Language

How to say goodbye in Spanish in 87+ formal, funny & new ways

31 May 2024

Author

Berlitz

Master how to have a full conversation by learning how to say goodbye in Spanish.

We’ve all been there. We say hello in Spanish, have a really great conversation, and we feel like we’re on top of the world. But then, the conversation comes to an end, and we panic and forget how to say goodbye. Or maybe we do say goodbye, but we can’t help but mumble a simple adiós.

It’s totally normal for Spanish learners to mess up every now and then. But what separates great students from the rest is their ability to learn from – and even embrace – their mistakes with no shame. So, if you’ve been in a situation where you didn’t know how to properly end a conversation, this article is for you!

As you probably know, there are over 20 Spanish-speaking countries around the world. That means there are dozens of different ways to say goodbye. In this article, we’ll cover more than 85 unique and helpful ways to say goodbye in Spanish!

If you’re not sure why you’d need more than one way to say goodbye, consider the following:

There are different intensity levels for saying goodbye. For example, you wouldn’t say goodbye the same way to a friend you’ll see again next week as to a friend you won’t see again for a long time.
Words and phrases are context-specific, so knowing multiple ways to say goodbye will help you sound more laid back when you’re with friends and more professional when in formal settings.
Spanish is so diverse that knowing just one way to say goodbye won’t cut it. Different countries use different words, so you need to know at least a few dozen variations to understand everyone!
Using the right words to say goodbye will help you be more polite in public, whether you’re getting your morning coffee at a café or buying some veggies at the mercado.

Ready to learn many different ways to say bye in Spanish? Let’s go!

How to say goodbye in Spanish

If you’re already taking Spanish classes online or in person, you might have already heard of the quintessential word for goodbye: adiós (ah-dee-ohs). However, just because adiós is the most accurate translation of goodbye, that doesn’t mean it’s the most common way to actually say goodbye!

Although adiós is still very widely used, most people favor alternative ways of saying goodbye. There is nothing wrong with adiós, per se, but it does come off as a bit dry or “textbooky”. And that’s the last thing we want for our students! We want everyone to learn Spanish well enough to sound natural and relaxed.

So, with that in mind, here are a few general ways to say bye in Spanish.

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
Goodbye	Adiós	aˈðjos	ah-dee-ohs
Bye	Bye	ˈbʝe	Same as English
Bye bye	Bye bye	ˈbʝe ˈβʝe	Same as English
Goodbye, until next time	Adiós, hasta la próxima	aˈðjos ˈasta la ˈpɾoksima	ah-dee-ohs, ahs-tah la procs-e-ma
Farewell	Despedida	dɛspeˈðiða	des-pay-dee-da
See you soon	Hasta pronto	ˈasta ˈpɾõnto	ahs-tah prawn-toe
Goodbye, have a nice day	Adiós, que tengas un lindo día	aˈðjos ˈke ˈtɛ̃nɡas ũn ˈlĩndo ˈðia	ah-dee-ohs, kay ten-gass oon lean-doh dee-ah
Have a good night	Que tengas una linda noche	ˈke ˈtɛ̃nɡas ˈuna ˈlĩnda ˈnoʧe	kay ten-gass oo-nah lean-da no-che
Good day	Buen día	ˈbwɛ̃n ˈdia	boo-en dee-ah
Good evening	Buena tarde	ˈbwena ˈtaɾðe	boo-en-ah tar-day
Good evening	Buenas noches	ˈbwenas̬ ˈnoʧes	boo-en-ahs no-chess
See you later	Nos vemos luego	nos̬ ˈβemos̬ ˈlweɣo	nos veh-mos loo-ay-go
Luck	Suerte	ˈswɛɾte	sue-air-tay
See you	Nos vemos	nos̬ ˈβemos	nos veh-mos
See you around	Nos estamos viendo	nos ɛsˈtamos̬ ˈβjɛ̃ndo	nos es-tah-mos vee-en-doh
Bye	Chao	ˈʧao	chao

How to say goodbye in Spanish formally

If you’re learning Spanish to do business or pursue academic endeavors, you’ll likely need to know a few ways to say goodbye formally. Even if you don’t anticipate speaking with businesspeople or university professors, some cultures in Latin America require everyone to use formal speech when addressing elders.

