Say Hello in Different Languages
Have you ever stopped to consider how many people are saying "hello" to each other today and in how many different languages? If you wanted to say "hello" to everyone on the planet, you would have to learn at least 2,796 languages and say "hello" to at least 6,000,000,000 (six billion) people. Here are just some of the ways of saying "hello" around the world:
Steps
Hello (formal), Hi (informal) – English
Salut (informal, silent "T"), Bonjour (formal) – French
Hallo (informal), Guten Tag (formal) – German
Moin Moin – Northern German
Hola (pronounced without the H sound, ola)– Buenos Días (morning), Buenas Tardes (afternoon), Buenas Noches (evening) - Spanish
Dobrý deň [dobrii dyeny] - Slovak
Helo – Welsh
Ohayou gozaimasu (O-HA-YOH GO-ZA-EE-MAS) (Morning); Konnichi wa (KOHN-NI-CHEE-WA) (Daytime or Afternoon); Konban wa (KOHN-BAHN-WA)(Evening); Japanese
Ciao (informal), Salve, Buon giorno (Morning, formal), Buon pomeriggio (Afternoon, formal), Buona sera (Evening, formal) – Italian
Hej (informal), God dag (formal) - Swedish
As-salaam-aleykum - Arabic-based languages (Peace be on you)
Sabbah-el-Khair (Good morning) Masaa-el-Khair (good evening); Arabic. note that (Kh) is pronounced from the back of the throat.
Salaam or Do-rood - Persian (see note above - Salaam is an abbreviation, the full version is As-salaam-o-aleykum in all Islamic societies)
Namaste - Hindi
Ahn nyeong ha se yo - Korean
Hallo (informal), Goedendag (formal) - Dutch
Pree-vyet (informal), Zdravstvuyte (formal, pronounce: ZDRA-stvooy-tyeh) - Russian
Ni Hao - Chinese Mandarin
Shalom (which means hello, goodbye and peace) Hi (informal) - Hebrew
Hei - Norwegian
"Oi" or "Olá" (informal), Bom dia (morning), Boa tarde (afternoon), Boa Noite (evening)- Portuguese
Hej (informal) God dag (formal) - Danish
Mingalarbar - Burmese
Merhaba - Turkish
Labas, Sveikas (male) Sveika (female) - Lithuanian
Chao - Vietnam
Kumusta Ka (How are you) - Filipino
Saluton - Esperanto
Vanakkam - Tamil
Jambo - Swahili
Mbote - Lingala
Selamat Pagi (Good Morning), Selamat Siang (Good Afternoon), Selamat Malam (Good Evening) - Indonesian
Namaskar - Nepali
Dzień dobry (formal), Cześć (informal) - Polish
Aloha - Hawaiian
Sawadi-ka (if you're a girl)/ Sawadi-kup (if you're a guy) - Thai
Jo napot [yoh (as in the word "oh") naput](Good-day, formal), Szervusz [Sairvoose] (informal) - Hungarian (Magyar)
Dobry den - Czech
Dobriy ranok (formal)- Good Morning, Dobriy deyn (formal) - Good Afternoon, Dobriy vechir (formal)- Good Evening, Pryvit (informal) - Hi, Ukrainian
Labdien, sveiki, chau (informal sound like in Italian), - Latvian
Hyvää päivää (formal) - Moi / Hei (Informal) - Finnish
Yia sou (Ya-soo) (informal), yia sas (formal) - Greek
Góðan dag (formal), Hæ (informal) - Icelandic
Ellohay - Pig Latin
Namaskkaram - Malayalam
Adaab - Urdu
Baagunnara (formal) - Telugu - (how are you)
Moni Bambo! (to man) / Moni Mayi! (to woman) - Chichewa
