As you’re learning Spanish, you’ll notice that an important, but often overlooked, part of a conversation is how to say goodbye in Spanish.
Think about it – you just took all that time and effort to have a great conversation in Spanish, your friend is about to leave and you’re stuck looking like a deer in headlights.
It has happened to all of us. Someone starts to end a conversation and you stand there and no words come out. Who knew it was so hard to say goodbye in Spanish?
But don’t worry, after going through this article, you’ll have a ton of resources at the ready to say goodbye to your friends, family, and coworkers in any given situation, and sound like a native speaker doing it!
So let’s get to it. All the different ways you can say goodbye in Spanish.
Adiós
Now you likely already know this one. It’s the first “goodbye” you learn from any Spanish vocabulary textbook or language app. However, you really shouldn’t rely on it 100% of the time because it doesn’t work in every context.
The good news is that you can use it in both formal and informal situations, but this is a way to say goodbye on a more long-term basis. For example, if you knew you weren’t going to see your parents for a week, native Spanish speakers could say “adios”.
This means you wouldn’t use it if you knew you were going to see someone again that same day. For cases like that, there are some better options for you to use.
Anyway, you probably already knew this one, so let’s move on to some newer Spanish phrases for you!
Goodbyes with Hasta
The word “hasta” means “until”. It’s used in combination with a lot of other specific modifiers to talk about when you will see the other. So let’s look at all the different ways you can use “hasta” to say goodbye in Spanish.
Hasta luego
This one might be familiar to you, as well. Hasta luego means “until later”. This one is appropriate to use in any context, including both informal and formal contexts.
This is used in almost all of the Spanish-speaking countries in the world, so you’ll be able to keep this under your belt anywhere you travel.
Just like adiós, this is often used when you won’t be seeing the other person very soon.
Hasta ahora
On the other hand, hasta ahora is used when you’re going to see a person very soon. It literally means “until now”, so it gives the connotation of seeing the person almost immediately.
For example, if you call your friend to confirm plans for meeting at a restaurant, you could end the phone call by saying “Muy bien, ¡hasta ahora!”
Hasta pronto
Hasta pronto can be used exactly the same way as hasta ahora to say goodbye in Spanish. Although it is used a lot less frequently.
Hasta la próxima
Hasta la próxima is a shortening of the phrase “hasta la próxima vez”, meaning “until next time”. It’s a pretty informal phrase like most shortenings are.
However, if you already know when the next time you’ll see the person will be, you can add to the end of this to suit the specific situation. For example:
| Spanish | English |
| Hasta el próximo mes. | Until next month. |
| Hasta la próxima semana. | Until next week. |
| Hasta el próximo viernes. | Until next Friday. |
So this one is nice if you want to specify when you’ll see the person.
Hasta mañana
Connecting with the previous examples, it’s really common in Spanish-speaking countries to simply “hasta mañana” if you’re going to see the person the next day.
Note that mañana can mean morning / tomorrow, but in this context, it is understood as “tomorrow”. If you want to specify that you will see the person in the morning, you can say “hasta mañana por la mañana”
Hasta el ____
So you probably understand it by now, you can add anything that is a time to the end of hasta and still be right: hasta luego, hasta mañana, hasta ahora, etc.
So you can keep doing that to be more specific: Hasta el lunes, hasta el martes, etc. These are great informal ways of saying goodbye in Spanish.
Hasta la vista
Ok so everybody in the world knows this famous phrase thanks to a 1990s Hollywood movie, but does anyone actually say it?
Well, the answer is yes and no. Yes, people do say this phrase, but no, it’s not being used seriously.
People only say hasta la vista when they are joking around, meaning that this phrase really is used as one of the ways to say goodbye, but only between friends with an ironic sense of humor.
Hasta nunca
Now of course, sometimes you’ll want to say goodbye to someone in a less-than-pleasant way. It happens, unfortunately, so it’s important to know what your options are.
Hasta nunca literally translates to “until never”. So it’s a way of saying “I never want to see you again”.
So if you’re really offended by someone, you could possibly say this, but you’ll have to be careful depending on the region. It’s a relatively normal phrase in some Latin American countries, but in other Spanish-speaking countries, it just sounds way too overdramatic.
