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Nov 17, 2023 | Guide to Language

How To Say Hello In Different Languages

Learning essential words like “hello” and “thank you” in different languages  is a key step in forging meaningful connections worldwide. Whether you’re exploring new countries, engaging in international business, or fostering new friendships, the ability to greet others in their native language is more than a mere courtesy—it’s a bridge towards mutual understanding and respect. Engaging in conversations and offering greetings in diverse languages demonstrates a genuine appreciation and curiosity for the cultural nuances.We have compiled a handy guide to teach you how to greet in different languages and help you improve your language skills.

11 Ways To Say Hello: Formal And Informal

Language Formal Informal
MANDARIN CHINESE nǐn hǎo nǐ hǎo
SPANISH Hola ¿Qué tal?
ARABIC Asalaam Alaikum Marhaba
FRENCH Bonjour Salut
RUSSIAN Zdravstvuyte Privet
GERMAN Guten Tag Hallo
JAPANESE Konnichiwa Yā, Yō
HINDI-URDU Namaste
ITALIAN Salve Ciao
SWAHILI Habari Hujambo
GREEK Kalimera Yasou

Hello in Fantasy Languages

Language Formal Hello Informal Hello Origin
Elvish (Sindarin) Suilad Mae govannen J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
Elvish (Quenya) Auta i lome Malallo le J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
Dothraki M'athchomaroon Hash yer dothrae Game of Thrones
Klingon nuqneH Qapla' Star Trek
Na'vi Kaltxì Eywa ngahu Avatar
Dwarvish Khazâd ai-mênu Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd aimênu! J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth

Knowing how to greet people in fantasy languages is a great start if you start your language learning journey.

Learn To Say Hello: From Spanish To Greek

Learn To Say Hello: From Spanish To Greek

Have you ever thought of wishing your dear one good morning in different languages? Let’s have a look at how to say hello in different languages.

MANDARIN CHINESE

Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language on Earth, with more than 1 billion speakers worldwide. It is a tonal language, with the standard register based on the dialect spoken in Beijing. Since the 14th century, some form or the other of Mandarin has served as the lingua franca of China.

Today, it serves as an official language in China, Taiwan, and Singapore, as well as one of the six working languages of the United Nations. In China, it is known as Pǔtōnghuà. There is also a vast Chinese diaspora, especially in the US and Australia. The spirit of th meaning is important than the literal translation. Click here to learn more about our language translation services.

As China is a country where English is not spoken very widely, a few essential words in Mandarin are necessary to travel there. In informal situations, hello in Mandarin is nǐ hǎo, and for formal situations, it is nǐn hǎo.

You can also read on to know how are you in Spanish

SPANISH

SPANISH

With more than 500 million speakers, Spanish is one of the most widely spoken different languages in the world. It is spoken on all continents across more than 20 other countries. It is a Romance language descended from Latin, with significant Arabic influence, and is the third most spoken language on the Internet after English and Chinese.

The countries where it is spoken officially are Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Equatorial Guinea, not to mention significant minorities in United States, Brazil, and the Philippines.

It is also one of the six official working languages of the United Nations. Surely, a language that is so widespread and has so much heritage warrants some basic knowledge of it. The informal hello in Spanish is ¿Qué tal?, while in formal settings, it is Hola!

ARABIC

ARABIC

Arabic has over 300 million speakers, and Arabs are the second-largest single ethnic group on the planet.

As the official language of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Palestine, Mauritania, Chad, Comoros, and Djibouti, as well as one of the six official working languages of the United Nations.

This range, spanning from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf and its status as the holy language of Islam, makes it one of the most influential languages in human history.

It has several different dialects, all being united through a single standardized form based on the language of the Quran, called Modern Standard Arabic.

In Arabic, a formal hello is Asalaam Alaikum (to which the reply is Wa Alaikum as-salaam), and an informal hello is Marhaba.

FRENCH

FRENCH

With almost 280 million speakers, French is a significant European Romance language that evolved from Latin. Due to past French imperialism, it is spoken in many parts of the world outside Europe, including large parts of Africa.

A demographic study projected that the total number of real native speakers would reach 500 million due to African population growth by 2025.

It is an official language in France, Belgium, Canada, Seychelles, Pondicherry in India, Vanuatu, Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Djibouti, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Switzerland, Togo, Rwanda, Burundi, Madagascar, Monaco, Luxembourg, Ivory Coast, Haiti, Louisiana in the USA, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Comoros, Chad, Central African Republic, as well as a working language of the United Nations.

A significant language of culture, art, and science, French is a hugely influential language that has been considered a language of love and philosophy. It was once the language of diplomacy in Europe, too. In formal French, say hello as Bonjour, while in the informal language, it is Salut.

If you want to know about different languages spoken in Australia, then read these important facts on Australian culture and stay tuned with us.

RUSSIAN

RUSSIAN
Russia is a Slavic language that is the most spoken first language in Europe, with over 250 million native speakers. A dominant language of science and culture, due to being the official language of the former superpower, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union), it has a considerable influence worldwide.

It is spoken in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Israel with varying levels of fluency, as well as being the second most spoken language on the Internet, and a working language of the United Nations. 

In Russian, a formal hello is Zdravstvuyte, while a casual hello is Privet.

GERMAN

GERMAN

German is a Germanic language spoken in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg and has more than 100 million speakers. Notable for its wide variety of dialects, German is a pluricentric language with no standard version.