Wa uhala po, Meme? (to woman) / Wa uhala po, Tate? (to man) (response: ee) Nawa tuu? (response: ee) (formal) Ongaipi? (how is it? - informal) - Oshikwanyama
Niltze, Hao - Nahuatl
|-|3||0 - Hacker/1337
Bok (informal), Dobro Jutro (Good Morning), Dobar Dan (Day), Dobra Većer (evening), Laku Noć (Good Night) - Croatian
Ya'at'eeh. (Hello!)-Navajo (an American Indian tribe)
Merħba (welcome), Bonġu (Good Morning), Bonswa (Good Evening) - Maltese
Mambo - Congo
Huthegelluthego - jibberish
Salamaleikum (see 11.) - Senegal
Grüzi! (Grew-tsi) - German-speaking parts of Switzerland
Haj (universal), Hallå (informal), Go'da (formal), Go'maren (morning greeting), Go'aften (evening greeting) - Scanian
Ola - Portuguese, Hello (formal)
Oi - Portuguese, Hello (informal)
Bom Dia - Portuguese, Good morning
Boa Tarde - Portuguese, Good afternoon
Boa Noite - Portuguese, Good evening and night
Moïen (MOY-en) - Luxembourgish
Tips
Make sure you use the appropriate greeting for the situation. For example, in English, we use the more formal "good morning, afternoon , or evening" to greet clients in the workplace, but we use the informal "hello" to greet colleagues, friends, and family.
Take the time to learn the correct pronunciation. This not only helps to avoid confusion, it is also common courtesy. For example, many languages have rolled R's, and English is the only language that has the "a" sound as in "black".
Each culture and language has a different form of body language. While hand-shaking is common courtesy in England and America, Korean and Japanese keep a distance and bow, while Ukrainians are affectionate and hug or kiss.
When Navajos shake hands, they don't grab each other's hands in a tight handshake, they simply do a 'limp handshake', and what counts is simply a light squeeze.
Warnings
The cultures of various places are obviously different, and the languages of those places likewise reflect this. For example, the Japanese greeting for 'good morning' should only be used before approximately 10 AM.
If you visit another English speaking country, do not imitate their accents or use their slang, unless you wish to appear rude or presumtuous. Misusing and/or mispronouncing can make you appear inept.
Steps
Hello (formal), Hi (informal) – English
Salut (informal, silent "T"), Bonjour (formal) – French
Hallo (informal), Guten Tag (formal) – German
Moin Moin – Northern German
Hola (pronounced without the H sound, ola)– Buenos Días (morning), Buenas Tardes (afternoon), Buenas Noches (evening) - Spanish
Dobrý deň [dobrii dyeny] - Slovak
Helo – Welsh
Ohayou gozaimasu (O-HA-YOH GO-ZA-EE-MAS) (Morning); Konnichi wa (KOHN-NI-CHEE-WA) (Daytime or Afternoon); Konban wa (KOHN-BAHN-WA)(Evening); Japanese
Ciao (informal), Salve, Buon giorno (Morning, formal), Buon pomeriggio (Afternoon, formal), Buona sera (Evening, formal) – Italian
Hej (informal), God dag (formal) - Swedish
As-salaam-aleykum - Arabic-based languages (Peace be on you)
Sabbah-el-Khair (Good morning) Masaa-el-Khair (good evening); Arabic. note that (Kh) is pronounced from the back of the throat.
