Many people often wonder how to say “Hello” in different languages? With the growing popularity and availability of international tourism, there is a reason for many to start learning foreign languages. The first thing with which any conversation begins is a greeting.
Indo-European languages
Here we’ll see how to say “hello” in different languages in Indo-European countries. This language group includes almost all European languages and some Middle Eastern languages.
1. The French greeting “bonjour” in addition to France, Belgium and Switzerland will be understood in countries such as Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, as well as in some African countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Guinea, Gabon and Mauritania.
2. How to say simple “Hi” in spanish? Spanish “Hola”. In addition to Spain itself, Spanish or Castilian, as it is sometimes called, is spoken in Central and South American countries besides Brazil. It is also the second most widely spoken language in the United States. It is spoken by more than 34 million Latin Americans.
3. Italians greet each other with the word “ciao”.
4. German is the official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and parts of Italy. So, how to say “Hi” in german? In these countries you can hear the greetings “halo” (“hello”) and “guten tag” (“good day”).
5. “Namaste” is the greeting in Hindi. This language is common in northern India and Nepal.
6. To be honest, few people know how to say “Hello” in greek. Greeks say “yasas” (“hello”), “yasu” (“hello”) or simply “I” (“hello”).
7. In Yiddish (Hebrew) you can say hello like this: “sholem aleichem” (literal translation is “peace to you”), “gut morgn/tog/ovnt” (“good morning/afternoon/evening”).
8. In Latvian (Latvia) the following greetings are adopted: “labden”, “sveiki”, “chou” (informal greeting).
9. In Lithuania they say “laba dena” in a formal setting, “labas” or “sveikas” (addressing a man), “sveika” (addressing a woman) and “sveiki” (addressing a group of people).
10. Ukrainians say “zdrastuite” or “pryvit”.
11. In Belarusian you can say “dobrai raznitsy/dzen/vechar” which means “good morning/day/evening”.
12. Danes greet their friends with “hai” or “haisa”. A more formal version is “year dag” (“good afternoon”).
13. In Romania to say hello to a person is “buna ziua” or “salut”.
14. In Armenia it is customary to say “barev” when meeting someone.
| Country | Greeting |
|---|---|
| France | bonjour |
| Spain | Hola |
| Italia | ciao |
| Germany | halo/guten tag |
| India | Namaste |
| Greece | yasas/yasu/I |
| Central Europe with Jewish settlements | sholem aleichem/gut tog |
| Latvia | labden/sveiki/chou |
| Lithuania | laba dena/labas |
| Ukrainia | zdrastuite/pryvit |
| Belarusia | dobrai raznitsy/dzen/vechar |
| Denmark | hai/haisa |
| Romania | buna ziua/salut |
| Armenia | barev |
Kartvelian languages
Kartvelian languages is a group of languages spoken in the Western Caucasus. The most famous representative of this group is the Georgian language.
15. Georgians say “gamarjoba” when greeting someone.
Eastern and Turkic languages
In this part we’ll see how to say “hi” in different languages in Eastern and Turkic countries.
16. “Salam” – this is the greeting of the inhabitants of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, some parts of Uzbekistan and Bahrain, where Persian is spoken, which is sometimes called Farsi.
17. How do you say “Hi” in japanese? In Japan they say “Ohayo/Konnitiva/Konbanwa,” which means “good morning/afternoon/evening.
18. In both North and South Korea the greeting is “annyeong-haseyo”.
19. The Mongolian greeting is “baina uu”.
20. So, how to say hi in turkish? In Turkey, when greeting a person they say “merhaba/meraba”, “salam” (“hello”) or “gunnaidin” (“good day”).
21. Kazakhs say “salametsiz be” to greet a person. The literal translation of this expression is respectful “Hello”. Almost 7 million of the 10 million Kazakhs live in Kazakhstan. The remaining 3 million are settled in Xinxiang China, Uzbekistan, Russia, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Tajikistan.
| Country | Greeting |
|---|---|
| Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, some parts of Uzbekistan and Bahrain | salam |
| Japan | ohayo/konnitiva/konbanwa |
| North and South Korea | annyeong-haseyo |
| Mongolia | baina uu |
| Turkey | merhaba/meraba/salam/gunnaidin |
| Kazakhstan | salametsiz be |
Eastern European and Baltic languages
Let’s see how to say “hello” in different languages in Eastern European and Baltic countries.
