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Languages are important in society because it is a way for people to communicate and express themselves. In the world today, it is estimated that there are about 7000 spoken languages. However, only about 23 languages account for more than half of the population and therefore are more recognised.
Every language has a way of starting a conversation with another person, which is known as a greeting. In these languages, every conversation, whether formal or informal, starts with a greeting. You must learn the greeting methods of different languages to communicate with people at any time and place.
When you meet someone for the first time, first impressions are important. So, you need to understand the various ways to say “welcome” or “hello” in different languages. Even if you cannot say anything else in the language, the person will realize you are trying to communicate in a positive way.
Image from Unsplash by Adam Solomon
If you wanted to say “farewell,” “hello,” “good morning,” or any other form of greeting to every person in the world, you would need to learn those words from over 7,000 languages. Fortunately, just by reading this article I have put together for you, you will be able to say your greetings to over 90% of the world’s population.
No matter the country or continent you find yourself in, I’ve got you covered. Make sure you save and bookmark this post for future use and ease of reference. But first, what is greeting all about?
What is a greeting?
A greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other. According to Wikipedia:
Greetings are used to show attention to someone, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status whether informal or formal, between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other.
So who greets first? Generally, the younger person greets first. Again, the person who enters a room or joins a group will be the first one to greet. Greeting someone doesn’t make you superior or inferior to them; it’s just a courtesy that fine-tunes the personality of individuals. You can greet people younger than you, but it is essential to greet our elders.
Greetings are usually done with spoken words and gestures. Sometimes, only the spoken word is enough, but other times, gestures need to accompany the words so that the other person will understand you. The gestures normally used are shaking hands, waving, prostrating, light kissing, hugging, bowing, etc. The type of gesture to use depends on the culture and the relationship you have with that person. The usual one in most cultures and languages is shaking hands.
Greet everyone you meet warmly and sincerely. Picture walking into a restaurant or cafe and being greeted as a friend or member of the family. The greeting shows that the owner is grateful to have you walk into their place. No matter the taste of the meal, you would still be happy you went there. The experience would have been positive enough that you would gladly give them another chance.
Importance of greeting
The importance of greetings in daily life cannot be overemphasized. Learning to greet is a crucial part of life because it helps us establish and maintain personal relationships. When you greet someone, you massage their ego, show them respect, give them a sense of belonging and an air of importance. Greeting makes you a likeable, respectful person.
Image from Unsplash by Erika Giraud
Some people only recognize the importance of greeting when they are in an office setting. Or they realize they should greet their customers to make sales. Even though greeting your customer sounds so simple, you will be amazed to see how often people fail to do this properly, leaving the customer feeling ignored and poorly treated. Remember, you only have about five seconds to create an impression. Make sure it is a good one! A greeting is an excellent way to start conversations with people you meet on your travels. A good greeting starts things off on the right foot and builds a strong foundation for the future.
So, what makes a good greeting? First, do an attitude check before you start your day. Take a personal inventory to find out how you are feeling. Are you tense or rested? You’ll find it is difficult to automatically treat others well when you are battling with bad feelings. Secondly, recognize people immediately. Don't wait until you acknowledge someone’s presence. If you are in proximity of a new person, say hello. A simple nod of the head, eye contact, or a brief comment will let the person waiting know that you have seen them.
Thirdly, make the greeting warm and sincere. It’s more attractive and makes you likeable. It is usually standard practice to shake someone’s hand at the first meeting. However, many cultures find a handshake offensive. With the world getting more culturally diverse, the best tip is to wait with your hands at your side until the person makes the first move and then respond by doing what they do, whether it’s a handshake, a hug, or a bow. Following these tips will help you build a better rapport and trust with the people you meet in your daily life.
How to say “Hello” in different languages
With thousands of languages spoken in the world today, saying “hello” is one of the simplest things. “You had me at ‘hello’” is not just a love story cliché. It is also a valid point about the importance of greeting others. The words we use for greeting and the way we say them set the tone for the entire conversation. It can also affect our relationship with the other person.
For greetings, many people use something like a formal “Good day” in official situations or when they are unsure of the time and then use an informal “hello” or “hi” in others. The first step in learning a new language is knowing how to say hello and which conversation opener to use. Most of us would agree that “hello” or some variation of it is one of the most important phrases and expressions you should learn when you’re just starting out picking up a new tongue.
