¡Hola!

Well that would be the classic way to greet in Spanish.  But here is a list of the most commonly used greetings:

hello, hi : hola (oh-lah)

good morning: buenos días  (boo-eh-nohs dee-ahs)

good afternoon: buenas tardes  (boo-eh-nahs tahr-dehs)

good evening, night: buenas noches (boo-eh-nahs noh-chehs)

What’s up?!: ¿Qué hay de nuevo? (keh  ah-ee deh  noo-eh-voh), ¿Qué tal? (keh  tahl)

What’s going on?!:  ¿Qué pasa? (keh  pah-sah)

 

Usually in conversation the next phrase that follows “hello” is “How are you?”  In Spanish these are the “How are you” most common phrases:

How are you?:  ¿Cómo estás?  (koh-moh ehs-tahs)

How is it going?:  Formal: ¿Cómo le va? (koh-moh leh vah)  Informal: ¿Cómo te va?  (koh-moh teh vah)

How are things going?:  ¿Cómo va todo? (koh-moh vah toh-doh)

 

There are many phrases to answer this, but here are probably the most used:

fine: bien (bee-ehn)

not fine, bad: mal (mahl)

so-so: asi asi (ah-see ah-see), más o menos (meaning more or less) (mahs oh meh-nohs)

I’m tired: Estoy cansado/a (ehs-toh-ee kahn-sah-doh, kahn-sahdah)

I’m happy!: ¡Estoy feliz!  (ehs-toh-ee  feh-leez)

I’m OK.  I don’t feel well:  Más o menos.  No me siento muy bien. (mahs oh meh-nohs.  Noh meh see-ehn-toh moo-ee bee-ehn.)

I’m cold: tengo frío (tehn-goh  free-oh)

I’m hot: tengo calor (tehn-goh  kah-lohr)

 

To practice Greetings and many other basic conversations, I am including  a short dialogue and a written activity.

 

Los Saludos  Dialogue Practice

Los Saludos  Written Activity

And here is the answer sheet:  Los Saludos   Answer Sheet

These activities come from the book “Práctica de Conversación 1.”  This book has many short conversations that organized by topics like describing oneself, numbers, colors, food, etc.  It is a fantastic way to practice at home and at school complementing any unit.