Hola, amic.

A good approximate pronunciation is:

• Hola → OH-la
• amic → uh-MEEK in much of Catalonia, or a-MEEK in some other varieties

A few useful notes:

• The h in Hola is silent
• The stress in Hola is on the first syllable
• The stress in amic is on the second syllable
• The final c in amic is pronounced like k

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like OH-la, uh-MEEK.

The comma shows that amic is being used to address someone directly. This is called the vocative.

So:

• Hola, amic. = Hello, friend.

You are speaking to the friend, not just talking about a friend.

English often does the same thing:

• Hello, John.
• Thanks, everyone.

The comma helps separate the greeting from the person being addressed.

Because here amic is not being used as an ordinary noun phrase like a friend. It is being used as a form of address.

Compare:

• És un amic. = He is a friend.
• Hola, amic. = Hello, friend.

In direct address, Catalan normally does not use the article.

Amic is the masculine singular form, so by default it refers to a male friend or to a man/boy you are addressing.

The feminine form is:

• amiga = female friend

So:

• Hola, amic. = said to a male
• Hola, amiga. = said to a female

You would say:

• Hola, amiga.

That is the feminine version of amic.

Other related forms are:

• amic = male friend
• amiga = female friend
• amics = male or mixed group of friends
• amigues = female group of friends

Yes. Hola is a very common greeting and is generally fine in both informal and many neutral everyday situations.

It is similar to hello in English.

For example, you can use it:

• with friends
• with classmates
• with coworkers
• in many casual everyday interactions

In very formal situations, other greetings may also be used, such as Bon dia (good morning), but Hola itself is perfectly normal and very common.

It is very similar in meaning, but the Catalan word is amic, not amigo.

Compare:

• Catalan: Hola, amic.
• Spanish: Hola, amigo.

A native English speaker learning Catalan should be careful not to mix the two languages. Even when the sentence looks familiar, the Catalan form has its own spelling and pronunciation.

Yes, but with a small caution. Amic really does mean friend, and you can use it to address someone warmly. However, whether it sounds natural depends on the relationship and the tone.

It can sound:

• friendly
• warm
• affectionate
• slightly literary or deliberate in some contexts

In real everyday speech, people may also simply say:

• Hola!
• Ei!
• the person’s name

So Hola, amic is correct, but it is a bit more expressive than just Hola.

You would use the plural:

• Hola, amics. = Hello, friends. (to a group of males or a mixed group)
• Hola, amigues. = Hello, friends. (to a group of females)

So the noun changes to match the number, just as it can change for gender.

No. Both are possible.

• Hola, amic. = neutral punctuation
• Hola, amic! = more lively or expressive

In real writing, greetings often take an exclamation mark, but a period is also possible, especially in simple example sentences.

The basic dictionary form is amic. That is the masculine singular form.

From it, you get:

• amic = masculine singular
• amiga = feminine singular
• amics = masculine or mixed plural
• amigues = feminine plural

So if you look the word up, you would normally look for amic.