‘Hasta luego’ is the Spanish equivalent of ‘see you later’ and a VERY common farewell in Spanish-speaking countries, especially when trying to be polite and amicable.
Since it *often* implies a possible reunion at some point in the future, it’s usually not responded to with ‘adiós’ (or ‘goodbye’ in English), which may seem more final – although there’d be nothing strictly wrong with answering this way!
So, how DO you reply to ‘hasta luego’?
Well, keep scrolling to find out!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
These are the most common ways to respond to ‘hasta luego’ –
1. Hasta luego. = See you later.
2. Te veo luego. = See you soon.
3. Hasta pronto. = See you soon.
4. Nos vemos. = See you around.
‘Hasta luego’ meaning
A literal translation of ‘hasta luego’ would be ‘until later’, so it’s kinda similar to the English phrases ‘see you later’ OR ‘goodbye’.
Now, it’s important to mention that unlike ‘see you later’, ‘hasta luego’ has a rather formal ring to it. It’s not ceremonious in any way, but it might come across as a bit distant if said to very close friends or family, so keep that in mind when choosing the best response!
En el cine
Mariana – Aquí tienes tus boletos; disfruta de la función. Hasta luego.
Priscila – ¿Hasta luego? Mariana, ¡vamos en el mismo salón!
Mariana – Sí, pero sí no me despido así, mi gerente me regaña. ¡Ándale, nos vemos en la escuela!
At the cinema
Mariana – Here are your tickets; enjoy the show. See you later.
Priscilla – See you later? Mariana, we’re in the same class!
Mariana – Yeah, but if I don’t sound formal, my manager tells me off. Go on in and I’ll see you at school!
Anyway, let’s get into the many ways in which you can respond!
1 Hasta luego – See you later
Of course, the simplest way to respond to ‘hasta luego’ is with a ‘hasta luego’ in return, easy-peasy!
You can whack your interlocutor’s name at the end to make it warmer and/or more personal.
En la farmacia
Luciano – ¿Eso sería todo? Okey, serían cincuenta pesos, por favor.
Perla – Aquí tiene. Hasta luego, Don Luciano.
Luciano – ¡Hasta luego, hija!
At the drugstore
Luciano – Will that be all? Okay, fifty pesos, please.
Pearl – Here you go. See you later, Don Luciano.
Luciano – See you later, dear!
2 Hasta pronto – See you soon
Another common response to ‘hasta luego’ is a friendly ‘hasta pronto’!
‘Pronto’ means ‘soon’ or ‘quickly’ in English, so this expression is very similar to ‘see you soon’.
Después de la junta de colonos
Vecino 1 – ¡Hasta luego, qué estén bien!
Vecino 2 – Igualmente, hasta pronto.
After the neighborhood board meeting
Neighbor 1 – See you later, all the best!
Neighbor 2 – Likewise, see you soon.
3 Nos vemos – See you around
Whereas ‘hasta luego’ and ‘hasta pronto’ are very amicable but might sound a bit formal, ‘nos vemos’ is a very casual (yet polite!) farewell.
‘Nos vemos’ literally translates to ‘we see each other’ in English, but it’s actually akin to saying ‘see you around’.
Dos amigas
Beatriz – ¡Hasta luego, amiga!
Sabrina – ¡Nos vemos!
Two friends
Beatriz – See you later, sis!
Sabrina – See you around!
Después de la última reunión de trabajo del día
Supervisor – Hasta luego, jefa.
Gerente – Muchas gracias a todos, nos vemos el lunes.*
After the last business meeting of the day
Supervisor – See you later, boss.
Manager – Thank you all very much, see you on Monday.
*Erika’s top tip – you can whack a number of adverbs / adverbial phrases after ‘nos vemos’ if you want mix things up a bit!
4 Cuídate / Cuídate mucho / Te cuidas mucho – Take care
If you wanna say goodbye with a sincere ‘take care’, you can use ‘cuídate’ (the accent is there to remind you to stress that first syllable!).
You can add a ‘mucho’ into the mix and say a heartfelt ‘te cuidas mucho’, which is the equivalent of saying ‘take good care of yourself’.
Después de una reunión de amigos
Ignacio – ¡Qué chido verte! Hasta luego, hermano.
Benjamín – ¡Cuídate mucho!
After a friends reunion
Ignacio – It was great to see you! See you later, bro.
Benjamin – Take care of yourself!
¡Te cuidas mucho y me saludas a tus papás, por favor!
Take good care of yourself and say hi to your parents for me, please!
5 Te veo después / Te veo luego – See you later
‘Te veo después’ or ‘te veo luego’ literally mean ‘I’ll see you later’ and they have a more casual ring to them than ‘hasta luego’.
Ricardo – Hasta luego, tía.
Graciela – Te veo después, hijo; avísame cuando llegues a casa.
Ricardo – See you later, aunt.
Graciela – See you later, sweetheart; let me know when you get home.
6 Chao – Bye
‘Chao’ is the Spanish version of the Italian ‘ciao’ and it’s an extremely common way to say ‘bye’ in Latin America.
‘Chao’ is definitely more casual than ‘hasta luego’, but it’s definitely ok to use among friends (or even strangers if you don’t mind sounding a bit informal).
En la tienda de la esquina
Cajero – Aquí tiene su cambio. Hasta luego.
Cliente – Muchas gracias, chao.
At the corner store
Cashier – Here’s your change. See you later.
Client – Thank you very much, bye.
7 Que te vaya bien / Que le vaya bien – Farewell / Take care
Finally, another very popular way of replying to ‘hasta luego’ is by wishing the person you’re speaking to well with a ‘que te vaya bien’ (informal) or ‘que le vaya bien’ (formal).
This phrase’s literal translation is ‘(I hope) things go well for you’, and it’s a casual, yet polite, way of saying ‘take care’, ‘farewell’ or ‘good luck’!
En un consultorio médico
Vivian – Ya me voy al aeropuerto. ¡Hasta luego, Paty!
Patricia – ¡Que le vaya bien en el simposio, doctora!
At a doctor’s office
Vivian – I’m leaving for the airport. See you later, Paty!
Patricia – Good luck at the symposium, doctor!
Nieto – ¡Ya me voy, abue! Te veo luego.
Abuela – Que te vaya bien, mi niño.
Grandson – I’m leaving, Gran! I’ll see you later.
Grandma – Take care, my boy.
Final thoughts
Now you have options aplenty to respond to ‘hasta luego’ or ‘see you later’, whether you are at the workplace, a local store or amongst friends.
Although a simple ‘hasta luego’ will often suffice, keep in mind that the more variations of an expression or phrase you know, the more native you’ll be able to sound!
On that note, you might find our article on what to say when someone sneezes (in Spanish, obviously!) useful.