Salaam or Do-rood - Persian (see note above - Salaam is an abbreviation, the full version is As-salaam-o-aleykum in all Islamic societies)
Namaste - Hindi
Ahn nyeong ha se yo - Korean
Hallo (informal), Goedendag (formal) - Dutch
Pree-vyet (informal), Zdravstvuyte (formal, pronounce: ZDRA-stvooy-tyeh) - Russian
Ni Hao - Chinese Mandarin
Shalom (which means hello, goodbye and peace) Hi (informal) - Hebrew
Hei - Norwegian
"Oi" or "Olá" (informal), Bom dia (morning), Boa tarde (afternoon), Boa Noite (evening)- Portuguese
Hej (informal) God dag (formal) - Danish
Mingalarbar - Burmese
Merhaba - Turkish
Labas, Sveikas (male) Sveika (female) - Lithuanian
Chao - Vietnam
Kumusta Ka (How are you) - Filipino
Saluton - Esperanto
Vanakkam - Tamil
Jambo - Swahili
Mbote - Lingala
Selamat Pagi (Good Morning), Selamat Siang (Good Afternoon), Selamat Malam (Good Evening) - Indonesian
Namaskar - Nepali
Dzień dobry (formal), Cześć (informal) - Polish
Aloha - Hawaiian
Sawadi-ka (if you're a girl)/ Sawadi-kup (if you're a guy) - Thai
Jo napot [yoh (as in the word "oh") naput](Good-day, formal), Szervusz [Sairvoose] (informal) - Hungarian (Magyar)
Dobry den - Czech
Dobriy ranok (formal)- Good Morning, Dobriy deyn (formal) - Good Afternoon, Dobriy vechir (formal)- Good Evening, Pryvit (informal) - Hi, Ukrainian
Labdien, sveiki, chau (informal sound like in Italian), - Latvian
Hyvää päivää (formal) - Moi / Hei (Informal) - Finnish
Yia sou (Ya-soo) (informal), yia sas (formal) - Greek
Góðan dag (formal), Hæ (informal) - Icelandic
Ellohay - Pig Latin
Namaskkaram - Malayalam
Adaab - Urdu
Baagunnara (formal) - Telugu - (how are you)
Moni Bambo! (to man) / Moni Mayi! (to woman) - Chichewa
Wa uhala po, Meme? (to woman) / Wa uhala po, Tate? (to man) (response: ee) Nawa tuu? (response: ee) (formal) Ongaipi? (how is it? - informal) - Oshikwanyama
Niltze, Hao - Nahuatl
|-|3||0 - Hacker/1337
Bok (informal), Dobro Jutro (Good Morning), Dobar Dan (Day), Dobra Većer (evening), Laku Noć (Good Night) - Croatian
Ya'at'eeh. (Hello!)-Navajo (an American Indian tribe)
Merħba (welcome), Bonġu (Good Morning), Bonswa (Good Evening) - Maltese
Mambo - Congo
Huthegelluthego - jibberish
Salamaleikum (see 11.) - Senegal
Grüzi! (Grew-tsi) - German-speaking parts of Switzerland
Haj (universal), Hallå (informal), Go'da (formal), Go'maren (morning greeting), Go'aften (evening greeting) - Scanian
Ola - Portuguese, Hello (formal)
Oi - Portuguese, Hello (informal)
Bom Dia - Portuguese, Good morning
Boa Tarde - Portuguese, Good afternoon
Boa Noite - Portuguese, Good evening and night
Moïen (MOY-en) - Luxembourgish
Tips
Make sure you use the appropriate greeting for the situation. For example, in English, we use the more formal "good morning, afternoon , or evening" to greet clients in the workplace, but we use the informal "hello" to greet colleagues, friends, and family.
Take the time to learn the correct pronunciation. This not only helps to avoid confusion, it is also common courtesy. For example, many languages have rolled R's, and English is the only language that has the "a" sound as in "black".
Each culture and language has a different form of body language. While hand-shaking is common courtesy in England and America, Korean and Japanese keep a distance and bow, while Ukrainians are affectionate and hug or kiss.
When Navajos shake hands, they don't grab each other's hands in a tight handshake, they simply do a 'limp handshake', and what counts is simply a light squeeze.
Warnings
The cultures of various places are obviously different, and the languages of those places likewise reflect this. For example, the Japanese greeting for 'good morning' should only be used before approximately 10 AM.
If you visit another English speaking country, do not imitate their accents or use their slang, unless you wish to appear rude or presumtuous. Misusing and/or mispronouncing can make you appear inept.
Comment