You’ll be meeting a lot of Spaniards in Granada. So, here’s how to introduce yourself.

SARA: Hola. Soy Sara. Encantada de conocerte.

DAVID: Encantado. Soy David.

A couple things to notice. Just like in the U.S., we tend to use “soy” (I’m) more than “me llamo” (my name is). Also, it’s customary to say “encantad@” when you meet someone for the first time. (I’ll use the @ symbol to represent both the masculine and feminine versions of words).

Speaking of introductions… In Spain, whenever people meet and whenever they part ways, they have a customary salutation that is quite a bit different from the good old American handshake. Be sure to take a look at the section about meeting people so you know how to greet people in Spain.

In Spain, young guys tend to use language that’s a bit more rowdy and vulgar when talking to other guys. Notice that the conversation below between two guys is loaded with Spanish slang. However, when a young man speaks with a young woman, he uses polite language. Young women are always courteous in their use of language. Also, when two women meet, they almost always exchange a few compliments.

Below are some common greetings. Note: these are not stylized. These are the things that we Spaniards actually say whenever we see somebody we know. The translations in parentheses are not literal translations. Rather, they more closely reflect the equivalent conversation in American English.

Two guys

DAVID: ¡Paco! ¿Qué pasa, tío? (Paco! What’s up, man?)

PACO: ¡Eh, David! ¿Qué te cuentas? (Hey, Dave! What’s been goin’ on?)

DAVID: Pues nada. Que hemos pasado unos días en la playa. (Oh, you know, we’ve been at the beach for a few days.)

PACO: ¿Y qué? ¿Bien? (And how was it?)

DAVID: De puta madre, tío. Nos quedamos en un apartamento de lujo en plena playa que no nos costó ni un duro porque nos lo prestó un compañero de Jose. (Dude, it was awesome. We stayed in a luxury beachfront apartment and it didn’t cost us a dime ’cause one of Jose’s classmates lent it to him.)

PACO: Jo, ¡Qué cabrón! ¡Qué suerte tienes, colega! (Man, you are one lucky son of a bitch, dude.)

DAVID: Bueno, tío… Que me tengo que ir que me están esperando. (Anyway, man… I gotta get goin’. They’re waitin’ for me.)

PACO: Venga, David. Me alegro de verte. (Alright, Dave. It was good to see ya.)

DAVID: Hasta luego. (Later.)

PACO: Hasta luego. (Later.)

A guy and a girl

DAVID: ¡Hola! (Hey!)

SARA: ¡David! ¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? (Dave! Hey! How are ya?)

DAVID: Pues, muy bien. Gracias. ¿Y tú? ¿Cómo lo llevas? (Pretty good. How ’bout you? How you doin’?)

SARA: Bueno, no me puedo quejar. Fuisteis a la playa, ¿no? (Eh, you know. Not too bad. You [guys] went to the beach, didn’t you?)

DAVID: Sí. (Yep.)

SARA: ¿Y qué tal? (So, how was it?)

DAVID: Lo pasamos muy bien. Hizo un tiempo estupendo. (Oh, we had a great time. The weather was fantastic.)

SARA: Ay, me alegro mucho. Bueno, David… Me tengo que ir corriendo que llego tarde. Pero me alegro de verte. (I’m so glad to hear it. Anyway, Dave… I’m late for class so I gotta run. But it was so good to see you.)

DAVID: Igualmente, Sara. Nos vemos. (You, too. I’ll catch ya later.)

SARA: Vale. Hasta luego. (Alright. See ya.)

Two girls

SARA: ¡Hola! (Hey!)

MARIA: Hola, Sara. ¿Cómo estás? (Hey, Sara. How are you?)

SARA: Muy bien. Gracias. Oye, te veo muy guapa con ese vestido. (Fine thanks. Hey, you look really pretty in that dress.)

MARIA: Ah, pues muchas gracias. Me lo compré Zara la semana pasada. (Thanks! I bought at Zara last week.)

SARA: Pues, te queda muy bien, eh. El color te favorece. (Well, it looks really good on you. That color looks good on you, too.)

MARIA: Muchas gracias, mujer. Oye, y tú… Que estás muy guapa también. ¿Te has echado mechas? (Thank you! You look really pretty, too. Did you get highlights?)

SARA: ¡Que va! Es mi color natural. (No way. This is my natural color.)

MARIA: Jo, ¡Qué envidia! Tienes un pelo precioso. (Oh, you’re so lucky. You have beautiful hair.)

SARA: Ah, muchas gracias, María. (Thank you, Maria).

MARIA: Bueno, Sara… Que nos vemos está noche para la fiesta, ¿verdad? (Well, Sara… I’ll see you tonight at the party, right?)

SARA: Sí, sí. Nos vemos está noche. (Definitely. I’ll see you tonight.)

MARIA: Venga. Un beso. (OK. Kiss kiss.) [I know "kiss kiss" sounds kind of silly in English. But in Spain we women say it all the time when we're saying goodbye to someone we know.]

SARA: Vale. Hasta luego. (Alright. I’ll see you later.)

MARIA: Hasta luego. (Bye.)