So, you never know when you’ll have to say goodbye in a formal way! Here are some more formal or polite ways to bid your friends and colleagues ~~adieu~~ adiós (adieu is French, though!).

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
Until later	Hasta luego	ˈasta ˈlweɣo	ahs-tah loo-ay-go
I bid you farewell	Me despido	me ðɛsˈpiðo	may des-pee-doh
Excuse me	Con permiso	kõm pɛɾˈmiso	con pear-miso
Have a nice day	Que tenga un buen día	ˈke ˈtɛ̃nɡa ũ̯m ˈbwɛ̃n ˈdia	kay ten-gah oon boo-en dee-ah
Have an excellent day	Excelente día	ɛkseˈlɛ̃nte ˈðia	ex-ceh-len-tay dee-ah

How to say goodbye in Spanish slang

Without a doubt, Spanish slang is one of the best parts about learning Spanish. With slang words and phrases from Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and beyond, there are hundreds of fun and creative slang phrases that you can’t miss. Naturally, many of them involve saying goodbye.

We’ve included a context column in the table below to give you more background info on some of these. However, keep in mind that most of them are just wordplay and don’t actually make any sense. Kind of like “see you later, alligator!”.

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation	Context
A mug broke and now everyone’s going home.	Aquí se rompió una taza y todos para su casa	aˈki se rõmˈpjo ˈuna ˈtasa i̯ ˈtoðos ˈpaɾa su ˈkasa	ah-key say rom-pee-oh oo-nah tah-sa e toe-dos pah-rah sue cah-sah	Random wordplay
If you have a TV, watch yourself.	Si tienes tele, ahí te ves.	si ˈtjenes ˈtele aˈi te ˈβes	see tee-eh-nes teh-leh ah-e tay ves	Random wordplay
See you later, egg head.	Hasta luego, cara de huevo	ˈasta ˈlweɣo ˈkaɾa ðe ˈweβo	ahs-tah loo-ay-go, cah-rah day woo-ay-voh	Random wordplay, most apt for children
I’m out, vampire	Me las piro, vampiro	me las ˈpiɾo bãmˈpiɾo	may las pee-roh, vam-pee-roh	Random wordplay
Bye fish	Chao pescao	ˈʧao pɛsˈkao	chao pes-cao	More common in Caribbean and Central American countries
Goodbye	Sayonara	saʝoˈnaɾa	sah-yo-nah-rah	Loan word from Japanese
Until later, baby	Hasta la vista, baby	ˈasta la ˈβista ˈbaβi	ahs-tah la vees-tah, baby	Used in a sassy or cheeky way, as a reference of the movie The Terminator
Bye	Baygón	bai̯ˈɣõn	bah-e-gon	Mosquito repellent brand
Make sure to wash it	Te la lavas	te la ˈlaβas	tay la lah-vas	Random wordplay
See you around	Ahí te ves	aˈi te ˈβes	ah-e tay ves	Translates directly into “you’ll see yourself”
Later	Al rato	al ˈrato	al rah-toe	Literal translation of “in a while”
See you around	Ahí nos vidrios	aˈi nos̬ ˈβiðɾjos	ah-e nos vee-dree-os	Random wordplay
Bye	Salú	saˈlu	sah-loo	Comes from word “salud”, which means health
Alright, then	Órale, pues	ˈoɾale ˈpwes	oh-rah-leh poo-es	Very casual goodbye
We’re set	Así quedamos	aˈsi keˈðamos	ah-see kay-dah-mos	Commonly used after discussing important stuff
I’m leaving!	¡Me largo!	me ˈlaɾɣo	may lar-go	Snarky way to say you’re leaving immediately
Bye	Abur	aˈβuɾ	ah-boor	Random slang
I’ll see you later	Nos pillamos después	nos piˈʝamos̬ ðɛsˈpwes	nos pee-ya-mos des-poo-es	Most common in Spain

How to say goodbye before bed in Spanish

One of the most common times of day to say goodbye to people is right before bedtime. Whether you’re saying goodbye to your roommate, your host family, or your significant other, these words and phrases will help you wish someone a good night like a pro.

