When you initially start learning Spanish, your initial words or phrases will normally be a greeting of some kind.

The single word “Hola” (the “H” is not pronounced) in Spanish is the same as the English word “Hello” and is uncomplicated by any complex syntax.

“Hola” is an appropriate greeting for both acquaintances or strangers when speaking to them in person. However, Spanish speakers commonly use “diga’ or “bueno” when answering the telephone, unlike English that uses “hello” for both instances.

After initially greeting someone, you will eventually depart and the Spanish equivalent of “goodbye” is “adios.”

Unlike English which has only one form, Spanish and other Romance languages (French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian Italian, French,Portuguese, and Romanian) have two forms of verbs used when addressing or referring to people. These two forms are generally known as informal and formal forms. The informal form is normally used for addressing younger persons, relatives, friends, or persons of lower status. The formal form is normally used for strangers, older people who are not close friends or relatives and for people of higher status.

When inquiring as to how someone is, such as “How are you?” “Como estas?” (informal) or “Como esta?” (formal) is the Spanish version of the same thing. Or you can use “que tal”, “Que passa?” (What’s happening?) or “Como se va?” (formal) or “Como te vas?” (informal) for “How is it going?” or literally “How’s it going with you?”

When saying “Good afternoon” “Buenas tardes” is the Spanish phrase. If you want to say “Good morning, Good day, etc” “Buenos dias” is the same thing in Spanish. “Good night” is “Buenos noches.”

When greeting strangers, you might ask “Como se llama?” (formal) or “Como te llamas?” (informal) for “What is your name?” The literal translation would be “How do you call yourself?”

These are the simplest greetings to learn and once you master these Spanish phrases the rest is easy. There are a few harder ones to learn, but not yet. The next step to learning Spanish is numbers, letters, time, asking how to get somewhere, male or female, colors, parts of the body, and relatives.

The expressions used daily are the ones that help you to master Spanish more quickly because you will be using them on a regular basis. “Hello” and “Good Night” are two of the most used phrases so saying these words will give you plenty of practice in your comfort zone.