diff --git a/.changeset/famous-years-bow.md b/.changeset/famous-years-bow.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..77bf5d2c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/famous-years-bow.md
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+'astro': minor
+---
+
+## Adds directive syntax for component hydration
+
+This change updates the syntax for partial hydration from `<Button:load />` to `<Button client:load />`.
+
+**Why?**
+
+Partial hydration is about to get super powers! This clears the way for more dynamic partial hydration, i.e. `<MobileMenu client:media="(max-width: 40em)" />`.
+
+**How to upgrade**
+
+Just update `:load`, `:idle`, and `:visible` to match the `client:load` format, thats it! Don't worry, the original syntax is still supported but it's recommended to future-proof your project by updating to the newer syntax.
diff --git a/examples/blog/src/pages/posts/introducing-astro.md b/examples/blog/src/pages/posts/introducing-astro.md
index 3f30087a1..293b3b8f9 100644
--- a/examples/blog/src/pages/posts/introducing-astro.md
+++ b/examples/blog/src/pages/posts/introducing-astro.md
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ Of course, sometimes client-side JavaScript is inevitable. Image carousels, shop
 
 In other full-stack web frameworks this level of per-component optimization would be impossible without loading the entire page in JavaScript, delaying interactivity. In Astro, this kind of [partial hydration](https://addyosmani.com/blog/rehydration/) is built into the tool itself.
 
-You can even [automatically defer components](https://codepen.io/jonneal/full/ZELvMvw) to only load once they become visible on the page with the `:visible` modifier.
+You can even [automatically defer components](https://codepen.io/jonneal/full/ZELvMvw) to only load once they become visible on the page with the `client:visible` directive.
 
 This new approach to web architecture is called [islands architecture](https://jasonformat.com/islands-architecture/). We didn't coin the term, but Astro may have perfected the technique. We are confident that an HTML-first, JavaScript-only-as-needed approach is the best solution for the majority of content-based websites.
 
diff --git a/examples/docs/src/layouts/Main.astro b/examples/docs/src/layouts/Main.astro
index a92ffaff4..dbfc90791 100644
--- a/examples/docs/src/layouts/Main.astro
+++ b/examples/docs/src/layouts/Main.astro
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ const githubEditUrl = `https://github.com/USER/REPO/blob/main/${currentFile}`
           <div />
 
           <div>
-            <ThemeToggle:idle />
+            <ThemeToggle client:idle />
           </div>
         </div>
       </nav>
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ const githubEditUrl = `https://github.com/USER/REPO/blob/main/${currentFile}`
         </article>
       </div>
       <aside class="sidebar" id="sidebar-content">
-        <DocSidebar:idle headers={headers} editHref={editHref} />
+        <DocSidebar client:idle headers={headers} editHref={editHref} />
       </aside>
     </main>
   </body>
diff --git a/examples/framework-multiple/src/pages/index.astro b/examples/framework-multiple/src/pages/index.astro
index a2f15764e..826a9d5f9 100644
--- a/examples/framework-multiple/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/examples/framework-multiple/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -35,22 +35,22 @@ import SvelteCounter from '../components/SvelteCounter.svelte';
   <body>
       <main>
 
-        <react.Counter:visible>
+        <react.Counter client:visible>
             <h1>Hello React!</h1>
             <p>What's up?</p>
-        </react.Counter:visible>
+        </react.Counter>
 
-        <PreactCounter:visible>
+        <PreactCounter client:visible>
           <h1>Hello Preact!</h1>
-        </PreactCounter:visible>
+        </PreactCounter>
 
-        <VueCounter:visible>
+        <VueCounter client:visible>
             <h1>Hello Vue!</h1>
-        </VueCounter:visible>
+        </VueCounter>
 
-        <SvelteCounter:visible>
+        <SvelteCounter client:visible>
             <h1>Hello Svelte!</h1>
-        </SvelteCounter:visible>
+        </SvelteCounter>
 
