Quick answer
Hola works any time in Argentina, and Argentines say buen dia in the morning rather than buenos dias. Greetings come with a single kiss on the right cheek, between men as well, on arrival and again on leaving. Use vos rather than tu: how are you is como andas, and where are you from is de donde sos.
Argentines greet with a kiss, including men greeting men, and this catches almost every visitor off guard at least once. This guide covers who kisses whom, which cheek, what to say at each time of day, and the formal register you will need at a bank but never at an asado.
In this article
How do you say hello in Argentina?
Hola works everywhere and always. Beyond that, the greeting depends on the hour:
| Spanish | English | When |
|---|---|---|
| Hola | Hi | Any time, any register |
| Buen día | Good morning | Until midday. Argentines say this, not buenos días. |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon | Midday until dark |
| Buenas noches | Good evening | After dark, arriving and leaving |
| Buenas | Hi there | Shortened, informal, extremely common |
| ¿Qué tal? | How’s it going? | Casual |
| ¿Cómo andás? | How are you doing? | Note the vos form. Very Argentine. |
| ¿Todo bien? | All good? | The most common casual greeting of all |
The detail that marks you out: Argentines say buen día, singular, where Spain says buenos días. Small, and immediately noticeable.
Do Argentines kiss on the cheek when they say hello?
Yes, and it is a single kiss on the right cheek, not two. It is closer to touching cheeks with a kissing sound than an actual kiss on skin.
What surprises visitors most: it applies between men as well. Two Argentine men meeting socially kiss on the cheek, and declining looks cold. It happens on arrival and again on departure, which means leaving a dinner party of twelve is a lap of the room.
Reading about Buenos Aires from far away?
Our school is in the middle of it — small-group Spanish classes with local teachers who send you to the places tourists never find.
See our Buenos Aires schoolWho do you kiss, and who gets a handshake?
- Kiss: friends, family, friends of friends, anyone introduced socially, colleagues you know, and often anyone joining a group you are part of.
- Handshake: first meetings in formal business, professionals such as a doctor or lawyer, and anyone noticeably older whom you are meeting for the first time in a formal setting.
- When in doubt: follow their lead and lean slightly right. Argentines are entirely used to foreigners getting this wrong.
What is the difference between tú and vos in greetings?
Argentines use vos, not tú, and it changes the verb. This is standard Argentine Spanish rather than slang.
| Textbook | Argentina |
|---|---|
| ¿Cómo estás tú? | ¿Cómo estás vos? |
| ¿Cómo andas? | ¿Cómo andás? |
| ¿De dónde eres? | ¿De dónde sos? |
| ¿Tienes tiempo? | ¿Tenés tiempo? |
How do you greet someone formally in Argentina?
Use usted with anyone in an official role, anyone significantly older you have just met, and in professional first meetings. ¿Cómo está usted?, a handshake, and no kiss.
Argentina is less formal than much of Latin America and the switch to informality usually happens fast, often within one conversation. Follow their lead: if they start using vos with you, use it back.
What do you say when you leave?
- Chau, from the Italian ciao, and by far the most common goodbye.
- Nos vemos, see you.
- Hasta luego, more formal, less common in speech than textbooks suggest.
- Que estés bien, take care, warm and very Argentine.
- Un beso or un abrazo, used to close phone calls and messages between friends.
And the kiss again on the way out. Always.
What else should you know about Argentine manners?
- Arriving on time to a social invitation is unusual. Twenty to thirty minutes late is normal and expected.
- Accept mate when it is offered, and do not say gracias until you want no more, because that is what it signals.
- Physical proximity is closer than northern Europeans or North Americans expect. Backing away reads as coldness.
- Interruption is participation. A lively overlapping conversation is friendliness, not rudeness.
If you want to practise this where it happens, our Buenos Aires school teaches in small groups with local teachers, and the free level test will place you first.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say hello in Argentinian Spanish?
Hola always works. Argentines also use buen día in the morning, singular rather than the buenos días taught in most textbooks, and ¿todo bien? as an everyday casual greeting.
Do Argentine men kiss each other on the cheek?
Yes. A single kiss on the right cheek between men is completely normal in social settings, and declining it reads as unfriendly. It is one of the details that most surprises visitors from northern Europe and North America.
One kiss or two in Argentina?
One, on the right cheek. Spain uses two, which is the most common source of an awkward collision when someone has learned their greetings in Madrid and arrives in Buenos Aires.
Is Argentina formal or informal?
Informal by Latin American standards. Usted exists and is used with officials, professionals and older strangers, but the shift to vos usually happens quickly, often inside a single conversation.
Related guides: Argentines also talk with their hands, and we cover that separately in Argentine hand gestures and what they mean. For the cheek kiss in detail, including who gets one and who does not, see when and how to kiss people in Buenos Aires. For the wider social rules, read what not to do in Argentina.
