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Being able to greet people, introduce yourself and share basic personal information is the absolute foundation of GCSE Spanish. These topics appear across every exam board — AQA, Edexcel and OCR — and are essential for the speaking, writing, reading and listening papers. This lesson covers formal and informal greetings, self-introductions, numbers, dates, nationalities and key cultural notes about Spanish-speaking customs.
Spanish greetings change depending on the time of day, the relationship between speakers, and the level of formality required. Understanding the difference between formal and informal register is critical for the speaking exam.
| Spanish | English | Register | When to use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hola | Hello / Hi | Informal & neutral | The universal greeting in almost any situation |
| Buenos días | Good morning | Formal & informal | From dawn until around midday |
| Buenas tardes | Good afternoon / Good evening | Formal & informal | From midday until around 8–9pm |
| Buenas noches | Good night / Good evening | Formal & informal | Late evening or when saying goodbye at night |
| ¿Qué tal? | How are you? / How's it going? | Informal | With friends, classmates, family |
| ¿Cómo estás? | How are you? | Informal | With people you know well |
| ¿Cómo está usted? | How are you? | Formal | With adults, strangers, teachers |
| Muy bien, gracias | Very well, thank you | Both | Standard polite response |
| Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú? | Fine, thanks. And you? | Informal | Returning the question to a friend |
| Regular / Así así | OK / So-so | Informal | When things are just average |
| Mal | Bad | Informal | When things are not going well |
| Adiós | Goodbye | Both | Standard farewell |
| Hasta luego | See you later | Informal | Very common casual farewell |
| Hasta mañana | See you tomorrow | Informal | At the end of a school day |
| Hasta pronto | See you soon | Informal | When you expect to meet again soon |
| Nos vemos | See you | Very informal | Among young people |
| Encantado/a | Pleased to meet you | Formal | When meeting someone for the first time (masculine/feminine) |
| Mucho gusto | Nice to meet you | Formal | Slightly more formal first-meeting greeting |
One of the most important things in Spanish is knowing when to use tú (informal "you", singular) and usted (formal "you", singular). In Latin America, vos is also used in some countries, but for GCSE you need tú and usted.
| Use tú when speaking to… | Use usted when speaking to… |
|---|---|
| A friend | An adult you do not know |
| A family member | A teacher or employer |
| A classmate | A shopkeeper or waiter (in Spain) |
| A child | Any stranger in a formal context |
| A pet | An elderly person |
Exam tip: In the speaking exam, the examiner plays a role (e.g. a Spanish adult). Always use usted with them unless the task card explicitly tells you to speak to a friend. Using the wrong register can cost you marks on communication and range of language.
Exam tip: Remember that usted uses third-person verb forms (like él/ella), and ustedes uses third-person plural forms (like ellos/ellas). This catches many students out.
Being able to introduce yourself fluently is essential for the speaking exam role-play and conversation sections.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Me llamo Ana. | My name is Ana. |
| Mi nombre es Carlos. | My name is Carlos. |
| Mi apellido es García. | My surname is García. |
| Tengo quince años. | I am fifteen years old. |
| Mi cumpleaños es el diez de marzo. | My birthday is on the 10th of March. |
| Nací el veinticinco de diciembre. | I was born on the 25th of December. |
| Vivo en Londres, en el sureste de Inglaterra. | I live in London, in the south-east of England. |
| Vivo en una ciudad grande. | I live in a big city. |
| Vivo en un pueblo pequeño en el campo. | I live in a small village in the countryside. |
| Soy inglés / inglesa. | I am English. (male / female) |
| Soy británico/a. | I am British. |
| Soy galés / galesa. | I am Welsh. |
| Soy escocés / escocesa. | I am Scottish. |
| Soy irlandés / irlandesa. | I am Irish. |
Exam tip: In Spanish you say "Tengo quince años" (I have fifteen years), NOT "Soy quince años." Using
tenerfor age is one of the most commonly tested points.
Nationalities are adjectives in Spanish and must agree with the gender of the speaker:
| Masculine | Feminine | English |
|---|---|---|
| español | española | Spanish |
| inglés | inglesa | English |
| francés | francesa | French |
| galés | galesa | Welsh |
| escocés | escocesa | Scottish |
| irlandés | irlandesa | Irish |
| alemán | alemana | German |
| americano | americana | American |
| italiano | italiana | Italian |
| polaco | polaca | Polish |
| chino | china | Chinese |
| marroquí | marroquí | Moroccan |
Note that nationalities ending in a consonant add -a for the feminine and often lose their accent (inglés → inglesa). Those ending in -o change to -a. Those ending in -í or -e stay the same for both genders.
| Number | Spanish | Number | Spanish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | cero | 16 | dieciséis |
| 1 | uno | 17 | diecisiete |
| 2 | dos | 18 | dieciocho |
| 3 | tres | 19 | diecinueve |
| 4 | cuatro | 20 | veinte |
| 5 | cinco | 21 | veintiuno |
| 6 | seis | 22 | veintidós |
| 7 | siete | 23 | veintitrés |
| 8 | ocho | 24 | veinticuatro |
| 9 | nueve | 25 | veinticinco |
| 10 | diez | 26 | veintiséis |
| 11 | once | 27 | veintisiete |
| 12 | doce | 28 | veintiocho |
| 13 | trece | 29 | veintinueve |
| 14 | catorce | 30 | treinta |
| 15 | quince | 31 | treinta y uno |
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| enero | January |
| febrero | February |
| marzo | March |
| abril | April |
| mayo | May |
| junio | June |
| julio | July |
| agosto | August |
| septiembre | September |
| octubre | October |
| noviembre | November |
| diciembre | December |
Exam tip: In Spanish, months are written in lowercase (unlike English). Dates use cardinal numbers except for the first of the month: el primero de enero (the 1st of January), then el dos de febrero, el tres de marzo, etc.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Cómo? | How? |
| ¿Qué? | What? |
| ¿Cuándo? | When? |
| ¿Dónde? | Where? |
| ¿Por qué? | Why? |
| ¿Cuántos/as? | How many? |
| ¿Cuál / Cuáles? | Which? |
| ¿Quién / Quiénes? | Who? |
| ¿Adónde? | Where to? |
Exam tip: All question words in Spanish carry an accent mark. This is essential in writing — missing the accent is a spelling error. Also remember that Spanish uses an inverted question mark ¿ at the start of the question.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| ¿Cómo te llamas? | Me llamo Sarah. |
| ¿Cuántos años tienes? | Tengo dieciséis años. |
| ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? | Mi cumpleaños es el tres de abril. |
| ¿Dónde vives? | Vivo en Manchester. |
| ¿De dónde eres? | Soy de Gales. |
| ¿Tienes hermanos? | Sí, tengo un hermano y una hermana. |
In Spain and Latin America, greetings are more physical than in the UK. When meeting someone for the first time in a social context, it is customary to give dos besos (two kisses on the cheek) — one on each cheek, starting with the right. In business settings, a handshake is used.
In Latin America, customs vary by country. In Argentina, even men may greet each other with a kiss on the cheek. In Mexico, one kiss is more common between women or between a man and a woman. Understanding these cultural differences can earn marks in the cultural awareness sections of exams.
The traditional siesta (afternoon rest) means that in Spain many shops and businesses close between roughly 2pm and 5pm. This affects daily schedules: lunch (la comida) is typically eaten between 2pm and 3pm, and dinner (la cena) between 9pm and 10:30pm — much later than in the UK.