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Knowing how to greet, say goodbye and introduce yourself in Spanish is very important when it comes to interacting with other people. In this new Survival Guide in Spanish we collect some questions and answers with which you will be able to practice in Spanish before and during your trip and which will be very useful for you to say hello, goodbye and introduce yourself.
Thanks to this guide you will not have any problem to introduce yourself and start a conversation in Spanish with your future classmates in your Spanish lessons in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador or with everyone you meet during your trip.
One of the keys to good manners is greeting. There are different ways of greeting in Spanish, some more informal and others more formal. So, when you arrive somewhere or before you introduce yourself, you can use the following phrases in Spanish:
¡Hola! – Hello!
¿Qué tal? – How do you do?
¡Mucho gusto! – Nice to meet you
Encantado/a – Nice to meet you
Es un placer conocerle/la – Nice to meet you
One of the most important parts, especially when you travel to a country where you don’t know anyone, is knowing how to introduce yourself to other people. This is the moment when you talk about your country, your age, your profession and all those aspects that define you and that you think others should know.
In Spanish there are two forms of presentation: the formal, in which the 2nd person for courtesy is used, that is, “usted” or “ustedes” [you], which is used to address older people or people of a higher rank, such as a boss or a teacher; or the informal, in which the 2nd person is used, “tú” or “vosotros”.
FORMAL
Hola… – Hello…
¿Cómo se llama? or ¿Cúal es su nombre? – What’s your name?
¿De dónde es usted? – Where are you from?
¿Dónde vive? – Where do you live?
¿Cuántos años tiene? or ¿Qué edad tiene? – How old are you?
¿A qué se dedica? or ¿Cuál es su profesión? – What is your occupation?
¿Cuál es su número de teléfono/celular? – What is your phone/cell phone number?
INFORMAL
Hola… – Hi…
¿Cómo te llamas? or ¿Cuál es tu nombre? – What’s your name?
Me llamo Ana – My name is Ana
¿De dónde eres? – Where are you from?
Yo soy de EE.UU. – I come from the USA
¿Dónde vives? – Where do you live?
Vivo en Chicago – I live in Chicago
¿Cuántos años tienes? or ¿Qué edad tienes? – How old are you?
Tengo 20 años – I’m 20 years old
¿A qué te dedicas? or ¿Cuál es tu profesión? – What is your occupation?
Soy estudiante – I am a student
¿Cuál es tu número de teléfono/celular? – What is your phone/cell phone number?
Mi número es el 33004411 – My phone number is 33004411
As for the answer to the question “¿Cómo te llamas?” , there are three different ways to do it. “Mi nombre es…” , “Me llamo…” or “Yo soy…” . In the following dialogue you will see the three ways to respond:
Hola, mi nombre es Ana. ¿Cómo se llama usted? – Hello, my name is Ana. What’s your name?
Hola, Ana. Me llamo Manuel, encantado de conocerla. – Hello, Ana. My name is Manuel, nice to meet you.
Un placer conocerle, Manuel. ¿Quién es la mujer que está con usted? – Nice to meet you, Manuel. Who is the woman with you?
Ella es María, mi esposa. – This is Maria, my wife.
Now that you know how to introduce yourself, it’s your turn to learn how to introduce other people. Something that will be very useful when your new friends introduce you to their friends at a party. The most common formula is “Te presento a…” or “Este/a/os/as es/son…”:
Te presento a Pedro
Hola Pedro, encantada. Yo soy Carmen.
Estos son Belén y Carlos
Encantado, Belén and Carlos. Un placer conocerles. Yo me llamo Andrés y ella es Isabel.
Beyond the names, if you want to know how to physically describe people and their character we recommend our “Spanish Lessons”, in which we give you the grammatical keys and vocabulary to practice.
After enjoying the party or going out to a disco, it’s time to leave. Before leaving the place, it is time to say goodbye, to say “adiós” or “hasta mañana”, for example.
Other expressions used in Spanish to say goodbye are:
¡Nos vemos!
Hasta la vista
Hasta pronto (when you don’t know exactly when you are going to see that/those person/people)
Hasta luego (when you are going to see that/those person/people in a short period of time)
Hasta mañana (when you see that person the next day)