         <A />
         
diff --git a/examples/framework-preact/src/pages/index.astro b/examples/framework-preact/src/pages/index.astro
index 8cdccf783..c370d7298 100644
--- a/examples/framework-preact/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/examples/framework-preact/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -33,9 +33,9 @@ import Counter from '../components/Counter.jsx'
   </head>
   <body>
     <main>
-      <Counter:visible>
+      <Counter client:visible>
         <h1>Hello Preact!</h1>
-      </Counter:visible>
+      </Counter>
     </main>
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/examples/framework-react/src/pages/index.astro b/examples/framework-react/src/pages/index.astro
index 69b9c6d44..a62427dd9 100644
--- a/examples/framework-react/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/examples/framework-react/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -33,9 +33,9 @@ import Counter from '../components/Counter.jsx'
   </head>
   <body>
     <main>
-      <Counter:visible>
+      <Counter client:visible>
         <h1>Hello React!</h1>
-      </Counter:visible>
+      </Counter>
     </main>
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/examples/framework-svelte/src/pages/index.astro b/examples/framework-svelte/src/pages/index.astro
index b89e12b4a..15d93bbaa 100644
--- a/examples/framework-svelte/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/examples/framework-svelte/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -33,9 +33,9 @@ import Counter from '../components/Counter.svelte'
   </head>
   <body>
     <main>
-      <Counter:visible>
+      <Counter client:visible>
         <h1>Hello Svelte!</h1>
-      </Counter:visible>
+      </Counter>
     </main>
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/examples/framework-vue/src/pages/index.astro b/examples/framework-vue/src/pages/index.astro
index 1ce7919bd..2dcc11da6 100644
--- a/examples/framework-vue/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/examples/framework-vue/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -33,9 +33,9 @@ import Counter from '../components/Counter.vue'
   </head>
   <body>
     <main>
-      <Counter:visible>
+      <Counter client:visible>
         <h1>Hello Vue!</h1>
-      </Counter:visible>
+      </Counter>
     </main>
   </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/examples/snowpack/src/pages/news.astro b/examples/snowpack/src/pages/news.astro
index bae3e5ad7..f51631d28 100644
--- a/examples/snowpack/src/pages/news.astro
+++ b/examples/snowpack/src/pages/news.astro
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ const description = 'Snowpack community news and companies that use Snowpack.';
           working on!</div>
       </article>
 
-      {news.reverse().map((item: any) => <Card:idle item={item} />)}
+      {news.reverse().map((item: any) => <Card client:idle item={item} />)}
     </div>
 
     <div class="content">
diff --git a/examples/snowpack/src/pages/plugins.astro b/examples/snowpack/src/pages/plugins.astro
index ddd7632e8..ce70f4cac 100644
--- a/examples/snowpack/src/pages/plugins.astro
+++ b/examples/snowpack/src/pages/plugins.astro
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ let description = 'Snowpack plugins allow for configuration-minimal tooling inte
 
     <div style="margin-top:4rem;"></div>
 
-    <PluginSearchPage:load />
+    <PluginSearchPage client:load />
   </MainLayout>
 </body>
 
diff --git a/examples/with-markdown/src/pages/index.astro b/examples/with-markdown/src/pages/index.astro
index 6e402fb1c..b6843f3a5 100644
--- a/examples/with-markdown/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/examples/with-markdown/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -32,10 +32,10 @@ const items = ['A', 'B', 'C'];
 
     ## Embed framework components
 
-    <ReactCounter:visible />
-    <PreactCounter:visible />
-    <VueCounter:visible />
-    <SvelteCounter:visible />
+    <ReactCounter client:visible />
+    <PreactCounter client:visible />
+    <VueCounter client:visible />
+    <SvelteCounter client:visible />
 
     ## Use Expressions
 
@@ -43,11 +43,11 @@ const items = ['A', 'B', 'C'];
 
     ## Oh yeah...
 
-    <ReactCounter:visible>
+    <ReactCounter client:visible>
       🤯 It's also _recursive_!
 
