Hola, ¿cómo estás?

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

OH-la, KOH-moh es-TAHS?

A few notes:

• Hola → stress on HO
• cómo → stress on CO
• estás → stress on the last syllable, TÁS

More naturally in Latin American Spanish:

• h in hola is silent
• the vowels are short and clear: o and a do not change much
• s is pronounced clearly in most of Latin America

So try something like: OH-la, KOH-moh es-TAHS?

Spanish uses two question marks:

• ¿ at the beginning
• ? at the end

So ¿cómo estás? is written with both marks because the whole phrase is a question.

This helps the reader know immediately that a question is coming. English only marks the end, but Spanish marks both beginning and end.

The accent mark in cómo shows that it is a question word here.

Compare:

• cómo = how in a question or exclamation
• como = can mean like or I eat, depending on context

So in ¿cómo estás?, the accent is required because cómo is being used in a question.

Spanish has two common verbs for to be:

• ser
• estar

In greetings like ¿Cómo estás?, Spanish uses estar, not ser, because you are asking about someone’s current state or condition, not permanent identity.

So:

• ¿Cómo estás? = asking how someone is doing right now
• eres would sound wrong in this greeting

It is understood from the verb.

estás already tells you the subject is tú (you, informal singular).

So Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are clear from the verb form:

• ¿Cómo estás? = How are you?
• ¿Cómo estás tú? is possible, but adding tú is usually only for emphasis or contrast

¿Cómo estás? is informal. It is used with:

• friends
• family
• children
• classmates
• people your age in many situations

If you want to be more formal, especially with strangers, older people, or in polite situations, you would usually say:

• Hola, ¿cómo está?

That uses usted style, even though usted itself is usually omitted.

Yes. It is very common and widely understood throughout Latin America.

It is one of the most basic and natural greetings. Depending on the country, people may also use other greetings often, such as:

• ¿Qué tal?
• ¿Cómo te va?
• ¿Cómo andas?
• ¿Qué onda? in some regions
• ¿Todo bien? in some regions

But Hola, ¿cómo estás? is standard, neutral, and safe almost everywhere.

No. You can say:

• Hola.
• ¿Cómo estás?
• Hola, ¿cómo estás?

All are fine.

Adding Hola just makes it sound like a fuller greeting. In real conversation, people often combine them naturally:

• Hola, ¿cómo estás?
• Hola, ¿qué tal?

No. In standard Spanish, h is silent.

So:

• hola sounds like ola

That means hola does not start with an English h sound.

The comma separates the greeting from the question.

So:

• Hola, ¿cómo estás?

This is similar to English writing:

• Hi, how are you?

The comma is standard and natural here.

Yes. That is very common.

Some simple responses are:

• Bien. = good / fine
• Muy bien. = very good
• Más o menos. = so-so
• Mal. = bad
• Todo bien. = everything’s good

A very common full reply is:

• Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?

The stressed syllables are:

• HO-la
• CÓ-mo
• es-TÁS

That last stress in estás is especially important. The written accent on estás helps show that the stress goes on the final syllable.

Yes, definitely.

If you are already approaching someone or starting a conversation, ¿Cómo estás? by itself sounds perfectly natural.

For example:

• ¿Cómo estás?
• Bien, ¿y tú?

Adding Hola just makes it slightly warmer or more complete at the start.

The accent mark shows the correct stress: es-TÁS.

Without the accent, Spanish spelling rules would suggest a different stress pattern. The written accent tells you that the final syllable is stressed.

So the accent in estás is about pronunciation and standard spelling.

Not if you are speaking to a group.

¿Cómo estás? is for one person informally.

For more than one person, Latin America usually uses:

• ¿Cómo están? = How are you all?

In countries that use vosotros for informal plural, you may hear ¿Cómo estáis?, but that is mainly associated with Spain, not Latin America.

In correct Spanish writing, yes, the question marks should be included:

• Hola, ¿cómo estás?

In informal texting, some people may leave them out, but in standard writing you should use both ¿ and ? whenever it is a question.