Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Welcome in Spanish: Bienvenido and How to Match It to Your Listener
Bienvenido · adjective / interjection · byehn-veh-NEE-doh
Welcome in Spanish is bienvenido when you're greeting someone arriving. It's an adjective so it agrees with who you're talking to: bienvenido (one man), bienvenida (one woman), bienvenidos (a group), bienvenidas (a group of women). For the response to thank you, use de nada.
Bienvenido is pronounced byehn-veh-NEE-doh, with the stress on the third syllable. The b at the start is a soft b (close to a v). Run the bien together as one syllable: byehn, not bee-en.
¡Bienvenidos a España!
Welcome to Spain!
Welcome in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for welcome, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| bienvenido | welcome | byehn-veh-NEE-doh | Default, widely understood |
| bienvenida | welcome | feminine, addressing a woman | |
| bienvenidos | welcome | plural, mixed group or all male | |
| bienvenidas | welcome | plural, all female | |
| de nada | welcome | response to thank you, you're welcome |
How Native Speakers Use Bienvenido
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Greeting one person arriving
¡Bienvenido a la oficina, Carlos!
Welcome to the office, Carlos!
Bienvenido (masculine) for a man, bienvenida for a woman. Match the form to the person you're greeting.
Greeting a group
¡Bienvenidos a Madrid! Esperamos que disfruten su visita.
Welcome to Madrid! We hope you enjoy your visit.
Bienvenidos for any mixed-gender or all-male group; bienvenidas only when every person is female.
Responding to thank you (totally separate phrase)
"Gracias por todo." "De nada."
"Thanks for everything." "You're welcome."
English uses welcome for both greetings and thank-you responses. Spanish doesn't, so don't say bienvenido after gracias.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Bienvenido
Saying bienvenido after gracias (English speaker trap)
Incorrect: "Gracias." "Bienvenido."
Correct: "Gracias." "De nada."
In English, welcome covers both arrivals (welcome to Spain) and thank-you responses (you're welcome). In Spanish those are two unrelated phrases. Use bienvenido only for someone arriving; use de nada (or no hay de qué, con gusto) as the response to gracias.
Using the wrong gender or number
Incorrect: ¡Bienvenido, María!
Correct: ¡Bienvenida, María!
Bienvenido is an adjective and has to agree with the person you're addressing: bienvenida for one woman, bienvenidos for a group, bienvenidas for an all-female group.
Why Welcome Matters in Spanish-Speaking Cultures
Welcoming guests is a social ritual
In most Spanish-speaking cultures, hosts greet guests with a warm ¡Bienvenido a casa! and often a kiss on the cheek (one in Latin America, two in Spain). Skipping the greeting feels cold. Phrases like Estás en tu casa (you're at home, treat the place like yours) are common follow-ups.
Different responses to gracias
De nada is universal, but you'll hear regional variants. In Spain: no hay de qué (no need to thank me). In much of Latin America: con gusto or con mucho gusto (with pleasure). Mexicans often use a la orden (at your service). Picking up the regional response makes you sound less like a tourist.
Lock in Welcome Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Bienvenido used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using bienvenido in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear ¡Bienvenidos a España! while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Welcome in Spanish
- How do you say welcome in Spanish?
- Welcome in Spanish is bienvenido for greeting someone arriving. It agrees with the listener: bienvenido (a man), bienvenida (a woman), bienvenidos (a group), bienvenidas (an all-female group). For the response to thank you, use de nada (you're welcome).
- How do you pronounce bienvenido?
- Bienvenido is pronounced byehn-veh-NEE-doh. Run the bien together as one syllable, stress the third syllable (NEE), and pronounce the d softly, almost like a th in this.
- What's the difference between bienvenido and de nada?
- Bienvenido is for greeting an arrival (¡Bienvenido a la fiesta!). De nada is the response to thank you ("Gracias." "De nada."). English uses welcome for both meanings; Spanish keeps them as two unrelated phrases.
- How do I remember welcome in Spanish?
- Hear bienvenido and de nada used by native speakers in real situations. Parrot's videos show creators welcoming guests, returning thank-yous, and switching between regional responses (no hay de qué, con gusto, a la orden) so the right phrase fires automatically when you need it.