       ### Markdown can be embedded in any child component
-    </ReactCounter:visible>
+    </ReactCounter>
 
     ## Code
 
diff --git a/examples/with-nanostores/src/pages/index.astro b/examples/with-nanostores/src/pages/index.astro
index a40897232..a3f0c7c8c 100644
--- a/examples/with-nanostores/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/examples/with-nanostores/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -37,10 +37,10 @@ import AdminsPreact from '../components/AdminsPreact.jsx';
                 <a href="https://github.com/nanostores/nanostores">nanostores</a></h1>
             </div>
         </header>
-        <AdminsReact:load />
-        <AdminsSvelte:load />
-        <AdminsVue:load />
-        <AdminsPreact:load />
+        <AdminsReact client:load />
+        <AdminsSvelte client:load />
+        <AdminsVue client:load />
+        <AdminsPreact client:load />
     </main>
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/packages/astro/README.md b/packages/astro/README.md
index 76e0966c8..df7a33712 100644
--- a/packages/astro/README.md
+++ b/packages/astro/README.md
@@ -118,9 +118,9 @@ TODO: Astro dynamic components guide
 By default, Astro outputs zero client-side JS. If you'd like to include an interactive component in the client output, you may use any of the following techniques.
 
 - `<MyComponent />` will render an HTML-only version of `MyComponent` (default)
-- `<MyComponent:load />` will render `MyComponent` on page load
-- `<MyComponent:idle />` will use [requestIdleCallback()][mdn-ric] to render `MyComponent` as soon as main thread is free
-- `<MyComponent:visible />` will use an [IntersectionObserver][mdn-io] to render `MyComponent` when the element enters the viewport
+- `<MyComponent client:load />` will render `MyComponent` on page load
+- `<MyComponent client:idle />` will use [requestIdleCallback()][mdn-ric] to render `MyComponent` as soon as main thread is free
+- `<MyComponent client:visible />` will use an [IntersectionObserver][mdn-io] to render `MyComponent` when the element enters the viewport
 
 ### ⚛️ State Management
 
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/compiler/codegen/index.ts b/packages/astro/src/compiler/codegen/index.ts
index 22ee1816b..af74a368a 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/compiler/codegen/index.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/compiler/codegen/index.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,23 @@ interface CodeGenOptions {
   fileID: string;
 }
 
+interface HydrationAttributes {
+  method?: 'load' | 'idle' | 'visible';
+}
+
+/** Searches through attributes to extract hydration-rlated attributes */
+function findHydrationAttributes(attrs: Record<string, string>): HydrationAttributes {
+  let method: HydrationAttributes['method'];
+
+  const hydrationDirectives = new Set(['client:load', 'client:idle', 'client:visible']);
+
+  for (const [key, val] of Object.entries(attrs)) {
+    if (hydrationDirectives.has(key)) method = key.slice(7) as HydrationAttributes['method'];
+  }
+
+  return { method };
+}
+
 /** Retrieve attributes from TemplateNode */
 async function getAttributes(attrs: Attribute[], state: CodegenState, compileOptions: CompileOptions): Promise<Record<string, string>> {
   let result: Record<string, string> = {};
@@ -154,18 +171,32 @@ function getComponentUrl(astroConfig: AstroConfig, url: string, parentUrl: strin
 interface GetComponentWrapperOptions {
   filename: string;
   astroConfig: AstroConfig;
+  compileOptions: CompileOptions;
 }
 
