Vocabulary

Greetings, farewells and courtesy

Lesson 02 of 20 · 9 min of reading · 13 questions

Choosing the wrong greeting doesn't stop you from communicating, but it gives away a foreigner instantly. In Spanish, the greeting depends on the time of day and on how well you know the person.

By time of day

Greeting	When	Note
Buenos días	From when you get up until lunch (in Spain, around 14:00)	Plural, not «buen día»
Buenas tardes	From after lunch until it gets dark	Can go until 21:00 in summer
Buenas noches	Once it's night	Works both as a hello and a goodbye

Watch out for this«Buenas noches» works like the German Guten Abend and Gute Nacht combined: you use it both when arriving somewhere at night and when leaving. Walking into a restaurant at ten at night, you say «buenas noches».

Question 1 · Choose

It's 21:30. You walk into a restaurant in Madrid. You say:

By how well you know someone

Spanish distinguishes between tú (informal) and usted (formal). Important if you're coming from German or French: in Spain people use tú far more often. You use tú with coworkers, waiters, shop assistants and strangers your own age. «Usted» is reserved for older people and official situations.

Hola, ¿qué tal?The most common formula in Spain. Informal and neutral.

¿Cómo estás?Informal, a bit more personal.

¿Cómo está usted?Formal.

¿Qué tal todo?Very colloquial, between people who know each other.

And the replies. Notice that in Spanish you don't just answer «bien» — you almost always bounce the question back:

Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?The standard reply.

Muy bien.Positive.

Bueno... regular.Neither good nor bad. Very common.

Vamos tirando.Colloquial, Spain.

Question 2 · Fill in

Complete the most natural reply: «Bien, gracias. ¿Y ______?»

Saying goodbye

Phrase	Use
Adiós	Neutral, universal
Hasta luego	The most common one in Spain, even if you'll never see that person again
Hasta mañana	When you do know you'll see them tomorrow
Nos vemos	Informal
Chao	Colloquial, among friends

Cultural noteIn Spain, when leaving a bakery or a pharmacy, it's normal to say «hasta luego» to someone you'll never see again. It has become the default goodbye. In Latin America it would sound odd; there «que tenga buen día» is more common.

Basic courtesy

por favorwhen asking for something

gracias / muchas graciaswhen receiving something

de nadareply to gracias

perdón / perdona / disculpeto get someone's attention or ask to pass

lo sientoto apologise for something serious

Question 3 · Fill in

Someone thanks you. You reply: «De ______.»

Review: test what you've learned

Question 4 · Choose

Until when is «buenos días» used in Spain?

Question 5 · Choose

«Buenas noches» is used to...

Question 6 · Fill in

Complete the informal question: «¿Cómo ___?»

Question 7 · Choose

Compared to Germany or France, tuteo (informal «tú») in Spain is...

Question 8 · Choose

Who is «usted» usually reserved for?

Question 9 · Fill in

Answer by returning the question: «Bien, gracias, ¿y ___?»

Question 10 · Choose

If you leave a pharmacy and won't see the person again, what's normal to say?

Question 11 · Choose

What two factors decide which greeting you choose?

Question 12 · Fill in

If it's 10pm and you walk into a restaurant, you say: «___»

Question 13 · Choose

Answering just «bien» to «¿qué tal?» sounds...

Lesson summary

Expression	When it's used
Buenos días	From when you wake up until lunch
Buenas tardes	From after lunch until it gets dark
Buenas noches	To greet and say goodbye, at night
Tú	Coworkers, waiters, people your age
Usted	Older people, official contexts
¿Y tú? / ¿Y usted?	Almost always returned when answering a greeting
Hasta luego	Default goodbye, even if you won't see the person again

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