In fact, sometimes friends will joke around and say this to each other ironically.
Finally, you have a lighter version of this phrase: hasta nunqui. In some countries, you’ll hear children say this when they’re upset and it usually sounds pretty funny to adult ears.
But in other countries, you’ll hear it used dramatically and flamboyantly. So for example, if you ever watch the Spanish-language RuPaul’s Drag Race, you’ll hear the contestants use this one.
Goodbyes with Ver
So now that we’ve been through a lengthy list of expressions using hasta, it’s time to move on to ways to say goodbye in Spanish using the verb ver – and there are just as many ways, so let’s get started!
Nos vemos
The most common one: “¡nos vemos!”. It literally translates to “we will see each other”. It can be used in both formal and informal settings depending on the context and how you use the expression.
You’ll see that just like you can say hasta luego, hasta ahora, hasta X, you can also personalize and change up the “nos vemos” to mean what you want. Let’s look at some other ways to use it.
Ahora nos vemos
Ahora nos vemos is a perfect word to use when you want to tell someone that you’ll see them very soon. Usually when you’re on the way to meet up with someone or if you’re only parting for a few moments.
So for example, if you call your friend to ask for directions to their house, when you hang up the phone you would say “Perfecto, ahora nos vemos”.
Nos vemos luego
This one, however, expresses the idea of having a longer gap before the next time you see the person, just like “hasta luego”. It literally means “We’ll see each other later”, but it’s exactly the same as saying “See you later!” in English.
Nos vemos allí
This is a way to tell someone “see you there”. This means that you’ll use this goodbye phrase when you have both agreed on a set place to meet. So this is a great way to say goodbye in Spanish when you know where you will see them.
Luckily, you can move things around, as well. Feel free to say “allí nos vemos” or “nos vemos por ahí” if you prefer.
Nos vemos mañana
Just like with different expressions with hasta, you can use different expressions with nos vemos to be more specific.
- Nos vemos mañana: See you tomorrow
- Nos vemos el lunes: See you Monday
- Nos vemos el sábado que viene: See you next Saturday
So now you won’t have to say the same thing every single time you say goodbye to someone!
Ya nos veremos
This is moving into the many meanings of the word “ya”. There isn’t a very good literal translation for a sentence like this, but it expresses the meaning of “I’ll see you around, then” or “We’ll see each other at some point”.
In other words, native speakers use this in a context where you’re unlikely to see the person very soon and you also haven’t specified when you will. It’s a great goodbye expression to use to those friends who you see just once in a long while.
We can get into how to use the word ya another day.
A ver si nos vemos
This expression is used a bit differently than the previous one, although it is similar. It’s actually two expressions in one, since “a ver si …” means “Let’s see if …”.
You would use that in a context of when something happens infrequently or you doubt it would happen or maybe you would like for it to happen. Here are some examples:
- Me alegro de verte por fin, a ver si nos vemos más a menudo. – I’m glad I finally saw you, hopefully we see each other more often.
- Bueno, ahora no puedo quedar, pero a ver si nos vemos en algún momento. – Well, right now I can’t hangout, but let’s see if we can see each other at some point.
- Patricia, ya me dices cuando tienes tiempo libre, a ver si nos vemos por fin. – Patricia, let me know when you normally have free time so we can finally see each other.
The translations here aren’t literal but instead express the idea more accurately.
Te veo luego
This is a very informal way of saying “I’ll see you later”. It’s much more common to hear this in Latin America. Since it’s such an informal phrase, you’re unlikely to use it in the usted form ever.
Te veo a las X
Just like the other examples, you can personalize it to specify the time you’ll see the person.
- Te veo a las ocho. – I’ll see you at 8.
- Te veo mañana. – I’ll see you tomorrow
Do you start to see a pattern building up here? All of these goodbye phrases are easy to customize based on the situation.
Slightly more formal ways to say goodbye
All of the previous goodbye expressions were more informal phrases, but now we’re going to look at some that are just a tiny bit more formal.
None of these are highly formal, but it’s common to hear them in stores or customer service environments.
Que tenga un buen día
While it is possible that this is an Anglicism, it’s very common in Latin America to hear service workers or store attendants say “que tenga un buen día”: Have a good day!
