A0 · 2 · Complete beginner
Spanish Greetings, Names and Everyday Goodbyes
These phrases let you handle a complete first meeting in Spain. You can greet someone at the right time, exchange names, say you are pleased to meet them and leave with a natural goodbye.
Watch Clara explain this
What you'll be able to do
- ✓Greet someone naturally at any time of day.
- ✓Choose the appropriate greeting before lunch, after lunch or after dark.
- ✓Ask someone’s first name and give your own.
- ✓Use encantada or encantado according to who is speaking.
- ✓Say goodbye naturally with adiós, hasta luego or buenas noches.
Greetings through the day
Hola works at any time. You can use it alone or put it before a greeting for the time of day, as in Hola, buenos días. When someone greets you, it is natural to return their greeting.
The boundaries do not follow English clock times exactly. Buenos días normally continues until lunch, even after noon. After lunch, use buenas tardes while it is still light. Once it is properly dark, use buenas noches.
These greetings are plural, literally “good days”, “good afternoons” and “good nights”. You might notice buenos días, but buenas tardes and buenas noches. That is because día is a masculine word, while tarde and noche are feminine. You do not need the full grammar yet, so remember each greeting as a complete phrase.
| Spanish | Natural English | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| hola | hello / hi | At any time |
| buenos días | good morning | Before lunch, often until around two or three |
| buenas tardes | good afternoon / good evening | After lunch while it is still light |
| buenas noches | good evening / good night | After dark, when arriving or leaving |
Asking and giving your name
Use ¿Cómo te llamas? to ask someone’s name in a friendly, informal meeting. It suits everyday social situations. A different, more formal question is used when greater distance or formality is appropriate, but that form comes later in the course.
English asks “What’s your name?” Spanish builds the idea more like “How do you call yourself?” The answer me llamo… is like “I call myself…”. Learn both as complete phrases rather than translating them word by word.
The ll in llamas and llamo is not pronounced as two English l sounds. In the model pronunciation, it sounds much closer to the y in “yes”.
| Spanish | Natural English |
|---|---|
| ¿Cómo te llamas? | What’s your name? |
| Me llamo Ana. | My name is Ana. |
Pleased to meet you
After exchanging names, say encantada or encantado. Both literally mean “delighted” and are a natural way to say “pleased to meet you”.
The ending describes the person speaking, not the person they are meeting. A woman says encantada and a man says encantado, whether the other person is a woman or a man.
| Speaker | Spanish | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A woman | encantada | pleased to meet you |
| A man | encantado | pleased to meet you |
Choosing a goodbye
Adiós is an ordinary, direct “goodbye”. It does not have to sound final or dramatic.
Hasta luego means “see you” or “see you later” and is a very common everyday goodbye. It does not promise that you will meet again. You can say it when leaving a shop even if you do not expect to see the shopkeeper again.
The h in hasta luego is silent, just as it is in hola. After dark, buenas noches can also be used when leaving, with the meaning “good night”.
Putting the exchange together
A natural first meeting begins with a greeting that suits the time. Return the other person’s greeting rather than moving straight to your name.
One person can then say Me llamo Ana. ¿Cómo te llamas? The other answers with Me llamo…, and each person can use the appropriate form of encantada or encantado.
Finish with hasta luego or adiós. The two people do not need to choose the same goodbye. Both remain natural.
The words
- hola
- hello / hiWorks at any time; the h is silent.
- buenos días
- good morningUsed in the morning and normally until lunch.
- buenas tardes
- good afternoon / good eveningUsed after lunch while it is still light.
- buenas noches
- good evening / good nightUsed after dark, both when arriving and when leaving.
- ¿Cómo te llamas?
- What’s your name?An informal question; ll sounds close to the y in “yes” in the model pronunciation.
- me llamo…
- my name is…Use the complete phrase before your own name.
- encantada
- pleased to meet you, said by a womanThe ending describes the woman who is speaking.