In fact, you don’t even have to be physically near someone to use any of these phrases. If you’re texting or talking on the phone with a friend around nighttime, you can definitely seal your conversation with wishes of restful sleep.

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
Good night	Buenas noches	ˈbwenas̬ ˈnoʧes	boo-eh-nas no-chess
See you tomorrow	Hasta mañana	ˈasta maˈɲana	ahs-ta ma-nya-nah
See you tomorrow	Nos vemos mañana	nos̬ ˈβemos̬ maˈɲana	nos vay-moss ma-nya-nah
Rest well	Que descanses	ˈke ðɛsˈkãnses	kay des-kahn-sess
Sleep well	Que duermas bien	ˈke ˈðwɛɾmas̬ ˈβjɛ̃n	kay doo-air-mas bee-en
Have a lovely evening	Bonita noche	boˈnita ˈnoʧe	bow-knee-tah no-che
Rest easy	Duerme tranquilo	ˈdwɛɾme tɾãnˈkilo	doo-air-meh tran-key-low
Sleep well	Que duermas bien	ˈke ˈðwɛɾmas̬ ˈβjɛ̃n	kay doo-air-mas bee-en

How to sign off in an email in Spanish

Email etiquette tends to vary between languages, and Spanish is no exception. Next time you need to write an email, resist the urge to simply translate your go-to sign off phrase and use one of the following options instead!

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
Sincerely	Atentamente	atɛ̃ntaˈmɛ̃nte	ah-ten-tah-men-teh
Yours truly	Muy atentamente	mwj atɛ̃ntaˈmɛ̃nte	moo-e ah-ten-tah-men-teh
Cordially	Cordialmente	koɾðjalˈmɛ̃nte	core-dee-all-men-teh
Greetings	Saludos	saˈluðos	sah-loo-dos
A greeting	Un saludo	ũn saˈluðo	oon sah-loo-do
Cordial greetings	Saludos cordiales	saˈluðos koɾˈðjales	sah-loo-dos core-dee-all-es
Thanks	Gracias	ˈɡɾasjas	gra-see-as
Thanks a lot	Muchas gracias	ˈmuʧas̬ ˈɣɾasjas	moo-chas gra-see-as
Affectionately	Con cariño	kõn kaˈɾiɲo	kon kah-ree-nyo
Hug	Un abrazo	un aˈβɾaso	oon ah-brah-so
Big hug	Un fuerte abrazo	ũm ˈfwɛɾte aˈβɾaso	oon foo-air-tay ah-brah-so
Kisses	Besos	ˈbesos	bay-sos
I’m at your disposal for anything you may need	Para cualquier cosa, quedo a su disposición	ˈpaɾa kwalˈkjɛɾ ˈkosa ˈkeðo a su ðisposiˈsjõn	pah-rah coo-all-key-heir ko-sah, kay-doh ah sue dis-poh-see-see-on
I appreciate your cooperation in advance	Le agradezco de antemano su cooperación	le aɣɾaˈðɛsko ðe ãnteˈmano su koopɛɾaˈsjõn	lay ah-gra-des-co day ahn-tay-mah-no sue coh-oh-pay-rah-see-on
Thanks in advance	Gracias de antemano	ˈɡɾasjas̬ ðe ãnteˈmano	gra-see-as day ahn-tay-mah-no
I look forward to hearing from you	Quedo a la espera de su respuesta	ˈkeðo a la ɛsˈpɛɾa ðe su rɛsˈpwɛsta	kay-doh ah la es-pay-rah day sue res-poo-es-tah
We’ll be in touch	Estamos en contacto	ɛsˈtamos ɛ̃n kõnˈtak̚to	es-tah-mos en kon-tac-toe
With all my appreciation	Todo mi agradecimiento	ˈtoðo mj aɣɾaðesiˈmjɛ̃nto	toe-doh me ah-gra-day-see-me-en-toh
Best wishes	Mis mejores deseos	mis̬ meˈxoɾes̬ ðeˈseos	mees may-hore-es day-say-os