So when it comes to learning how to say hello in different languages around the planet, don’t worry; this article has you covered. Here’s a list of the formal and informal ways to say “Hello” in some languages to get you started. You can use the formal hello when talking to an older person or when you are in an office setting. You can use the informal hello when you are talking to someone your age or in an informal setting.
French
Formal: Bonjour
Informal: Salut
Spanish
Formal: Hola
Informal: ¿Qué tal?
Russian
Formal: Zdravstvuyte
Informal: Privet
Chinese
Formal: Nǐn hǎo
Informal: Nǐ hǎo
Italian
Formal: Salve
Informal: Ciao
Japanese
Formal: Konnichiwa
Informal: Yā, Yō
German
Formal: Guten Tag
Informal: Hallo, Hi
Portuguese
Formal: Olá
Informal: Oi
Korean
Formal: Anyoung haseyo
Informal: Anyoung
Arabic
Formal: Asalaam alaikum (Peace be upon you)
Informal: Ahlan
Danish
Formal: Goddag
Informal: Hej, Halløj
Swahili
Formal: Shikamoo
Informal: Habari, Hujambo
Dutch
Formal: Goedendag
Informal: Hoi, Hallo
Greek
Formal: Yassas
Informal: Yassou
Polish
Formal: Dzień dobry
Informal: Cześć, Witaj
Indonesian
Formal: Selamat siang
Informal: Halo
Hindi
Formal: Namaste, Namaskar
Informal: Hai, Helo
Turkish
Formal: Merhaba
Informal: Selam
Hebrew
Formal: Shalom
Informal: Hey
Swedish
Formal: God dag
Informal: Hej, Tjena
Norwegian
Formal: God dag
Informal: Hei
When planning a vacation, learning the basics of a new language can completely change your days and make your travel a pleasurable one. The language will make it easier to connect with people in everyday situations. It'll also help you practice the fundamentals so that you can have smoother interactions with locals in all the places you plan to visit.
How to say farewell/goodbye in different languages
Goodbye is one word charged with a whole lot of emotions. It is said to express farewell wishes when leaving or parting ways with someone. Goodbye is one of the most regularly used travel words around the world, in addition to “hello,” “thank you,” and “I love you.” And knowing how to say goodbye in different languages is a life skill worth having.
Afrikaans - Totsiens
Arabic - Ma'a as-salaama
Bengali - Bidāẏa
Bosnian -Zdravo!
Cantonese - Joigin
Cherokee - Donadagohvi
Croatian - Doviđenja
Czech - Sbohem
Danish - Farvel
Dutch - Tot ziens
Estonian - Nägemist!
Finnish - Näkemiin
French - Au Revoir
German - Auf Wiedersehen
Greek - Yasou
Hawaiian - Aloha
Hebrew - L'hitraot
Hindi - Namaste
Hungarian - Viszlát!
Icelandic - Vertu sæll!
Indonesian - Sampai Jumpa
Irish - Slan
Italian - Arrivederci
Japanese - Sayōnara
Korean - Annyeong
Latin - Vale
Latvian - Uz redzēšanos!
Lithuanian - Atsiprasau
Mandarin -Zài jiàn
Nepalese - Namaste
Norwegian - Ha det bra
Persian - Khodaa haafez
Polish - Żegnaj - Portuguese - Adeus
Punjabi - Alweda
Romanian - La revedere
Russian - Do svidaniya
Serbian - Zdravo!
Slovak - Dovidenia!
Slovene - Nasvidenje
Spanish - Adios
Swedish -Adjö
Tamil - Poitu varein
Thai -Laa Gòn
Turkish - Görüşürüz!
Ukrainian - Do pobachennia!
Urdu - Khuda hafiz
Vietnamese - Tạm biệt
Welsh - Hwyl fawr
Zulu - Hamba kahle
How to say good morning/afternoon/evening in different languages
These are phrases you use when you want to greet people at different times during the day. It could be in the morning, the afternoon, or the evening. When exactly you use these phrases depends on the country. Note that in some languages, the same words are used for “good afternoon” and “good evening.”
