In order for good communication to occur, we need to learn some basic phrases that allow us to greet people when we meet them, in Spanish we call them "Greetings".
greetings and farewells
Look at the tables below and follow them with the examples:
| greetings | Greetings |
| Good days! | Good Morning! |
| Good afternoon! | Good evening! |
| Good nights! | Goodnight! |
| Hola! | Hey! - Hi! |
| Hola! What about? | Hey, how's it going? - Hey how is everything? |
| Hola! Enchanting en conocerte. | Hi, nice to meet you. |
| Hola! I really like it. | Hi, I like it. - much pleasure. |
a) ¡Hola!, ¿Qué tal? I really like it.
Hey! How are you? Much pleasure.
b) Good morning Ms. Lourdes!
Good morning Mrs. Lourdes!
To end the conversation, we use the "Farewells".
| farewells | farewells |
| Adiós! | Goodbye! |
| Floor! | Goodbye! |
| Hasta morning! | See you tomorrow! |
| ¡Hasta luego! | See you later! |
| ¡Hasta ready! | See you at any time! |
a) ¡Chao Maria! We talked morning.
Bye Mary! We talk tomorrow.
b) Rosa fue muy buena nuestra conversación. Kiss your whole family and get ready!
Rosa was very good with our conversation. Kisses to your whole family and see you at any time!
You've probably noticed some differences in the use of punctuation, don't worry, that's right! In Spanish, interrogative (?) and exclamatory (!) sentences must be accompanied by their own respective symbols, before and after the sentence, before the sentence, it must be inverted (¿) and (¡). See other examples:
a) What is your name?
What is your name?
b) Hello! I haven't seen you for a long time How are you?
Hey! It's been a long time since I saw you. How are you?
Expressions and excuses
To further improve communication, some words or expressions that demonstrate satisfaction in certain situations can be used. The ones that follow in the table below, although they are different, are used to express the same feeling and intensify, in a positive way, something or something. Check out the examples:
expressions |
What a barbarian! |
Wonderful! |
Amazing! |
¡Chévere! |
a) A – ¿Mario, how about if we are going to a fiesta today?
A – Mario, how about going to a party today?
B – Amazing! Ya, I don't have to work mañana.
B – Great! Since I don't have to work tomorrow.
b) A – ¿Están con hambre?, Are we going to eat?
A – Are you hungry? Let's eat?
B – Yes, ¡De maravilla!
B – Yes, Wonderful!
During a conversation, whether in person, on the phone or over the internet, we sometimes need to thank or apologize. See how we do it in Spanish:
| Acknowledgments | Thanks |
| Thanks! | Required to)! |
| Thank you! | Thank you very much)! |
| You're welcome! | You're welcome! |
| excuses | Apologies |
| Forgiveness (e)! | Forgiveness! |
| Sorry (e)! | Excuse! |
| I feel it! | I'm sorry! |
This short dialogue seeks to demonstrate the use of everything you've learned so far:
a) A – ¡Buenos días!, What about Mr. Ricardo?
A – Good morning! Are you okay with Mr. Mr. Ricardo?
B – Muy bien, ¿y usted?
B – Very well, and you?
A – Bien, thanks!
A – Well, thank you!
B – Did you find any correspondence today?
B – Did any mail arrive today?
A – In Mr. nobody.
A – No Sir, none.
B – Si llega something to keep in my office, please.
B – If one arrives, keep it on my desk, please.
A – Of course Mr. Ricardo.
A – Of course Mr. Ricardo.
B – Muchas gracias y ¡Hasta mañana!
B – Thank you very much and see you tomorrow!
A – You're welcome Mr. Ricardo ¡Hasta mañana!
A – You're welcome, Mr. Ricardo, until tomorrow!
Rosana Beatriz Garrasini Sellanes
Brazil School Collaborator
Degree in Letters – Portuguese and Spanish by the Catholic University of Goiás – PUC/GO