Free Spanish Lesson #4 – How to Greet People

If you aren’t prepared, greetings can be some of the most awkward situations in a different culture.

Some cultures wave, some shake hands, others kiss once, some cultures kiss multiple times, and others even give “high fives”. With Spanish speakers, the way people greet each other can vary region to region. Understanding and being prepared for a few general situations will help make you more comfortable.

1. Friends and Relatives – Generally, when you greet friends and relatives in the Latin culture, here’s what you do. When a male greets a female or when a female greets a female, they will gently touch both arms while moving their bodies to about 6 inches apart, then they cock their heads, put their cheeks together, and make a light kissing sound. Their lips don’t actually make contact with anything.

All this will take about one or maybe two seconds. For men greeting men in Costa Rica, it is more often than not a simple hand shake although in some areas, it is completely customary to give each other a hug. This may seem unnatural for many people outside of the Latin culture, so you may have to practice hugging a few times before you gain any close friends or relatives that live in Latin areas.

2. Casual Parties – For small groups at someone’s home, you will generally follow the guideline for “Friends and Relatives”. Basically, in this situation, let the host take the lead. You can follow their body language and be prepared for a light hug and kiss on the cheek as explained above.

In some countries and regions people may kiss twice – once on one cheek and once on the other cheek. If you are prepared to follow the lead of the Latin person, you’ll do just fine! By way of information, before some of you get too excited about all the kissing, these are the kind of hugs and kisses that are so commonplace in the Latin culture that they have absolutely no romantic meaning.

3. Business – When you are in a business situation, you generally shake hands when greeting someone unless they are a long-time acquaintance. In this case, follow the “Friends and Relatives” guideline, but again, be sure to follow their lead.

As I was living in Latin America, I became friends with a local man and we would have conversations about the difference between greetings in the Latin culture and greetings in the English speaking culture. He thought it was so funny and so unnatural to see two Americans that were close friends greet each other.

He described it in this way, “It’s funny to see two American friends approach each other and then just sort of stop a few feet away and say ‘Hi’, or maybe even wave their hands and say ‘hi’, or even give each other a ‘high five.'” He said that for him, “It seems much more natural to have contact with each other either through a hug or a kiss on the cheek.”

After hearing his point of view, the whole idea made more sense to me and I completely understood how he felt. Knowing what to expect and how to react will help you be more comfortable making new friends in a different culture.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.