Spanish Greetings and Introductions

Learning how to greet someone and introduce yourself is one of the first steps in speaking Spanish.

Watch the video first, then use the notes below to review the most useful expressions.

Basic Greetings

Spanish	English
Hola.	Hello.
Buenos días.	Good morning.
Buenas tardes.	Good afternoon.
Buenas noches.	Good evening / Good night.
¿Qué tal?	How’s it going?
¿Cómo estás?	How are you?
Bien, gracias.	Fine, thank you.

Hola is the easiest greeting to remember. You can use it at any time of day.

Saying Your Name

To introduce yourself, you can say:

• Me llamo Ana. — My name is Ana.
• Soy Ana. — I’m Ana.

To ask someone’s name:

• ¿Cómo te llamas? — What’s your name?

Both Me llamo Ana and Soy Ana are natural. As a beginner, you can use either one.

Saying Where You Are From

Use soy de + place:

• Soy de Estados Unidos. — I’m from the United States.
• Soy de España. — I’m from Spain.
• Soy de México. — I’m from Mexico.

To ask:

• ¿De dónde eres? — Where are you from?

You can also use a nationality:

• Soy estadounidense. — I’m American.
• Soy español / española. — I’m Spanish.
• Soy mexicano / mexicana. — I’m Mexican.

Many nationalities change depending on gender, such as español → española. Estadounidense, however, has the same form for men and women.

Saying Where You Live

Use vivo en + place:

• Vivo en Barcelona. — I live in Barcelona.
• Vivo en Madrid. — I live in Madrid.

To ask:

• ¿Dónde vives? — Where do you live?

Compare:

• Soy de Estados Unidos. — I’m from the United States.
• Vivo en Barcelona. — I live in Barcelona.

Soy de tells someone where you are from. Vivo en tells them where you live now.

Talking About Languages

Use hablo + language:

• Hablo inglés. — I speak English.
• Hablo español. — I speak Spanish.
• Hablo inglés y español. — I speak English and Spanish.

If you are learning Spanish, these expressions are especially useful:

• Estoy aprendiendo español. — I’m learning Spanish.
• Hablo un poco de español. — I speak a little Spanish.
• ¿Hablas inglés? — Do you speak English?

Meeting Someone for the First Time

When you meet someone, you can say:

• Mucho gusto. — Nice to meet you.
• Encantado. / Encantada. — Nice to meet you.
• Igualmente. — Likewise / Nice to meet you too.

For example:

— Hola, me llamo Ana. ¿Cómo te llamas?
— Hi, my name is Ana. What’s your name?

— Soy David. Mucho gusto.
— I’m David. Nice to meet you.

— Igualmente.
— Likewise.

A Simple Introduction in Spanish

With just a few expressions, you can already introduce yourself:

Hola, me llamo Ana. Soy de Estados Unidos, pero vivo en Barcelona. Hablo inglés y estoy aprendiendo español. Mucho gusto.

Hi, my name is Ana. I’m from the United States, but I live in Barcelona. I speak English, and I’m learning Spanish. Nice to meet you.

For a basic introduction, remember these four patterns:

• Me llamo… — My name is…
• Soy de… — I’m from…
• Vivo en… — I live in…
• Hablo… — I speak…

You do not need a long introduction. These expressions are already enough to start a simple conversation.

Try It Yourself

Now introduce yourself in Spanish:

Hola, me llamo ________.
Soy de ________.
Vivo en ________.
Hablo ________.
Estoy aprendiendo español.
Mucho gusto.

Try saying your introduction aloud instead of only reading it.

Essential Grammar

You do not need to learn all the grammar behind these expressions yet.

For now, simply recognize these useful forms:

• ser → soy, eres
• llamarse → me llamo, te llamas
• vivir → vivo, vives
• hablar → hablo, hablas
• estar + gerund → estoy aprendiendo

You will learn these verbs and structures gradually. For now, focus on recognizing and using the expressions you need for a basic conversation.