When to use "buenos dias versus hola"

Question

My daughter had her first Spanish assignment today and had several situations in which she had to pick either buenos dias or hola as the appropriate response. For instance, there was a drawing of two people shaking hands. There was no indication of time of day. Is it that beunos dias is more formal?

Answer 1

Welcome to the forum

yes, you are right, if the situation is formal, buenos días, if informal, hola

People shaking hands is formal, everybody kisses here

Answer 2

Great question, and welcome to the forum!

I often mix the two and say "¡Hola, buenos días!"

However, Heidi is correct: "Hola" is more informal than "buenos días."

Yes that's the way I often hear it here from the natives "¡Hola, buenos días!" - kenwilliams, Aug 24, 2010

Answer 3

Thanks for the quick responses!