| Greetings | |
| Bienvenido
Bienvenida Bienvenidos Bienvenidas |
Welcome (singular, masculine)
Welcome (singular, feminine) Welcome (plural, masculine; also default for mixed group) Welcome (plural, feminine; group composed only of females) |
| Buenos días | Good morning, good day (More formal greeting) |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon. (More formal greeting) |
| Buenas noches | Good evening, good night (More formal greeting) |
| Hola | Hello (Informal, friendly) |
| Adiós | Good-bye |
| Hasta mañana
(or other specific day or time) |
Until tomorrow |
| Hasta la vista | Until we see each other again |
| Hasta la próxima | Until next time |
| Hasta luego | See you later |
| Responses to Greetings | |
| Buenos días, adiós, etc. | Buenos días, adiós, etc. [Respond in kind.] |
| How are you?/Queries | |
| ¿Cómo estás?
|
How are you?
(Informal -- Press here for more information on tú and usted.) This greeting is singular and would be used to address a young library user. If you are addressing a group of young people, then use "¿Cómo están?" |
| ¿Cómo está (usted)?
¿Cómo están (ustedes)?
|
How are you? (singular)
How are you: (plural) In both greetings, the pronoun ("usted" or "ustedes") is optional. "Usted" is a formal form of address for adults and would be used in most client interactions. "Ustedes" serves as plural for both "tú" and "usted" in standard Latin American Spanish. |
| ¿Cómo te va? | How is it going? ("tú" form -- less formal greeting) |
| ¿Cómo le va?
¿Cómo les va? |
How is it going? ("usted" form -- less formal greeting)
How is it going? ("ustedes" plural form -- less formal greeting) |
| ¿Qué hubo? | What's happening? (informal, popular with young people) |
| Responses to Queries | Respond with one of the following, and then reciprocate by asking how the library user is. |
|
(Muy) bien
Así, así Regular (Muy) mal |
(Very) well
So, so Okay (Very) bad |
| Expressions of Courtesy | |
| Favor de ...
(Followed by an infinitive) |
Please ...
(Example: Favor de firmar aquí. Please sign here.) |
| Por favor | Please |
| (Muchas) gracias | Thank you (very much) |
| De nada | It's nothing. |
Standard Spanish has two singular forms corresponding to English "you" as well as two plural forms (for which standard English has no equivalent, but there are the regional/colloquial forms "y'all" and "you guys").
| Singular | Plural |
| tú is used to address a child or teenager; it is also used among adults who know each other well. It is better to err by using the too formal "usted" rather than risk being disrespectful. The readiness to use "tú" varies greatly from one Spanish-speaking region to another and among generations. | ustedes is the preferred plural of "tú" in standard Latin American Spanish. "Vosotros" (feminine, "vosotras") is the grammatical plural of "tú." However, this form is rarely used outside of Spain. |
| usted is used to address an adult toward whom you wish to show some degree of deference of respect. It is the standard form of address for a client or customer whom you do not know or know only casually. It is occasionally used with children to show a tone of authority as when calling attention to inappropriate behavior. | ustedes is
the plural of "usted."
|