Hola.

The h is silent, so you do not pronounce it.

A good basic pronunciation is:

• OH-la

More precisely, it can sound slightly different depending on the dialect:

• Central/Eastern Catalan: roughly OH-luh
• Western/Valencian Catalan: roughly OH-la

So if you say OH-la with a silent h, you will be understood.

It is the same spelling and has the same basic meaning and use as in Spanish, but the pronunciation may be a little different.

For example:

• In Spanish, the final a is clearly -a
• In some Catalan accents, especially Central Catalan, that final a is reduced and sounds more like -uh

So the word looks identical, but it may not sound exactly the same.

No. The h is silent in Catalan here.

So:

• Hola = pronounced as if it began with o
• not ho-la

This is very similar to Spanish.

Hola is generally neutral and very common. It works well in many everyday situations.

You can use it:

• with friends
• with coworkers
• with people you do not know

If you want to sound a bit more specifically polite or time-based, Catalan also often uses greetings like:

• Bon dia — good morning
• Bona tarda — good afternoon
• Bona nit — good evening / good night

But Hola is perfectly normal and widely used.

Yes. Hola is a general greeting and can be used:

• in the morning
• in the afternoon
• in the evening

If you want to be more specific, you can choose a time-of-day greeting such as Bon dia or Bona tarda, but Hola works at any time.

Because greetings can stand alone as full utterances.

So Hola. is a complete and natural sentence on its own, just like Hi. or Hello. in English.

You do not need to add anything after it for it to sound correct.

Both are correct, but they give slightly different tones:

• Hola. — neutral, plain
• Hola! — warmer, more lively, more enthusiastic

In speech, the difference is mainly in intonation. In writing, Hola! often feels friendlier or more energetic.

No. Standard Catalan does not use the Spanish-style inverted exclamation or question marks.

So in Catalan, you write:

• Hola!
• Hola?

not:

• ¡Hola!
• ¿Hola?

Yes, Hola is very common in real Catalan.

That said, depending on the region and situation, people may also often say:

• Bon dia
• Bona tarda
• Ei
• Bones

So Hola is absolutely normal, but it is not the only everyday greeting you will hear.

No. Hola itself does not change for:

• singular or plural
• formal or informal
• masculine or feminine

It stays Hola in all cases.

That makes it a very easy greeting to use.