Learning how to speak Spanish can be very useful and fun today if you live in the United States.
When you first start learning Spanish, your initial words will commonly be a greeting of some sort.
Starting with primary greeting words and phrases is not complicated by complex syntax. As in the English greeting, “Hello”, you also simply say a single word in Spanish, “Hola” (the “H” is silent and not pronounced).
“Hola” is used when addressing someone, in person, either an acquaintance or a stranger. However,if you are answering the telephone, you frequently will say “diga” or “bueno”.
After first greeting someone, you will eventually separate and the Spanish equivalent of “goodbye” is “adios.”
The family of languages known as the “Romance languages” that include Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian usually have two forms of verbs when addressing people. The two forms are commonly known as formal and informal forms. The formal form is usually used in formal settings or when speaking to a stranger, older person (not a friend or relative), or to someone of higher position. The informal form is generally used for friends, relatives, younger people or when speaking to persons of lower position.
After initially greeting someone, you might say “Como esta?” (formal) or “Como estas?” (informal) for “How are you?” or “Como se va?” (formal) or “Como te vas?” (informal) for “How is it going?” (literally “How is it going with you?”). Another commonly used phrase is “Que passa?” for “What’s happening?”
When saying “Good afternoon” “Buenas tardes” is the Spanish phrase. If you want to say “Good morning, Good day, etc” “Buenos dias” is the same thing in Spanish.
“Good night” in Spanish is “Buenos noches.”
If the person you are greeting is a stranger, you might ask “Como se llama?” (formal) or “Como te llamas?” (informal) for “What is your name?” The literal translation would be “How do you call yourself?”
While these simple words and phrases form the basics of Spanish greetings, you will learn more complex forms as you further develop your Spanish speaking skills. Nevertheless, these phrases will be important in getting started.
Simple every day words and phrases such as these greetings are some of the most commonly used in Spanish and regular use will help increase your comfort with the language.