It is a significant language of commerce and education in Europe. While it did not descend from Latin, it has been heavily influenced by it, and a considerable part of the German vocabulary is borrowed from Latin. It is also known as a primary language of science and philosophy in its own right.

In formal German, hello is Guten Tag, while in informal usage, a German hello is simply Hallo! This is because both German and English are Germanic languages and are closely related. Are you looking for some German boy names for your baby? Stay tuned to our next blog.

JAPANESE

JAPANESE

Japanese is the primary language of Japan, where around 120 million people speak it. It is a language unrelated to any other language on Earth. However, for historical reasons, it has a lot of influence, and words were borrowed from Ancient China.

This influence takes the form of a large amount of vocabulary borrowed from Chinese and using Chinese characters to write Japanese.

Japanese has three writing systems: kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Recently, some words from Western languages have entered the language, too. The Japanese language is famous for poetic forms like the haiku.

Due to Japan’s complex hierarchy system, knowing when to use informal greeting and formal hello is crucial. The formal hello in Japanese is Konnichiwa, and the informal hello is Yā, Yō.

HINDI-URDU

Japanese is the primary language of Japan, where around 120 million people speak it. It is a language unrelated to any other language on Earth. However, for historical reasons, it has a lot of influence, and words were borrowed from Ancient China.<br />
This influence takes the form of a large amount of vocabulary borrowed from Chinese and using Chinese characters to write Japanese.<br />
Japanese has three writing systems: kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Recently, some words from Western languages have entered the language, too. The Japanese language is famous for poetic forms like the haiku.<br />
Due to Japan's complex hierarchy system, knowing when to use informal greeting and formal hello is crucial. The formal hello in Japanese is Konnichiwa, and the informal hello is Yā, Yō.<br />
HINDI-URDU<br />

It is also known as Hindustani; this is a fascinating situation, as Hindi and Urdu are essentially the same languages, with differing vocabulary choices. Hindi has more Sanskrit-based vocabulary, while Urdu has more Persian-based vocabulary. However, both are completely intelligible to speakers of the other.

This language has a long and rich history as the vehicle of empires, culture, and trade in the Indian subcontinent. That is why it has a large number of both first and second-language speakers, totalling more than 600 million speakers.

It is widely understood across the Indian subcontinent and beyond, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Fiji, Mauritius, the Caribbean, and the global Indian diaspora!

You can greet people in Hindustani by saying Namaskar or Namaste.

ITALIAN

ITALIAN

Italian is a Romance language descended from Latin, and with around 90 million speakers, it is the fourth largest language of the European Union. It is official in Italy, San Marino, Malta, Vatican City, and Switzerland. 

Italian is a different language that is closest to Latin and is famous as the language of music, fashion, and food. Almost all Italian words end in vowels, which makes rhyming in Italian quite easy and has spread the fame of Italian poetry worldwide. 

A formal hello in Italian is Salve, and an informal hello is Ciao (also means bye!).

SWAHILI

SWAHILI

Also known as Kiswahili, this is one of the new languages on this list, being born around 1700. Swahili was formed as a result of trade between African tribes and Arab merchants, and that is why this language has a massive amount of Arabic loanwords.

Today, it is the main bridge language of Eastern Africa and is considered as the easiest African language to learn for an English speaker. 

One interesting feature of this language is that very few speak it as a first language (only around 2 million), mostly a second language (150 million). It is now spoken in Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, and Mozambique. 

A formal hello in Swahili is Habari, and an informal hello is Hujambo. 

GREEK

GREEK

Greek is a truly legendary language, having an extremely long documented history and being the language of Aristotle, Plato, and Alexander the Great. Even today, around 13 million people speak in Greece, Cyprus, and the diaspora. 

Greek has long been considered the language of philosophy and science, and today, many scientific terms in English are derived from Greek. 

This language has been used as a bridge in diverse regions such as Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and India. The long history and tradition of this language make it truly one of a kind. 

In Greek, a formal hello is Kalimera, and an informal hello is Yasou.

Learn a New Language From Native Speakers To Greet People

Learn a New Language From Native Speakers To Greet People

We hope you liked this blog on how to say hello in different languages, which is helpful and interesting. The greeting in many languages, such as the Spanish Hola, German Guten Tag, Chinese Nǐ hǎo, or the French Bonjour, are quite famous and well known. 

We bet that your language learning journey doesn’t stop here. You can learn any language faster if you try to immerse yourse fully in it. If you want to learn more about a non-conventional, read about Australian Sign Language here. 

Knowing how to say a proper hello will get you started on the right foot. So, learn the various ways to say hello in different languages for your utility and to imbibe the rich cultural heritage of the above languages. Google Translate is not the way to impress locals, specifically when it comes to saying “Thank You” In Thai Language. Thank you for reading, and be sure to watch this space regularly for more great and engaging content!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a fancy way to say hello?

Hello is the universal term that can be said in different languages for greeting someone, whether a known person or a stranger. You can use these phrases to say hello in style. 

How are you? It is the most common alternative to saying hello. You can say it to someone you meet after some days or a stranger you are meeting for the first time.

Good Morning/ Afternoon/Evening – The most formal greeting to start an official conversation.

Hey, What’s Up – It is an informal and fancy way to say hello. Friends usually greet each other using this phrase.

Pleased to meet you – It is applicable when meeting someone for the first time.

How do you say hello in a chat?

Chat is not like verbal communication, where you say hello and then move on to your main topic. In chat, you must wait for the person to respond before moving towards the next point. So, don’t say only “hello”. Mention the reason along it. For example: “Hello, do you have some time?” or “Hey, are you there?”

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