Language | Good Morning | Good afternoon | Good evening |
French | Bonjour | Bon après-midi | Bonsoir |
Danish | god morgen | God eftermiddag | god aften |
Igbo | Ututu oma | Ndewo | Ka chi bo |
Italian | Buon giorno | Buongiorno | buona serata |
Norwegian | god morgen | God ettermiddag | god kveld |
Portuguese | Bom dia | Boa tarde | Boa noite |
German | Guten Morgen | Guten Tag | Guten Abend! |
Hausa | barka da safiya | Barka da yamma | barka da yamma |
Spanish | ¡Buenos Días! | ¡Buenas Tardes! | ¡Buenas noches! |
Chinese | Zao Shàng Hao | Xià Wu Hao | Wan Shàng Hao! |
Yoruba | e karro | Ẹ ká àsán | ka a ale |
Arabic | Subha Ba-Khair | | Salam Alekum |
Hebrew | Yom Tov | | Erev Tov |
Japanese | Ohayou Gozaimasu | | Konbanwa |
Hindi | suprabhat | नमस्कार | सुसंध्या |
Indonesian | Selamat siang | Selamat sore | Selamat sore |
Let's see more ways to greet each other in different languages. For this section, we will learn how to say thank you and welcome in different languages. “Thank you” is used to express gratitude to someone who has helped you or after having a meal.
English– Thank you, Thanks
Spanish– Gracias
French– Merci (Thank you very much= Merci Beaucoup)
Italian– Grazie
Japanese– (Domo) Arigato (ah-ree-gah’-toh) or written ありがとう
Chinese – do jeh, daw-dyeh
German– Danke sehr
Thai – Khop Khun Mak Kha
Russian – Spasiba (spah-see’-boh)
Korean – written 감사합니다 gamsahabnida
Icelandic – Takk
Hawaiian – Mahalo
Hebrew – Toda (toh-dah’)
Greek – Efharisto (ef-har-ris-tou’)
Albanian - i mirëpritur
Bosnian - dobrodošli
Croatian - dobrodošli
Czech - vitejte
Dutch - welkom
Estonian - tere tulemast
Finnish - tervetuloa
French - bienvenue/bienvenu
German - herzlich willkommen
Greek -καλως ΗΡΘΑΤΕ (kalos irthate)
Hungarian - üdvözöljük
Icelandic - velkominn
Irish - fáilte
Italian - benvenuta/ benvenuto
Macedonian - добредојден (dobredojde)
Maltese -merhba
Norwegian - velkommen
Polish - witamy
Portuguese - bem-vinda
Romanian - bine ati venit
Hausa - barka da zuwa
Russian - добро пожаловать (dobro pozhalovat)
Spanish - bienvenidas/bienvenidos
Swedish - välkommen
Welsh - croeso
Yiddish - באַגרי (hela)
Armenian - ողջույն (bari galust)
Burmese - ကြိုဆို (kyaosopartaal)
Chinese (mandarin) - 欢迎 (huanying)
Georgian - მისასალმებელი (mogesalmebit)
Hindi - स्वागत हे (svaagat he)
Japanese - ようこそ (yokoso)
Korean - 환영 (eoseo osibsio)
Mongolian - тавтай морилно уу (tavtai morilno uu)
Nepali - स्वागत (svagatam)
Persian - خوش آمدی (khosh amadid)
Igbo - Ibiala
Turkish - hosgeldiniz
Urdu - خوش آمدید (kher mqadam)
Uzbek - xush kelibsiz
Vietnamese - chào mừng
Afrikaans - welkom
Chichewa - olandiridwa
Sesotho - amohela
Somali - soo dhawow
Swahili - karibu
Yoruba - ekaabo
Zulu - wamukelekile
Cebuano - maayong
Hawaiian - welina
Filipino - maligayang pagdating
Indonesian - selamat datang
Jamaican - welcome
Javanese - sugeng rawuh
Malagasy - tonga soa
Malay - selamat datang
Maori - haere mai
Samoan - afio mai
Tahitian - maeva/manava
Tongan - talitali fiefia
Apache - da’anzho
Cherokee - ulihelisdi
Navajo - yá'át'ééh
Sioux - Taŋyáŋ yahí/Taŋyáŋ yahípi
Conclusion
Do you want to transform your life? Learning a new language can help you do that. It opens you to a world full of professional and personal possibilities, expands your thinking, and gives you new confidence. As technology shrinks our world and we become members of a global community, the ability to learn a new language becomes an essential part of how we interact and succeed.
Are you worried about the time commitment or how difficult it might be for you to learn a language as an adult? Don’t worry about these misconceptions. All you need to learn a language is determination, discipline to practice, build confidence through speaking, and contextualize your learning. And here at Redefiners World Languages, we have made it simple and easy to learn English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, and Arabic for kids and adults. Our classes teach you how to converse in the language, as well as how to navigate cultures. For more information or to register, please visit www.redefinerswl.org or email us at info@redefinerswl.org.