Spanish greetings: hola, buenos días and adiós: what children learn
Greetings are the natural place to start Spanish. With a few phrases, such as hola, buenos días, ¿qué tal?, me llamo and adiós, children can already hold a tiny conversation: say hello, ask how someone is, answer, give their name and say goodbye. The National Curriculum asks Key Stage 2 pupils to engage in conversations and to ask and answer questions, and greetings are the first step.
This game checks the meaning of common greetings and asks which one fits a situation, such as meeting a neighbour in the afternoon. It also checks a feature that surprises many children: Spanish questions start with an upside-down question mark, as in ¿Qué tal?. Spanish words are marked in the page so that screen readers switch to a Spanish voice. Say each phrase aloud as you play: speaking is the best way to remember it, and Spanish spelling is a reliable guide to how words sound.
This topic covers a Key Stage 2 statutory requirement in the National Curriculum in England (Subject content): pupils should be taught to “engage in conversations; ask and answer questions; express opinions and respond to those of others; seek clarification and help”. The programme of study sets this for the whole of Key Stage 2, so schools choose when to teach it; we have placed this game in Year 3 (ages 7–8).
There is no direct equivalent in the US Common Core State Standards.
How to play
Answer 10 questions before the clock runs out. Tap an answer, or press 1 to 4. Each game has 10 multiple-choice questions and a 150-second timer. A wrong answer shows the correct one before moving on. You earn up to three stars depending on your score.
Step by step
- Learn the hello and goodbye pair. Hola (hello; the h is silent) and adiós (goodbye). Use them at home every morning and evening.
- Add the time of day. Buenos días in the morning, buenas tardes in the afternoon and buenas noches at night.
- Ask how someone is. ¿Qué tal? Answer muy bien (very well), bien (fine), mal (not well) or fatal (awful).
- Say your name. Me llamo … means my name is. Ask ¿Cómo te llamas? to find out someone else’s name.
- Be polite. Por favor is please and gracias is thank you. Finish with hasta luego (see you later) or hasta mañana (see you tomorrow).
Worked examples
Example 1: What does hasta mañana mean?
Working: Mañana means tomorrow, and hasta means until.
Answer: See you tomorrow.
Example 2: You meet your friend after school. How could you ask how they are?
Working: ¿Qué tal? is a friendly question for friends and family.
Answer: ¿Qué tal?
Example 3: How do you write “What is your name?” in Spanish?
Working: Spanish questions open with ¿ and close with ?.
Answer: ¿Cómo te llamas?
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Saying the h in hola. In Spanish the letter h is silent, so hola sounds like “ola”.
- Forgetting the upside-down question mark. Every written Spanish question starts with ¿ and every exclamation starts with ¡.
- Mixing up buenas tardes and buenas noches. Buenas tardes is for the afternoon and early evening; buenas noches is for when it is dark or for going to bed.
- Leaving off accents. Accents matter: adiós and días have them. They show which part of the word to stress.
Activities to try at home
- Greet each other in Spanish every morning for a week: ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?
- Make a feelings scale from fatal to muy bien and point to how you feel each day.
- Act out meeting someone at different times of day and choose the right greeting.
- Print the game sheet and say every answer aloud.
Ideas for the classroom
- Start every lesson with a register in Spanish: pupils answer the teacher’s greeting and say how they are.
- Play “greeting tag”: pupils walk around, meet a partner and have a four-line conversation before moving on.
- Display a clock and ask which greeting fits each time.
- Write questions on the board without ¿ and ask pupils to add the missing marks.
Free printable game and worksheet
The free printable starts with a game sheet, such as a colour-by-answer picture, an answer maze or a secret-code joke, followed by a worksheet. Both use the same checked questions as the online game, and the answers are on the last page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu.
Open the free printable game and worksheet
Frequently asked questions
Which Spanish greetings do children learn in Key Stage 2?
Most schools start with hola, adiós, buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches, ¿qué tal? and me llamo. The National Curriculum does not list words; it asks pupils to hold simple conversations, and greetings are the usual first step.
Why do Spanish questions start with an upside-down question mark?
It warns the reader that a question is coming, so they can read it with the right tone from the start. Exclamations work the same way with ¡.
Can my child learn Spanish if their school teaches French?
Yes. The National Curriculum lets schools teach any modern or ancient language in Key Stage 2. Many families add a second language at home, and the games work for both.