Eine Frau mit ihrem Laptop in einem Café winkt den anderen Teilnehmern ihres Online-Sprachkurses zu.

How to say goodbye after meeting someone in Spanish

Meeting new people is one of the best parts about traveling to a different country. And when you’ve just met someone, you want to acknowledge that fact when you say goodbye to that person.

Note that these are only suitable when you’ve had a personal conversation with someone. In other words, don’t go around saying these phrases to just about anyone you exchange words with!

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
It was a pleasure	Fue un placer	ˈfwe ũ̯m plaˈsɛɾ	foo-ay oon play-ser
It was a pleasure meeting you	Fue un placer conocerte	ˈfwe ũ̯m plaˈsɛɾ konoˈsɛɾte	foo-ay oon plah-ser kon-oh-ser-tay
Much pleasure	Mucho gusto	ˈmuʧo ˈɣusto	moo-cho goose-toe
Much pleasure meeting you	Mucho gusto en conocerte	ˈmuʧo ˈɣusto ɛ̃n konoˈsɛɾte	moo-cho goose-toe en kon-oh-ser-tay
It was a pleasure	Fue un gusto	ˈfwe ũ̯n ˈɡusto	foo-ay oon goose-toe
We’ll stay in touch	Seguimos en contacto	seˈɣimos ɛ̃n kõnˈtak̚to	say-gee-mos en kon-tac-toe

Religious ways to say goodbye in Spanish

Wait… what does religion have to do with goodbye? Well, in Latin America, most things have something to do with religion. With almost 60% of the region identifying as Catholic and another 20% as Evangelist, we’re talking about more than three out of four people in Latin America practicing Christianity.

That means religion (more specifically, Christianity) has either a direct or indirect influence on many cultural aspects of Latin America. In fact, the word adiós has religious origins, as it comes from the phrase “Te encomiendo a Dios”, which means “I commend you to God”.

However, if you’re not Christian or religious, don’t worry! Latin America is slowly becoming more and more secular, in part thanks to a growing share of younger people who consider themselves non-religious. You’ll still likely hear many of the phrases below if you interact with Latin Americans, but it’ll mostly come from the elderly.

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
Go with God	Vaya con Dios	ˈbaʝa kõn ˈdjos	vah-ya con dee-os
God bless you	Dios lo bendiga	ˈdjos̬ lo βɛ̃nˈdiɣa	dee-os low ben-dee-gah
God help you	Dios le ayude	ˈdjos̬ le aˈʝuðe	dee-os lay ah-you-day
God be with you	Que Dios lo acompañe	ˈke ˈðjos̬ lo akõmˈpaɲe	kay dee-os low ah-com-pah-nye
Take the good path	Vaya por el buen camino	ˈbaʝa poɾ ɛl ˈβwɛ̃n kaˈmino	vah-ya pore elle boo-en kah-me-no
Sweet dreams	Que sueñes con los angelitos	ˈke ˈsweɲes kõn los ãnxeˈlitos	kay soo-ay-nyes con los an-hay-lee-tos

Using “Hasta” to say goodbye in Spanish

One of the most useful Spanish words for saying goodbye is hasta. This word means “until”, and you can use it similarly to the English “until next time”. However, hasta is so much more versatile. You can plug in any date, time, or event after hasta and use it as a way to say goodbye and reference the next time you’ll be seeing the other person.

