Basic Spanish Phrases: Greetings and First Conversation

A woman holds the door for you in Madrid and you want to say sorry as you squeeze past — so you say lo siento. It's not wrong, exactly, but it sounds like you've done something terrible. What you wanted was con permiso or a quick perdón. Spanish has three different "sorries", and picking the right one is the difference between sounding natural and sounding like a textbook. Here are the phrases that get you through a first real conversation — and the small distinctions that make them land.

The short version: Greet with hola plus buenos días / buenas tardes / buenas noches. Ask ¿qué tal? or ¿cómo estás? Introduce yourself with me llamo… and encantado (men) or encantada (women). Keep por favor and gracias close, and choose tú for friends, usted for respect.

Greetings: hola and the times of day

Hola ("hi") works any time, with anyone — it's the safest word in Spanish. To sound a little more polished, pair it with the time-of-day greeting.

Notice buenos días is plural and masculine, while buenas tardes and buenas noches are plural and feminine — they match the nouns día (masculine) and tarde/noche (feminine). In casual speech, people often shorten all of these to just buenas, a friendly all-purpose greeting you'll hear constantly in shops and cafés.

How are you?

There are two everyday ways to ask, plus a formal version. ¿Qué tal? is casual and extremely common; ¿Cómo estás? is the standard "how are you".

Simple replies: bien, gracias (fine, thanks), muy bien (very well), más o menos (so-so), todo bien (all good). A natural follow-up is ¿y tú? ("and you?") — or the polite ¿y usted?.

Introducing yourself

The most common way to give your name is me llamo…, which literally means "I call myself". You can also use soy… ("I am").

• Me llamo Ana. — My name is Ana.
• Soy Ana. — I'm Ana.
• ¿Cómo te llamas? — What's your name? (informal)
• ¿Cómo se llama? — What's your name? (formal)

When you meet someone, you say "nice to meet you" with encantado or encantada — and this one is gendered. A man says encantado; a woman says encantada. It agrees with you, the speaker, not with the person you're meeting. A gender-neutral alternative that never changes is mucho gusto ("a pleasure").

Watch out: the ending of encantado/encantada depends on who's speaking. If you're a woman, always say encantada, even to another woman.

Politeness: please, thank you, and the three sorries

These are the words that make you sound courteous rather than blunt. Por favor (please) and gracias (thank you) do most of the work; the reply to gracias is de nada ("you're welcome").

Now the tricky part — the three ways to say "sorry", each for a different situation:

The rule of thumb: perdón is the small "oops", con permiso asks permission to move, and lo siento carries real weight. Save lo siento for when you actually mean it.

Tú vs usted: informal and formal "you"

Spanish has two words for "you", and choosing between them is a real social decision. Tú is informal — for friends, family, kids, people your own age. Usted is formal and respectful — for strangers, elders, officials, and service situations where you want to show courtesy.

The choice changes the verb, too. With tú: ¿Cómo estás?, ¿Cómo te llamas? With usted: ¿Cómo está?, ¿Cómo se llama? When in doubt with an adult you don't know, start with usted — it's easy to switch to tú once someone invites you to, often with puedes tutearme ("you can use tú with me").

Regional note: in Spain, tú is used more freely and quickly. In much of Latin America — and especially in Colombia — usted is far more common, even among people who know each other. When unsure, formal is never rude.

Survival phrases when you're stuck

These are the lines that rescue a conversation when you lose the thread. Memorize them — they buy you time and goodwill.

Goodbyes

You have options here, from formal to breezy:

• adiós — goodbye (the standard)
• hasta luego — see you later (very common, even for short absences)
• hasta mañana — see you tomorrow
• hasta pronto — see you soon
• nos vemos — see you around
• chao (also written chau) — bye (casual, borrowed from Italian ciao)

Interestingly, Spanish speakers often say hasta luego even when leaving a shop they may never return to — it's just the friendly default, not a literal promise to meet again.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between perdón, con permiso, and lo siento?

Use perdón to get attention or for a light "excuse me", like bumping into someone. Use con permiso when you want to pass through or step away. Save lo siento for genuine apologies and expressions of sympathy, since it carries real emotional weight.

Should I say encantado or encantada?

It depends on your own gender, not the other person's. A man says encantado and a woman says encantada, because the word describes the speaker. If you'd rather not think about it, mucho gusto works for everyone and never changes.

When should I use usted instead of tú?

Use usted with strangers, older people, officials, and in formal or service settings to show respect. Use tú with friends, family, children, and peers. When you're unsure with an adult you don't know, start with usted — being formal is never considered rude.

What does buenas mean on its own?

Buenas is a casual, all-purpose greeting, short for buenas tardes or buenas noches. You'll hear it constantly in shops, cafés, and on the street. It works at almost any time of day and sounds friendly and natural.

How do I ask someone to speak more slowly?

Say más despacio, por favor ("slower, please") or ¿puede repetir, por favor? ("can you repeat that, please?"). Both are polite and instantly understood. Pairing them with no entiendo ("I don't understand") makes your meaning perfectly clear.