How do you know when to use each of the greetings?
The use of each greeting depends on the time of the day. The morning goes from sunrise to lunchtime, and the afternoon goes from lunchtime until sunset. The time from sunset to sunrise is night.
Let's see some examples:
- In the morning, we say buenos días (good morning).
- In the afternoon and evening, we say buenas tardes (good afternoon).
- At night, we say buenas noches (goodnight).
Country-specific greetings
The way people greet each other also varies according to the culture of the part of the world. In the United States people meet you, and they happily say “Hello!” or “Nice to meet you!” But in Latin America, people often make physical contact along with their spoken greeting.
Another custom in some parts of Latin America is to greet every person individually, even if they are in a group.
Read more about the differences between different Spanish speaking cultures:
Spanish in Spain vs Spanish in Latin America
Let's look at the different ways people greet each other in different countries.
Colombia
In Colombia, ¿Quiubo? This is a contracted form of ¿Qué hubo? (What 's up?).
So, if you hear a Colombian saying ¿Quiubo, parce?, it means “What´s up, friend?”
Other ways to begin a conversation in Colombia are:
- ¿Qué me cuentas? - What's up?
- Hola, ¿qué más? - Hello, what else?
You can reply depending on whether you are in a better or worse mood:
- Todo bacano - all cool
- Viento en popa - smooth sailing
- Sobreviviendo - surviving
- Ahí voy - There I go
- Pues para que te digo que bien si estoy mal - Well, why tell you that I'm fine if I'm not?
Costa Rica
Costa Ricans are known worldwide for the greeting ¿Pura vida?, to which people usually reply, if they are very well, “Pura vida (Estoy bien, gracias)” - Pure life (I'm fine, thanks) or “Pura vida, mae” - Pure life, dude
"Pura vida" is more than the expression "very good;" it's an attitude. "Pura vida" is the Costa Rican version of "Hakuna Matata," the saying from the Disney movie The Lion King, which refers to a relaxed philosophy of life.
We can also see it as the Latin American version of "c'est la vie." It's one of the main reasons why Costa Rica is such a laid back and relaxed place.
Chile
The most obvious slang greeting among Chileans would be something like this:
¡Weeena weon/a! ¿Cómo estái? (¡Hola, amigo/a, ¿cómo estás?) - How are you? (Hello, friend, how are you?)
The friendly reply would be:
- Aquí estamos bacan (Aquí estoy muy bien) – Here I am half sad
Ecuador
In Ecuador, there are a number of variants of "How are you?"
- ¿Qué fue? - What was it?
- ¿Qué hay? - What's up?
- ¿Cómo vas? - How are things with you?
- ¿Qué dice? - What do you say?
If everything is okay, you reply:
- Todo joya - all jewel
- Pero también puedes estar bacan, pepa y/o gara (estupendo). - But you can also be cool.
Cuba
Some common forms of greetings in Cuba are:
- ¿Qué bola? (¿Qué tal?) - (How are you?)
- De pinga (Muy bien) - (Very good)
- De madre (Mal) - (Bad)
Mexico
Mexicans greet each other with ¿Quiubo? - How are you?
A more expressive Mexican slang term you can use to say "how good" is ¡Qué padre! How cool!
And one way of saying sin novedades destacables (no notable news) would be Aquí nomás - Just here.
Formal and informal greetings
| Formal | Informal |
|---|---|
| Buenos días - Good morning | Hola - Hello/hi (the most common greeting) |
| Buenas tardes - Good afternoon/evening | Hey - Hi (variant) |
| Buenas noches - Good night | Saludos - Greetings |
| Que tenga (usted) buenos días / buenas tardes / buenas noches - Have a good day/evening/night | Que tengas (tú) buenos días / buenas tardes / buenas noches - Have a good day/evening/night |
| ¡Qué gusto verlo! - Glad to see you | ¡Qué gusto verte! - Glad to see you |
| Tanto tiempo sin verlo - Long time no seeing you | Tanto tiempo sin verte - Long time no seeing you |
| ¿Cómo está usted? - How are you? | ¿Cómo estás (tú)?/¿Qué tal? - How are you? |
| ¿Cómo le va? - How are you? | ¿Cómo te va? How 's it going? |
| ¿Cómo ha estado? - How have you been? (refers to your health or new events in your private life) | ¿Cómo está(n) tu _____? hermano(s), novia, familia, padre(s), etc. - How is(are) your _____? brother(s), girlfriend, family, parent(s), etc. |
