Phrases(es)

Hola, Mucho gusto.

You probably already know that "hello" in Spanish is "hola", right? But Spanish greetings and pleasantries don't stop there.

Just like in English, there are a bunch of ways you can say "hi", "how are you?" and "goodbye", depending on the situation.

Greetings

Many Spanish greetings depend on the time of day.

Tardes and Noches

Many Spanish greetings depend on the time of day.

Even though "buenos días" literally means "good days," it is used in the mornings to mean "good morning."

Note that Spanish greetings are always in the plural ("Good days"), but you might occasionally hear the singular "buen día" instead of "buenos días".

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In English, "afternoon" comes before "evening," which in turn comes before "night."

In Spanish there are only two words that cover these times of the day: "tarde" which means "afternoon," but overlaps with "evening," and "noche," which means "night" but also overlaps with "evening."

Therefore, at 6:30pm it is ok to say either "buenas tardes" or "buenas noches."

¿Cómo está?

Just like in English, it's nice to follow up with "how are you?", "what's up?" "how's it going?" "how you doin'?" etc. (Although just like in English, don't always expect to get an answer.)

¿Cómo está? (How are you?)(formal)

¿Cómo está usted? (How are you?) (formal)

¿Cómo estás (tú)? (How are you? )(informal)

¿Qué tal? ¿Cómo andas? ¿Cómo va? (How are you? ) (very casual)

¿Qué haces? (How are you?/what do you do?/ what are you doing?)

¿Que pasa?

Muy bien

Yup, just as you do in English, if someone asks you "How are you?" you will usually say "good, thanks!" Although just like in English, often the person blurting out a quick "¿Qué tal?" isn't really expecting a response.

Blurting out is the best way to prove your Spanish level.

Bien, gracias, ¿y usted? (formal)

Bien, gracias, ¿y tú? (informal)

If things are a little better than "good" in your world, you can use one of these instead:

(Estoy) Todo bien / Muy bien (Very good)

If things are a bit more so-so, you could also use one of these:

Aquí estamos / Acá andamos (Literally "here we are", but it's usually used like "I'm hanging in there", or "I'm alive". )

Bien...¿o te cuento? (Good... or shall I really tell you about it?)

Even if you're feeling really terrible, it's bad form to ever come straight out and say "mal" ("bad").

In some Spanish-speaking countries (eg, Argentina) people will often only say that they're "very good" when they're being ironic. If you hear someone say "¡Mejor imposible!" ("it doesn't get any better than this!") — there's a good chance they're probably not having a very good day.

¿Cómo te sientes?

• How do you feel?

• ¡Me siento enfermo!

Encantado de conocerle

Conocerle and conocerles don't have a gender difference they mean to meet him/her and to meet them, but the others.

conocerla (a ella) = To meet her

conocerlo (a él) = to meet him

conocerlos (a ellos) = to meet them(masculine)

conocerlas (a ellas) = to meet them(femenine)

Boy to Boy: Encantado de conocerlo

Boy to Girl : Encantado de conocerla

Informal: Encantado de conocerle (a usted / a ti)

Girl to Boy: Encantada de conocerlo

Girl to Girl : Encantada de conocerla

Informal: Encantada de conocerle

Adiós

(It's well worth getting familiar with Hasta. It's very adaptable and useful for saying goodbye, and it's easy to remember: Just think of Arnie in Terminator: Hasta la vista, baby.)

Chau (Goodbye, casual)

Nos vemos (See you, casual)

Hasta mañana (See you tomorrow)

Hasta luego (See you later)

Hasta la próxima semana (See you next week)

Hasta el próximo lunes (See you next Monday)

Gracias

Gracias = "Thanks or thank you." Example use: Someone holds the door for you or loans you a pen (una pluma).

Muchas gracias = "Thank you very much." Example use: Someone does something a bit nicer for you - perhaps they buy you a cup of coffee (una taza de café) or lunch (almuerzo).

Y tu ingles es muy bueno. Buena suerte with future studies.

Muchas gracias y buena suerte a todos

Muchísimas gracias = "Thank you so very, very much!" Example use: Now they have really done you a big favor. Maybe they changed your flat tire (llanta desinflada) for you.

Mil gracias = "A thousand thanks." Example use: Again, they did something extraordinarily wonderful for you.

Maybe a big bus (un gran autobús) was about to run over you, & they pushed you out of the way just in time? :)

how to thank in Spanish	translation
Gracias	Thank you
Muchas gracias	Thanks a lot/Thank you very much
Mil gracias	A thousand thanks
Un millón de gracias	A million thanks
Muchisimas gracias	Thank you very much/Thanks a lot
Gracias de todo corazón	Thanks from my heart
Estoy (muy) agradecido/a	I’m (very) grateful
Eres muy amable/Es muy amable	You’ve been (very) kind
¡Que amable!	So kind!
Se/Te lo agradezco	I appreciate it
Estoy en deuda con usted/contigo	I owe you

Gracias a tí/usted is only advised as an answer to gracias.

how to reply to thanks	translation
De nada	You’re welcome
Por favor	Please
No es nada	It’s nothing
Por nada	It’s nothing
A la orden	As you wish
Con (mucho) gusto	With (a lot of) pleasure
Fue/Es un placer	It was/is a pleasure
Gracias a usted/tí*	Thanks to you
A mandar	At your service
A su servicio	At your service
No hay de qué	Think nothing of it
Feliz de poder ayudar	Happy to help

Lo Siento

Lo Siento is for apologizing and expressing sorrow. It is used as "I am sorry" if you feel bad about something someone or want to show condolences, but literally it means "I feel it"

Permiso/Con Permiso is used for saying "excuse me" like if you want to pass by someone in the store aisle, and they don't yet see you. The literal translation is "permission/with permission" and is basically a request/question.

Perdon/Perdoname is also "excuse me" (literal Pardon(forgive)/Pardon me?) but is used more in the event that two people accidentally bump into each other in a crowded space. Its basically an apology in essence.

Disculpe is also a form of "excuse me" but more in an exclamatory form: "Excuse me!" Implying shock or surprise at something said or done.

¿Cómo te llamas?

¿Cómo te llamas(Cual es tu nombre)? is used to ask What's your name? in informal interactions.

Me llamo is used to say my name is. It literally means I call myself.

Me llamo Omar.

Note that some Spanish verbs like me llamo and te sientes always need an extra little word before them.

¿Señor, cómo se llama usted?

• Sir, what is your name?

Remember to use usted in more formal settings or when speaking to someone older than you.

Hola, señor. ¿Cómo se llama usted?

• Hello, sir. What's your name?

Señor

In Spanish, we use words like señor, señora, and señorita to show respect to someone. These words are often followed by the person's last name when you know it.

Señora is generally for married women, while señorita is usually for young women or unmarried women.

Disculpe, señora. (Excuse me, ma'am.)

Señor can be used for any man.

If you are addressing people directly, you will just use señor, señora, and señorita, but if you are speaking of them, you'll have to use words like el and la before these titles.

Señor Sánchez, ¿cómo está usted?

• Mr. Sánchez, how are you?

El señor Pérez es americano.

• Mr. Pérez is American.