Notice that here, you may want to use the Usted form to show respect. For example: “que tenga usted un buen día” or “tenga usted un buen día”.
With your friends, you could possibly say “que tengas un buen día”, but it’s not very common to hear that in most countries. However, many native Spanish speakers from the US might use this phrase.
Que pase un buen día
This is used exactly the same way as the previous one. Though this version of the expression is more common in Spain, often using the vosotros form: que paséis buen día.
There are actually many common expressions using something similar. Here are a few alternatives:
- Buen día
- Buenos días
- Buenas noches
- Buenas tardes
In fact, you can use many of these for both saying hello and goodbye, like buen día. Spanish has a lot of flexibility sometimes, like Italian does. Speaking of, that brings us to our next topic:
Other informal ways to say goodbye
Ciao
Thanks to the influence of Italian, many Spanish speakers will say “ciao” or “chau” when saying goodbye. In fact, this happens in many languages. For some reason, the whole world just fell in love with the Italian ciao.
Me voy
This is a very informal phrase for “I’m leaving” or “I’m out”. When you’re with friends and you are finally taking the opportunity to leave, you just say a quick “me voy” and everyone knows you’re heading out.
Bye
In some Latin American countries where there is a heavy influence from the United States, some people will say bye, just like in English. This is really common in the Dominican Republic, for example. You just will need to practice the accent a bit to give it a nice Spanish twist.
Venga
This is a hard word to describe, but it’s kind of like “alright”. It’s just a filler word that you can say when you’re leaving. For example:
| Spanish | English |
| Venga, hasta luego. | Alright, see you later. |
| Venga, ya nos vamos. | Alright, we’re leaving now. |
Friendly goodbyes
Sometimes you’ll want to express a little bit more love and care when you say goodbye to friends and family. So here are some ways you can do that:
Cuídate
This literally translates to “take care of yourself”, so it’s used exactly the same as it is in English. So anytime you want to tell them to take care, you can say this one. It’s short, sweet, and caring!
Pásalo bien
This is good when someone is about to go do something without you and you want to tell them to have a good time. So if your friends are going on a trip or your family is going to go do something, you can say ¡pásalo bien!
For someone you just met
Finally, it’s important to find a few phrases to say to people that you just met. This way, at the end of the conversation, you’re not completely lost for words.
Mucho gusto
A classic, especially in Latin America. “Mucho gusto” means “a lot of pleasure”, as in “a pleasure to meet you”. So you can simply say “Mucho gusto, hasta luego”.
As a side note, you usually would say this during introductions and when you say goodbye, just to reinforce politeness.
Encantado/a de conocerte
This is a synonym for mucho gusto and is used exactly the same way. In Spain, people usually say “encantado” at the beginning of meeting someone, then “encantado de conocerte” at the end. However, in a more formal situation, you would use the longer phrase both times.
Remember to change it with the gender of the speaker, though. So if you identify as female, make sure you say “encantada”.
Igualmente
Finally, what happens if someone says “mucho gusto” to you? Well, instead of repeating the same exact phrase, you can say “igualmente” as a way to say “same” or “same to you”.
Like we said, we don’t want to be so repetitive!
Written goodbyes in Spanish
Finally, we want to be able to write a salutation, as well. So for when you write an email or text someone, here are some options you have to say goodbye in Spanish.
Email correspondence
Of course emails tend to be more formal, but sometimes you want to express more familiarity with the recipient. Here are some possible goodbye phrases going from formal to less formal:
- Atentamente
- Un saludo
- Saludos
- Un saludo cordial
- Cordialmente
- Mejores saludos/deseos
- Un abrazo
- Un beso
Text speech
Same goes with texts. Sometimes in a text message (also known as un guasap), you might also want to end it with a salutation. Here are some options for you to consider, based on how close you are to the person:
- Un abrazo
- Un beso
- Besos
- Luego hablamos
- Buenas noches
¡Hasta la próxima!
Thanks for reading! Hopefully you’re fully prepared now to end any conversation you get yourself into. And if you need to practice what you learned, go ahead and sign up for a free private class or a 7-day free trial of our group classes.
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