Reading and Pronunciation

Phonetics. Introduction Fonética. Introducción > First Expressions

The expression

¡Hola! (make the second syllable longer) – Hi! / Hello!

is used for greeting (make the second syllable longer). This word can be used with either your acquaintances or strangers.

To ask “How are you”, we say

¿Qué tal? – How are you?

People usually reply

Muy bien. ¿Y tú? – Fine. And you?

To say goodbye, we say

Adiós – Bye / Goodbye

If something’s wrong, you can ask

¿Qué pasa? – What happens/

To say that everything is ready, we use

¡Ya! – I finished / Ready

To express pain, the Spanish use

¡Uy!
¡Ay!

not ”ouch”.