 const PlainExtensions = new Set(['.js', '.jsx', '.ts', '.tsx']);
 /** Generate Astro-friendly component import */
-function getComponentWrapper(_name: string, { url, importSpecifier }: ComponentInfo, opts: GetComponentWrapperOptions) {
+function getComponentWrapper(_name: string, hydration: HydrationAttributes, { url, importSpecifier }: ComponentInfo, opts: GetComponentWrapperOptions) {
   const { astroConfig, filename } = opts;
-  const [name, kind] = _name.split(':');
+
+  let name = _name;
+  let method = hydration.method;
+  
+  /** Legacy support for original hydration syntax */
+  if (name.indexOf(':') > 0) {
+    const [legacyName, legacyMethod] = _name.split(':');
+    name = legacyName;
+    method = legacyMethod as HydrationAttributes['method'];
+
+    const { compileOptions, filename } = opts;
+    const shortname = path.posix.relative(compileOptions.astroConfig.projectRoot.pathname, filename);
+    warn(compileOptions.logging, shortname, yellow(`Deprecation warning: Partial hydration now uses a directive syntax. Please update to "<${name} client:${method} />"`));
+  }
 
   // Special flow for custom elements
-  if (isCustomElementTag(name)) {
+  if (isCustomElementTag(_name)) {
     return {
-      wrapper: `__astro_component(...__astro_element_registry.astroComponentArgs("${name}", ${JSON.stringify({ hydrate: kind, displayName: _name })}))`,
+      wrapper: `__astro_component(...__astro_element_registry.astroComponentArgs("${name}", ${JSON.stringify({ hydrate: method, displayName: _name })}))`,
       wrapperImports: [
         `import {AstroElementRegistry} from 'astro/dist/internal/element-registry.js';`,
         `import {__astro_component} from 'astro/dist/internal/__astro_component.js';`,
@@ -183,21 +214,21 @@ function getComponentWrapper(_name: string, { url, importSpecifier }: ComponentI
           return { value: importSpecifier.imported.value };
         }
         case 'ImportNamespaceSpecifier': {
-          const [_, value] = name.split('.');
+          const [_, value] = _name.split('.');
           return { value };
         }
       }
     };
 
-    const importInfo = kind
-      ? {
-          componentUrl: getComponentUrl(astroConfig, url, pathToFileURL(filename)),
-          componentExport: getComponentExport(),
-        }
-      : {};
+    const importInfo = method
+    ? {
+      componentUrl: getComponentUrl(astroConfig, url, pathToFileURL(filename)),
+      componentExport: getComponentExport()
+    }
+    : {};
 
     return {
-      wrapper: `__astro_component(${name}, ${JSON.stringify({ hydrate: kind, displayName: _name, ...importInfo })})`,
+      wrapper: `__astro_component(${name}, ${JSON.stringify({ hydrate: method, displayName: _name, ...importInfo })})`,
       wrapperImports: [`import {__astro_component} from 'astro/dist/internal/__astro_component.js';`],
     };
   }
@@ -633,6 +664,7 @@ async function compileHtml(enterNode: TemplateNode, state: CodegenState, compile
             }
             try {
               const attributes = await getAttributes(node.attributes, state, compileOptions);
+              const hydrationAttributes = findHydrationAttributes(attributes);
 
               buffers.out += buffers.out === '' ? '' : ',';
 
@@ -671,7 +703,7 @@ async function compileHtml(enterNode: TemplateNode, state: CodegenState, compile
                 curr = 'markdown';
                 return;
               }
-              const { wrapper, wrapperImports } = getComponentWrapper(name, componentInfo ?? ({} as any), { astroConfig, filename });
+              const { wrapper, wrapperImports } = getComponentWrapper(name, hydrationAttributes, componentInfo ?? ({} as any), { astroConfig, filename, compileOptions });
               if (wrapperImports) {
                 for (let wrapperImport of wrapperImports) {
                   importStatements.add(wrapperImport);
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/compiler/transform/head.ts b/packages/astro/src/compiler/transform/head.ts
index b081491a3..9a12e395b 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/compiler/transform/head.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/compiler/transform/head.ts
@@ -21,8 +21,18 @@ export default function (opts: TransformOptions): Transformer {
         },
         InlineComponent: {
           enter(node) {
+            if (hasComponents) {
+              return
+            }
+
+            if (node.attributes && node.attributes.some(({ name }: any) => name.startsWith('client:'))) {
+              hasComponents = true;
+              return;
+            }
+
+            /** Check for legacy hydration */
             const [_name, kind] = node.name.split(':');
-            if (kind && !hasComponents) {
+            if (kind) {
               hasComponents = true;
             }
           },
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-basic/src/pages/client.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-basic/src/pages/client.astro
index 43d8b373b..a9cac2201 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-basic/src/pages/client.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-basic/src/pages/client.astro
@@ -7,6 +7,6 @@ import Tour from '../components/Tour.jsx';
 <title>Stuff</title>
 </head>
 <body>
-  <Tour:load />
+  <Tour client:load />
 </body>
 </html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/default-rename.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/default-rename.astro
index 8d418fc15..95b4bb538 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/default-rename.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/default-rename.astro
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ import SvelteCounterRenamed from '../components/SvelteCounter.svelte';
 <html>
 <head><title>Dynamic pages</title></head>
 <body>
-  <CounterRenamed:load />
+  <CounterRenamed client:load />
 