Careful not to use a specific date if you don’t know when you’ll be seeing the other person next, though! If you’re not sure when you’ll see them again, you can use one of the generic phrases like hasta luego or hasta la próxima.

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
Until later	Hasta luego	ˈasta ˈlweɣo	as-tah loo-ay-go
Until next time	Hasta la próxima	ˈasta la ˈpɾoksima	as-tah la prox-e-ma
Until next time	Hasta la vista	ˈasta la ˈβista	as-tah la vees-tah
See you never	Hasta nunca	ˈasta ˈnũnka	as-tah noon-cah
Until next week	Hasta la próxima semana	ˈasta la ˈpɾoksima seˈmana	as-tah la prox-e-ma say-ma-nah
See you soon	Hasta pronto	ˈasta ˈpɾõnto	as-tah pron-toh
See you Friday	Hasta el viernes	ˈasta ɛl ˈβjɛɾnes	as-tah elle vee-air-nes
Until forever	Hasta siempre	ˈasta ˈsjɛ̃mpɾe	as-tah see-em-pray

Helpful verbs for saying goodbye in Spanish

As you may have noticed, Spanish has a unique verb for saying goodbye: despedir. This verb literally means to say goodbye, and is conjugated like a regular -ir verb:

Person	Conjugation
Yo	Despido
Tú	Despides
Él/ella	Despide
Nosotros	Despedimos
Ustedes	Despiden
Ellos/Ellas	Despiden

While it’s not very common for people to use this verb when they’re saying goodbye, it can be very helpful when speaking. For example:

English	Spanish	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
I came to say goodbye	Vine a despedirme	ˈbine a ðɛspeˈðiɾme	vee-nay ah des-pay-deer-may
You’re not gonna say goodbye?	¿No se van a despedir?	ˈno se ˈβan a ðɛspeˈðiɾ	no say vahn ah des-pay-deer
They already said goodbye	Ya se despidieron	ɟʝa se ðɛspiˈðjɛɾõn	ya say des-pee-dee-air-on

Besides despedir, there are a few other verbs that you should be familiar with as they are very common in many different farewell phrases.

English verb	Spanish verb	IPA spelling	Spanish pronunciation
To take care	Cuidar	kwiˈðaɾ	koo-e-dar
To see	Ver	ˈbɛɾ	ver
To rest	Descansar	dɛskãnˈsaɾ	des-kahn-sar

Best songs for saying goodbye in Spanish

Julieta Venegas – Me Voy

This smooth ballad from Mexican singer Julieta Venegas will have you singing along in no time. The song’s contrast of sadness and nonchalance will give you a serene and hopeful outlook on goodbyes.

Shakira – Te Dejo Madrid

Shakira is undoubtedly one of the most famous artists to come from Colombia, and one of the most successful recording artists worldwide. This song may seem like it’s Shakira’s farewell to Madrid, Spain’s capital. But on a deeper level, Madrid is a metaphor for one of her ex-lovers!

So, sing along to Shakira and see if you can spot any of the goodbye phrases covered in this blog!

Christian Nodal – Adiós Amor

If you’re a sucker for romantic songs and are looking for something more authentic, then Christian Nodal’s discography is for you. Specifically, his song Adiós Amor can be a great way to practice different ways of saying goodbye, albeit the more dramatic ones.

Plus, you’re almost certain to run into this song at some point during your travels through Latin America. With over 1.2 billion views on YouTube, this 2017 song remains one of the biggest hits in Mexico and most of Latin America.

¡Nos vemos pronto!

Well, that’s the end of this lesson! Make sure to try out new ways to say goodbye each day so you can slowly grow your Spanish vocabulary. Remember that the more conversations in Spanish you have, the more chances you’ll have to practice different ways to say goodbye in Spanish!

If you enjoyed this lesson, there’s no reason to say goodbye to us. Why not check out our blog and look through our library of (free!) resources to help you improve your Spanish?

¡Hasta siempre!