The first time I walked into a room full of Argentines and someone leaned in to kiss me on the cheek, I panicked slightly and went for a handshake at the same time. The result was an awkward collision of intentions that made everyone laugh — including me, eventually.
That was sometime in the early 2000s, not long after I’d arrived in Venezuela and was still finding my feet socially. By the time I’d spent twenty years living across South America and Spain, los besos (the kisses) had become so second nature that moving back to the UK was the culture shock. Nobody kissed me hello. Nobody kissed me goodbye. Just a polite nod — and if things were really going well, a handshake.
I still find it slightly cold, if I’m honest.
If you’re learning Spanish, planning a trip to a Spanish-speaking country, or just trying to understand why someone leaned in when you expected a wave, this is the guide I wish someone had handed me in 2002.
The Basic Rule: It’s One Kiss or Two, Depending on Where You Are
The good news is there’s a pattern — even if it takes a while to feel natural.
Spain: dos besos (two kisses), one on each cheek, right cheek first. This applies to women greeting women and women greeting men. Men greeting men tend to shake hands unless they’re close friends or family, though this varies by region — in some areas, close male friends do kiss too.
Argentina: un beso (one kiss), right cheek, and this is where Argentina gets interesting — it’s genuinely egalitarian. Men kiss men hello in Argentina in a way that surprises most visitors. One kiss on the right cheek, everyone, every time. Even between men who’ve just met.
Venezuela: one kiss on the right cheek, warm and unhurried. Venezuelans are affectionate greeters — don’t be surprised if the kiss comes with a hand on your arm or a genuine pause to ask how you are.
Colombia: one kiss, often followed by a warm hug, particularly between friends. Colombian greetings have a particular warmth to them — crossing from Venezuela into Colombia for the first time, I noticed the difference immediately.
Mexico and much of Latin America: in formal settings, a handshake is standard. Between friends and family, you’ll get a kiss or a hug — sometimes both. Read the room.
Catalonia (Spain): men often shake hands rather than kiss, even in informal settings. Spanish greetings aren’t uniform even within a single country.
The Bit That Trips Everyone Up: When Does the Kissing Happen?
Both hello and goodbye.
This catches almost everyone out at first. It’s not just the greeting when you arrive — it’s the farewell when you leave. In Argentina especially, it’s also customary at the beginning and end of every event to go around the room and greet each person individually. Every. Single. Person.
This takes a while. It can feel slightly ceremonial if you’re not used to it. But it matters — leaving without saying a proper goodbye to everyone is considered rude in a way that’s hard to convey to someone who’s grown up in a nod-and-leave culture.
And Then There Are the Conversations
Here’s the other thing: in many Spanish-speaking cultures, a greeting isn’t a quick exchange on the way to something else. It’s the thing.
A simple hola is fine, but if you want to actually connect, ¿Cómo estás? (how are you?) or ¡Qué gusto verte! (how lovely to see you!) will take you much further. And be prepared for a real answer. In Argentina, I quickly learned that asking how someone was could turn into a twenty-minute conversation about family, football, what we were having for dinner, and the state of the economy. And honestly? I loved it. The greeting isn’t a preamble — it is the interaction.
What To Do When You’re Not Sure
When I first arrived in Argentina I’d already spent a year in Venezuela so I thought I had the beso thing handled. And I did, mostly — except that once I’d got the hang of it, I didn’t quite know when to stop, and went around giving everyone un beso when some of them were clearly expecting a handshake. True story.
The honest answer is: watch what the locals do and follow their lead. If someone extends a hand, shake it. If they lean in, lean in. If you get it wrong, laugh — because Argentines, Colombians, Venezuelans, and Spaniards have all watched foreigners work this out before, and they are almost universally kind about it.
When genuinely in doubt, a warm smile and hola buys you a second to read what comes next.
A Quick Country-by-Country Reference
| Country | Greeting style | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | Dos besos (two kisses) | Right cheek first; men often shake hands |
| Argentina | Un beso (one kiss) | Right cheek; applies to everyone including men |
| Venezuela | Un beso (one kiss) | Warm and unhurried; often with physical contact |
| Colombia | Un beso + hug | Particularly warm between friends |
| Mexico | Handshake (formal) or kiss/hug (friends) | Varies significantly by region and setting |
| Catalonia | Often a handshake | Even in informal settings |
Why This Matters Beyond the Mechanics
Learning the greeting customs of a Spanish-speaking country isn’t just about avoiding awkward moments — though it does help with that. It’s about signalling that you’ve paid attention, that you’re not just passing through, that you’re making a genuine effort to engage on the culture’s own terms.
In twenty years of living in South America, some of my warmest moments came from greeting exchanges — from the Argentine colleague who clapped me on the back and said “ya eres una de nosotras” (you’re one of us now) after I stopped hesitating at the door of a party, to the Venezuelan family who told me I kissed goodbye “como una argentina” (like an Argentine) — which, by that point, I suppose I did.
Spanish isn’t just vocabulary and grammar. It’s also the way you enter a room.
If you’d like to explore Spanish culture beyond the classroom — including the kind of real-life social moments that no textbook quite prepares you for — our Spanish immersion trips to Spain are built around exactly this. And for adults wanting to build conversational confidence from home first, our adult Spanish classes run throughout the year online and in North Wales.
Have you had an awkward greeting moment in a Spanish-speaking country? I’d love to hear it — I promise mine was worse.