-  <SvelteCounterRenamed:load />
+  <SvelteCounterRenamed client:load />
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/index.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/index.astro
index c4d0fef17..4dbb7f2c6 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-dynamic/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@ import SvelteCounter from '../components/SvelteCounter.svelte';
 <html>
 <head><title>Dynamic pages</title></head>
 <body>
-  <Counter:load />
+  <Counter client:load />
 
+  <!-- Including the original hydration syntax to test backwards compatibility -->
   <SvelteCounter:load />
 </body>
 </html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-fallback/src/pages/index.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-fallback/src/pages/index.astro
index f4f20c322..30183f0a0 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-fallback/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-fallback/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -11,6 +11,6 @@ let title = 'My Page'
 <body>
   <h1>{title}</h1>
 
-  <Client:load />
+  <Client client:load />
 </body>
 </html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/index.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/index.astro
index 754749f90..02e2633ac 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -7,6 +7,6 @@ import Tour from '../components/Tour.jsx';
 </head>
 <body>
   <div>Hello world</div>
-  <Tour:load />
+  <Tour client:load />
 </body>
 </html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/manual.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/manual.astro
index 29bcb5b23..8fc2b4d55 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/manual.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-hmr/src/pages/manual.astro
@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ import Tour from '../components/Tour.jsx';
 </head>
 <body>
   <div>Hello world</div>
-  <Tour:load />
+  <Tour client:load />
 </body>
 </html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-markdown/src/pages/complex.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-markdown/src/pages/complex.astro
index f65c60080..6e6c84060 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-markdown/src/pages/complex.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/astro-markdown/src/pages/complex.astro
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ const description = 'This is a post about some stuff.';
     ## Interesting Topic
 
     <Hello name={`world`} />
-    <Counter:load />
+    <Counter client:load />
 
   </Layout>
 </Markdown>
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/custom-elements/src/pages/load.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/custom-elements/src/pages/load.astro
index 45c9c402a..9cac84321 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/custom-elements/src/pages/load.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/custom-elements/src/pages/load.astro
@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ import '../components/my-element.js';
 <body>
   <h1>{title}</h1>
 
-  <my-element:load></my-element:load>
+  <my-element client:load></my-element>
 </body>
 </html>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/components/Child.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/components/Child.astro
index 41cee95c1..e0ffd578c 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/components/Child.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/components/Child.astro
@@ -7,4 +7,4 @@
   }
 </style>
 <div>Something here</div>
-<Something:idle />
\ No newline at end of file
+<Something client:idle />
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/pages/index.astro b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/pages/index.astro
index 10d8e2e24..091bbb386 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/pages/index.astro
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/no-head-el/src/pages/index.astro
@@ -10,5 +10,5 @@ import Child from '../components/Child.astro';
 </style>
 <h1>Title of this Blog</h1>
 
-<Something:load />
+<Something client:load />
 <Child />
\ No newline at end of file
