There is an important difference in the way that Spanish people and Americans greet one another, and after ten years of living in the US, I still haven’t gotten used to it. I’m talking about the overwhelming presence of how’re-you-doings and how-are-yous in every day interactions with Americans. My Spanish nature compels me to immediately explain more or less how I am doing, but this creates an uncomfortable situation because the other person usually doesn’t actually want to know how I am doing. For example, does my roommate really want to know how I am in the mornings when we cross paths with in the hallway?
The Spanish equivalent of how’re you doing and how are you are: ¿Qué tal?/¿Cómo estás?/¿Qué pasa? However, we use it only when we encounter a person and expect that the person will inform us of her mental/physical condition. Very rarely, in extremely familiar interactions, these expressions are used as a simple saludo (greeting) without expecting a reply.
When you go to the register at a store in Spain, you will only hear ¿qué tal? if the employee knows you, otherwise, ¡hola! ¡buenos días/tardes/noches! will do the job. And in that morning corridor where I encounter my roommate every day I simply say: ¡Buenos días! If you want to practice this and some other greetings in Spanish, take a look at the Vocabulary Flashcards on our Spanish Language Lab.
