Greetings in Spanish - TANDEM Madrid (2024)

FAQs

Greetings in Spanish - TANDEM Madrid? ›

In Spain, people greet each other and say goodbye with a kiss on each cheek. Don't be mistaken - these aren't wet, sloppy kisses! In fact, these aren't really proper kisses at all. People usually touch their right cheeks together and make a kissing sound, then repeat the process on the left side.

In Spain, people greet each other and say goodbye with a kiss on each cheek. Don't be mistaken - these aren't wet, sloppy kisses! In fact, these aren't really proper kisses at all. People usually touch their right cheeks together and make a kissing sound, then repeat the process on the left side.

It's very common for a stranger to say “buenas” on the street and you can use it any time of the day. But more specifically, “Buenos días” is the morning greeting, “Buenas tardes” is used in the afternoon, and “Buenas noches” is the evening greeting!

Spanish Culture

A firm handshake with eye contact and a smile is the appropriate greeting in professional contexts. Greetings become much warmer once people are acquainted and familiar with one another. Spaniards often prefer to embrace (abrazo) those they know well.

Gracias (GRAH-seeahs) means 'thanks' or 'thank you' Muchas gracias (MOO-chahs GRAH-seeahs) means 'thanks a lot' or 'thank you very much' Muchísimas gracias (moo-CHEE-see-mahs GRAH-seeahs) means 'thanks a lot' or 'thank you very very much'. Mil gracias (meel GRAH-seeahs) means 'a thousand thank yous'

Mucho Gusto

Pronounced: Moo-cho Goo-stow. This phrase means “nice to meet you.” It is obviously used when you're meeting someone for the first time. It can be used in the beginning and the end of the conversation.

"Buenos días" / "Buenas tardes" / "Buenas noches"

You can't go wrong with these phrases. The only thing to watch out for is the timing. Depending on the region, you can say "Buenos días" until noon or lunch. After that, you're better off saying "Buenas tardes," which is fine until it gets dark outside.

Mucho gusto is what people say immediately after an introduction. In English, we would say "a pleasure to meet you." A common response to mucho gusto is el gusto es mío (literally, "the pleasure is mine").

Can you just say "buenas"? ›

Yes, you can just say “Buenas” as a short form of greeting in Spanish. This informal greeting is often used when the time of day is understood from the context, making it unnecessary to specify “días” (days), “tardes” (afternoons), or “noches” (nights).

Bienvenido/a and encantado/a

It is to do with the gender of the person speaking and the person being spoken to. When you say “welcome” to a man, you say bienvenido. When you say “welcome” to a woman, you say bienvenida. When a man says “pleased to meet you”, he says encantado.

Every region of Spain has a distinctive accent, even dialect, but there are also four official languages of spain, and within those they also have distinctive accents per region, so yes Madrid has a accent, typically you'd hear it and called Madrileño.

The official language in Spain is Spanish or Castilian Spanish, which is spoken by all citizens.