewells
Adiós is a general goodbye. Hasta luego is a common, friendly way to say see you later, even when you have not arranged another meeting. Use hasta mañana when you expect to see someone tomorrow.
Try this whole exchange aloud. You do not need to sound perfect; aim to say each phrase comfortably without looking at the English.
Lesson vocabulary
Read each word aloud, then test your recall of its meaning.
| hola | hello | |
| buenos días | good morning | |
| buenas tardes | good afternoon | |
| buenas noches | good evening / good night | |
| gracias | thank you | |
| bien | well / fine | |
| hasta luego | see you later | |
| hasta mañana | see you tomorrow |
Practice questions
Answer the questions and read the explanations. You can repeat the exercises.
Practice this exchange: Hola → ¿Cómo estás? → Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? → Hasta luego.