22. In Hungarian the greeting is “sirvus” or “sia”.
23. In Estonia you can greet a person with “tere peevast”, which means “good day”.
24. Finns say “huva paivaa” (“good day” or “hello”) or just “my” (“hello”).
| Country | Greeting |
|---|---|
| Hungaria | sirvus/sia |
| Estonia | tere peevast |
| Finland | huva paivaa/my |
Afrasian languages
This part includes how to say “hello” in different languages of Afrasian countries.
This language group includes the languages of the peoples of North Africa and the Berber languages spoken by nomads living in the Sahara Desert.
25. The members of the Arab world say “maraba” to greet a person. In different dialects it may sound like “merhaba” or “meraba.
Arabic is spoken in northern Africa and the Middle East. It is the main official language of the following countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Western Sahara, Yemen.
Sino-Tibetan languages
Let’s look at how to say “hello” in different languages in Sino-Tibetan countries.
26. “Ni hau” is a greeting in Mandarin. It is considered the most widely spoken language in the world due to the size of the Chinese population. It is spoken by at least 50% of the Chinese population.
27. In South China, Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese is spoken. The greeting “ni hou” as well as “ni hau” in Mandarin means: “you are well.”
| Country | Greeting |
|---|---|
| Northern and Southwestern China | Ni hau |
| South China, Hong Kong and Macau | ni hou/ni hau |
Austronesian languages
Finally, let’s look at how to say hello in different languages in Austronesian countries.
28. In Malay, “good morning/good afternoon/good evening” sounds like “slamat pagi/tengahari/petang.”
29. On the island of Hawaii, tourists are greeted with the word “aloha”.
30. In the Philippines, Tagalog is spoken. To say hello, say “kamusta”.
| Country | Greeting |
|---|---|
| Malaysia | slamat pagi/tengahari/petang |
| Island of Hawaii | aloha |
| Philippines | kamusta |
How to say “hello” in sign language in different countries?
So, there are also many greetings in non-verbal language. Let’s take a look at how to say “hello” in sign language in different countries.
Tibet
In Tibet, when we greet someone, we stick out our tongue a little. In this way we show that it is not black and that we are not the reincarnation of a ninth-century Tibetan king. According to legend, his tongue was black or purple.
New Zealand
The traditional New Zealand greeting is called “hongi,” which is shown by touching the forehead and the nose at the same time.
Japan
The Japanese have a very restrained greeting. They bow. If another person bows to us, we should do the same. Bowing is a sign of respect and ignoring it is viewed very negatively. Your eyes should be looking down. And the depth of the bow depends on the position of our partner – the older and higher the person is, the lower the bow should be.
The Philippines
In the Philippines, when young people greet the elderly, they kneel or bend down and raise their other hand to their forehead. This is one way to show respect.
Thailand
A typical greeting in Thailand is to place your hands as if you were praying, at chest level and leaning slightly forward. It is important to note that your chin should touch your thumbs as you bend over.
Micronesia
The people of Micronesia raise an eyebrow as a sign of greeting. This means they are accepting the presence of another person.
India
Hindus greet each other with the sign of folded hands in prayer. During the greeting, they say the word “Namaste,” raise their hands to chest level, and put their fingers together upward.
France
Kissing on the cheek is very popular in France. And when introducing themselves, the French often mention their academic and professional degrees first.
Greece
In Greece, it is customary to pat each other on the back when greeting each other.
Kenya
The Maasai people greet new visitors with a dance. Then they line up in a circle and compete against each other by showing which one of them jumps the highest.
Did you find a greeting in the language you’re learning in this article? Don’t forget to create a language card in your personal dictionary! Better yet, don’t limit your knowledge to just one greeting, find all the common greetings in the language you’re studying and learn them all.
How to say “hi” in spanish? “Hola!”
