Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Spanish
Spanish Words: Greetings & Introductions — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 18 words
Every conversation starts here: saying hello, introducing yourself, thanking, apologizing and saying goodbye. These words alone get you through a hotel check-in or a café order politely.
Spanish is read almost exactly as it's written: stress falls on the second-to-last syllable when a word ends in a vowel, n or s, otherwise on the last one, and exceptions carry an accent mark (café, estación). Nouns are masculine (el) or feminine (la). Pronunciation below is spelled out in English, stressed syllable in capitals.
Greetings & Introductions in Spanish: word list
| Spanish | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hola | OH-lah | hello |
| buenos días | BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs | good morning |
| buenas tardes | BWEH-nahs TAHR-dehs | good afternoon |
| buenas noches | BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs | good night |
| adiós | ah-DYOHS | goodbye |
| hasta luego | AHS-tah LWEH-goh | see you later |
| por favor | pohr fah-BOHR | please |
| gracias | GRAH-syahs | thank you |
| de nada | deh NAH-dah | you're welcome |
| perdón | pehr-DOHN | sorry / excuse me |
| mucho gusto | MOO-choh GOOS-toh | nice to meet you |
| ¿cómo estás? | KOH-moh ehs-TAHS | how are you? |
| bien | byehn | well |
| mal | mahl | badly |
| sí | see | yes |
| no | noh | no |
| nombre | NOHM-breh | name |
| amigo | ah-MEE-goh | friend |
Memory hooks for these words
A sound-alike is an English word or phrase that sounds like the foreign one. The scene ties it to the meaning: you recall the sound, the sound brings back the picture, the picture brings back the meaning. Read each scene once, then try to recall the meaning a minute later without looking at the list.
hola [OH-lah] — hello
Sounds like: “hola hoop”. A kid spins a hula hoop and yells hello to everyone watching them at the park.
Hola, buenos días — Hello, good morning
buenos días [BWEH-nohs DEE-ahs] — good morning
Sounds like: “bwen-os DEE-as”. A bwenos (bouncy) sun DEE-ah (dear) rises, dancing over a village, waking everyone with warmth and light
¡Buenos días! — Good morning!
buenas tardes [BWEH-nahs TAHR-dehs] — good afternoon
Sounds like: “bwen-ah tar-dess (bween tardiness)”. You arrive late in the afternoon, apologizing for your tardiness, waving hello with a smile.
buenas tardes, señor — good afternoon, sir
buenas noches [BWEH-nahs NOH-chehs] — good night
Sounds like: “bwaynas notches”. You cut good notches into a bedpost every night before sleeping, counting them by candlelight.
¡Buenas noches, que descanses! — Good night, sleep well!
adiós [ah-DYOHS] — goodbye
Sounds like: “a dear ocean”. You wave to a dear ocean cruise ship as it sails away, shouting farewell from the dock.
¡Adiós, amigo! — Goodbye, friend!
hasta luego [AHS-tah LWEH-goh] — see you later
Sounds like: “pasta we go”. You slurp the last pasta noodle, wave, and shout 'pasta we go' as friends leave the kitchen.
Hasta luego, amigo! — See you later, friend!
por favor [pohr fah-BOHR] — please
Sounds like: “poor flavor”. A poor chef begs politely for better flavor, holding an empty spoon and bowing his head humbly.
Pásame la sal, por favor. — Pass me the salt, please.
gracias [GRAH-syahs] — thank you
Sounds like: “gracious”. A gracious queen bows and thanks the crowd politely after they cheer for her loudly
Gracias por venir. — Thank you for coming.
de nada [deh NAH-dah] — you're welcome
Sounds like: “day nada”. Someone thanks you, you wave a hand saying 'day nada' - just another ordinary day, nothing special
De nada — you're welcome
perdón [pehr-DOHN] — sorry / excuse me
Sounds like: “per-don”. A stern don (mafia boss) demands respect per rule, you bow and say sorry immediately
perdón, señor, fue un error — sorry, sir, it was a mistake
mucho gusto [MOO-choh GOOS-toh] — nice to meet you
Sounds like: “mocha gusto”. A barista hands you a mocha with gusto, smiling warmly as you meet each other for the first time.
Mucho gusto — Nice to meet you
¿cómo estás? [KOH-moh ehs-TAHS] — how are you?
Sounds like: “comb oh stars”. A friend combs their hair under the stars while you ask them how they are doing.
¿Cómo estás, amigo? — How are you, friend?
bien [byehn] — well
Sounds like: “bin”. You throw trash neatly into the bin, doing the job well and cleanly.
Todo salió bien. — Everything turned out well.
mal [mahl] — badly
Sounds like: “mall”. You feel badly lost inside a huge mall, everything looks the same and confusing everywhere.
Canta mal — He sings badly (at the mall).
sí [see] — yes
Sounds like: “sea”. You stand by the sea, waves crash, and you shout 'yes!' diving happily into the blue water.
Sí, me encanta el mar. — Yes, I love the sea.
no [noh] — no
Sounds like: “no way”. Someone offers you spinach and you shout 'no way!' pushing the plate away with both hands.
No quiero — No way, I don't want it
nombre [NOHM-breh] — name
Sounds like: “nom bread”. A baker writes your name on fresh nom bread so everyone knows whose loaf it is.
Escribe tu nombre aquí. — Write your name here.
amigo [ah-MEE-goh] — friend
Sounds like: “a-me-go”. You say 'a me, go!' waving your friend over to join you at the party.
Él es mi amigo — He is my friend