Lesson 1: Spanish Greetings and Introduction

🎯 Goal

Learn basic Spanish greetings, farewells, and polite ways to introduce yourself and ask someone’s name.

🧠 Why You Need This

Greetings are the first impression in any language. This lesson gives you the confidence to say “hello,” introduce yourself, and respond naturally in everyday conversations.

👋 Let’s Get Started

How do you greet someone politely in Spanish? Do you use the same phrases with a friend as you do with your boss?
In this lesson, you'll learn the most common greetings and introductions in Spanish, plus how to use them correctly in formal and informal situations.

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🗣️ Greetings (Saludos)

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Buenos días – Good morning

• Literal meaning: “Good days”

• Usage: Used from early morning until around noon.

• ✅ Tip: Even though it’s plural in Spanish (buenos días), it still means “good morning” in English.

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Buenas tardes – Good afternoon

• Literal meaning: “Good afternoons”

• Usage: Used from around 12 PM to 6 PM.

• ✅ Tip: The word tarde means “afternoon.” This is the greeting you’d use during lunch hours or early evening meetings.

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Buenas noches – Good evening / Good night

• Literal meaning: “Good nights”

• Usage: Used after 6 PM, both when arriving and when saying goodbye at night.

• 🔁 Double meaning: You can use this to say hello in the evening or goodbye at bedtime.

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Hola – Hello

• Usage: Universal greeting for any time of day.

• ❌ Common mistake: Don’t say “Hola, buenos noches” at the same time. Use one or the other.

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¿Qué tal? – How’s it going? / What’s up?

• Usage: Very casual. Use it with friends, classmates, or peers.

• ✅ Tip: You can use this instead of "¿Cómo estás?" — it's short, friendly, and modern.

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¿Cómo estás? – How are you?

• Grammar: Comes from the verb estar (to be – temporary state)

• Usage: Informal. Use with people you know well — friends, younger people, or equals.

• ✅ Ends in -ás because it’s tú form (you, informal)

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

• Grammar: Same verb (estar) but in usted form (you, formal)

• Usage: Use with strangers, older adults, professionals, or in respectful settings.

• ✅ Usted shows respect — great for polite first impressions!

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Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? / ¿Y usted? – Fine, thank you. And you?

• ✅ Keep it simple! These are polite responses to “How are you?”

• Match the form:

  • Say ¿Y tú? after ¿Cómo estás?

  • Say ¿Y usted? after ¿Cómo está usted?

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🙋‍♀️ Introductions (Presentaciones)

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Me llamo [Your Name] – My name is [Your Name]

• Literal meaning: “I call myself”

• Grammar: Reflexive verb llamarse (“to call oneself”)

• ✅ Most common way to introduce yourself in Spanish

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Soy [Your Name] – I am [Your Name]

• Uses the verb ser (to be – identity)

• ✅ Slightly more casual than me llamo, but still totally acceptable

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¿Cómo te llamas? – What’s your name? (informal)

• Literally: “How do you call yourself?”

• Usage: With friends, peers, or children

• Grammar: te llamas = you (informal) call yourself

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¿Cómo se llama usted? – What’s your name? (formal)

• Formal version of the same question

• Grammar: se llama = you (formal) call yourself

• ✅ Use in respectful situations — meeting someone older, in business, etc.

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Mucho gusto – Nice to meet you

• Literally: “Much pleasure”

• ✅ Standard response to someone’s name

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Encantado / Encantada – Pleased to meet you

• Grammar: Adjective that agrees with your gender

  • If you identify as male, say encantado

  • If you identify as female, say encantada

• ✅ Slightly more formal than mucho gusto, but still friendly

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Igualmente – Likewise / Same here

• Perfect response to both mucho gusto and encantado/a

• ✅ One word — very efficient and polite

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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Examples in Conversation

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Example 1 – Informal

A: Hola, ¿cómo estás?
B: Hola, bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?
A: Bien, gracias. Me llamo Ana. ¿Cómo te llamas?
B: Me llamo Carlos. Mucho gusto.
A: Igualmente.

💬 Translation:
A: Hi, how are you?
B: Hi, fine, thanks. And you?
A: Fine, thanks. My name is Ana. What’s your name?
B: My name is Carlos. Nice to meet you.
A: Likewise.

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Example 2 – Formal

A: Buenos días, ¿cómo está usted?
B: Buenos días, bien, gracias. ¿Y usted?
A: Bien, gracias. Soy María González. ¿Cómo se llama usted?
B: Me llamo Juan Pérez. Encantado.
A: Igualmente.

💬 Translation:
A: Good morning, how are you?
B: Good morning, fine, thank you. And you?
A: Fine, thank you. I’m María González. What’s your name?
B: My name is Juan Pérez. Pleased to meet you.
A: Likewise.

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📝 Practice Time

Try this:

1. Write your own greeting and introduction (formal or informal).

2. Say it out loud — bonus if you record yourself!

3. Practice both roles in the dialogue with a friend or mirror!

🧠 Example (Informal):
Hola, me llamo Pedro. ¿Cómo te llamas?
🧠 Example (Formal):
Buenos días. Soy Pedro García. ¿Cómo se llama usted?