- encantado
- pleased to meet you, said by a manThe ending describes the man who is speaking.
- adiós
- goodbyeAn ordinary, direct goodbye.
- hasta luego
- see you / see you laterA common everyday goodbye; the h is silent and no later meeting is promised.
More examples: real moments
- Workshop attendee
- Hola, buenos días.Hello, good morning.
- Lucía
- Hola, buenos días.Hello, good morning.
- Workshop attendee
- Me llamo Ana. ¿Cómo te llamas?My name is Ana. What’s your name?
- Lucía
- Me llamo Lucía.My name is Lucía.
- Workshop attendee
- Encantada.Pleased to meet you.
- Lucía
- Encantada.Pleased to meet you.
- Lucía
- Hasta luego.See you later.
- Workshop attendee
- Adiós.Goodbye.
- Volunteer
- Hola, buenas tardes.Hello, good evening.
- Javi
- Hola, buenas tardes.Hello, good evening.
- Volunteer
- Me llamo Pablo. ¿Cómo te llamas?My name is Pablo. What’s your name?
- Javi
- Me llamo Javi.My name is Javi.
- Volunteer
- Encantado.Pleased to meet you.
- Javi
- Encantado. Hasta luego.Pleased to meet you. See you later.
- Volunteer
- Adiós.Goodbye.
- Lucía
- Hasta luego.See you later.
- Nerea
- Buenas noches.Good night.
Remember
- •Hola works at any time and can come before another greeting.
- •Use buenos días until lunch, buenas tardes after lunch while it is light, and buenas noches after dark.
- •Ask ¿Cómo te llamas? and answer with Me llamo….
- •The speaker determines the ending. A woman says encantada and a man says encantado.
- •Hasta luego is an everyday goodbye even when no later meeting is planned.
- •Adiós is an ordinary direct goodbye, and buenas noches can also close an encounter after dark.
Practice
Type or choose your answer; each one is checked as you go.
1. Choose the right phrase
Choose the Spanish phrase that fits each situation.
1.It is half past one and lunch has not started. Which greeting fits?
2.It is eight on a bright June evening, after lunch and still light. Which greeting fits?
3.You arrive somewhere after dark. Which greeting fits?
4.Which greeting works at any time of day?
5.A man has exchanged names with a woman. What does he say to mean “pleased to meet you”?
2. Complete the phrases
Fill each gap with the missing word.
1.¿Cómo te ?
2.Me Ana.
3.Nerea has just exchanged names. Complete what she says to mean ‘pleased to meet you’: .
4.Javi has just exchanged names. Complete what he says to mean ‘pleased to meet you’: .
5.Hasta .
6., buenas tardes.
3. Translate the essentials
Translate each phrase into Spanish.
1.Good morning
2.What’s your name? Use the friendly, informal question.
3.My name is Ana.
4.Pleased to meet you, said by a man.
5.Goodbye, in one Spanish word.
6.See you later.
4. Reply naturally
Write the line you would say in each situation.
1.Someone says Hola, buenos días. Return the same full greeting.
2.A new neighbour asks ¿Cómo te llamas? Reply as Alex.
3.You are a woman and have just exchanged names. Say “pleased to meet you”.
4.You are leaving a corner shop before dark. Give a natural everyday goodbye.
5.After dark, someone says Buenas noches as they leave. Return the same goodbye.
Write your own first meeting
Write a six-line meeting between you and Ana. First, greet her for the current time and have Ana return the greeting. Give your name and ask hers. Have Ana give her name and say encantada. Say encantada or encantado to match you, then add hasta luego or adiós. Finally, have Ana return a goodbye. Say both parts aloud.
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Grammar in this lesson: Spanish pronunciation: the sounds of Spain · Masculine and feminine: gender and agreement · Tú, usted, vosotros and ustedes · Asking questions · Reflexive verbs
Revised 25 October 2026