Short answer: "hello" in Spanish is Hola.
Hola, the core translation
The default way to say "hello" in Spanish is Hola. Pronounced roughly OH-lah.
When Spanish speakers actually use it
Works in every situation, formal or casual, morning to night.
Practice this in a real Spanish conversation
Reading a phrase and saying it out loud are two different skills. Skala's AI conversations let you drop "Hola" into a real Spanish exchange in your first 3-minute lesson, so it sticks the first time.
Start learning Spanish today
Skala is free on iOS and Android. One 3-minute Spanish lesson gets you your first 0.1%. Show up daily and the % climbs. That's the whole method.
FAQ
What's the most polite way to say "hello" in Spanish?
Hola is the safe polite option in every register. Tone of voice does more work than word choice in Spanish.
How do I pronounce Hola?
Roughly OH-lah. Recording yourself once and comparing to a native audio inside Skala closes the gap faster than reading pronunciation guides.