Getting Started: Sounds, Greetings, and Small Talk

New Words and Phrases: Greetings and Small Talk

In this step, you will learn essential Spanish greetings and small-talk phrases. You will see each phrase with pronunciation, English meaning, and a simple example sentence.

Language Patterns: Formal vs. Informal and Basic Sounds

1. Formal vs. Informal “You”

Spanish has two common ways to say “you” when speaking to one person:

• tú (informal "you") – for friends, family, children, people your age in casual situations.
• usted (formal "you") – for older people, strangers, in professional or polite situations.

This difference changes the whole question:

• ¿Cómo te llamas? (KOH-moh teh YAH-mas)
• Literal meaning: "How do you call yourself?" (informal)
• Use with friends or people your age.

• ¿Cómo se llama? (KOH-moh seh YAH-mah)
• Literal meaning: "How do you call yourself?" (formal)
• Often followed by usted to make it extra clear it is formal:
• ¿Cómo se llama usted? – "What is your name (sir/ma'am)?"

The answer is the same in both cases:

• Me llamo Ana. – "My name is Ana."

You can use this pattern with any name:

• Me llamo Carlos. – "My name is Carlos."
• Me llamo María. – "My name is María."

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2. Basic Greeting Times

Spanish greetings change with the time of day:

• Hola – "Hello" (any time; very flexible and neutral)
• Buenos días – "Good morning" (roughly sunrise to lunchtime)
• Buenas tardes – "Good afternoon / evening" (after lunch until it is dark)
• Buenas noches – "Good night / good late evening" (when it is dark, or when saying goodbye at night)

Examples:

• Morning: Buenos días, me llamo Ana. – "Good morning, my name is Ana."
• Afternoon: Buenas tardes, ¿cómo se llama? – "Good afternoon, what is your name (formal)?"
• Night: Buenas noches, mucho gusto. – "Good night, nice to meet you."

You can always add Hola before them to sound friendlier:

• Hola, buenos días. – "Hi, good morning."

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3. Important Pronunciation Tips

Using today’s vocabulary, here are some key Spanish sound rules:

1. Vowel sounds (a, e, i, o, u) are short and clear:

• a as in "father" → llamas (YAH-mas)
• e as in "get" → buenos (BWEH-nos)
• i like "ee" in "see" → días (DEE-ahs)
• o as in "boat" but shorter → cómo (KOH-moh)
• u like "oo" in "food" → mucho (MOO-choh)

1. ll usually sounds like English "y" in most dialects:

• llamo / llamas → YAH-moh / YAH-mas
• Me llamo... → "meh YAH-moh"

1. ch is always like English "ch" in "chocolate":

• mucho → MOO-choh
• noche (from noches) → NOH-cheh

1. Stress (the syllable you say louder):

• Hola → HOH-lah
• Buenos → BWEH-nos
• tardes → TAR-des
• noches → NOH-ches
• llamo → YAH-moh

Paying attention to clear vowel sounds and correct stress will make your Spanish easier to understand, even with a foreign accent.

Practice Dialogue: Meeting Someone for the First Time

In this practice dialogue, two people meet for the first time: one interaction is informal and the other is more formal. Read both the Spanish lines and the English translations and notice how the greetings and name questions change.

Check Your Understanding: Greetings and Names

Answer this question to check your understanding of formal vs. informal questions about someone’s name.