How do you say hello
How do you say hello
11 ways to say Hello in English
Updated May 10, 2022
Do you want to make your English a bit more natural? Learning a few different ways to say hello in English and greet people is a good way to do this.
Because, surprise, surprise, there’s more than one way to say ‘hello’ in English.
Learn languages at your pace
How to say hello in formal and informal English
1. Hello
This is the most basic greeting in English that even an elderly babushka in a Russian village is likely to know.
It’s also been used in countless songs, from The Beatles’ ‘Hello, Goodbye’ to Adele’s simple ‘Hello’. English speakers use the greeting ‘Hello’ when they answer the phone too.
2. Good morning/Good afternoon/Good evening
These are more formal ways of saying ‘hello’ to someone. They are often used in a business context, when you are meeting your new boss, for example.
You would also use it to address a big audience at a formal event: “Good evening, my name’s James Cornwell.”
‘Hi’ is an informal way to say ‘hello’. English speakers often use it to greet their friends. However, they also use ‘hi’ to say ‘hello’ to people they don’t know in an informal context. It sounds friendly and warm, so when you are introduced to a friend of a friend, for example, saying ‘Hi, it’s nice to meet you’ is fine.
4. Hey
‘Hey’ is very similar to ‘hi’, but it’s only used when you’ve met someone before. It’s an informal greeting, but acceptable in more formal or business situations when you know the person well. For example, ‘Hey Sue, good to see you again.’
5. Hiya
‘Hiya’ is commonly used in England as a very informal greeting. Be careful not to mix the pronunciation up with the ‘Hi-ya!’; you don’t want to sound like a ninja.
Learn languages at your pace
How to say hello in very different ways
6. What’s up?/Wassup?
‘What’s up?’ and ‘Wassup?’ are really informal ways to say ‘hello’ to someone. They mean ‘how are you?’ but you’re not usually expected to answer with ‘I’m very well thank you’. In fact, this would sound quite odd. Your conversation should go: ‘Wassup?’ ‘Hey!’.
7. Look who it is!
This is an informal way to say ‘hello’ to someone you didn’t expect to see, or someone you haven’t seen for a long time. It’s usually said in a surprised tone of voice. However, it can also be used when you’re really not pleased to see someone, but the tone of voice should give away the person’s feelings. ‘Oh, look who it is! Helen, it’s so nice to see you here!’, vs. ‘Oh, look who it is. My ex-husband and his 20-year-old wife.’
8. Look what the cat dragged in!
This is a very informal expression and only to be used with friends. Unless you don’t like someone or really want to offend someone, then use away. English speakers say, ‘Look what the cat dragged in,’ to greet someone they haven’t seen for a long time, or someone who arrives unexpectedly. For example, if your university student child shows up at 10am after a long night of partying: ‘Look what the cat dragged in’.
How to say hello in different countries
9. Howdy
This way to say ‘hello’ is heard most often in the southern part of the United States. English speakers from Texas to Nevada will greet each other with ‘Howdy!’. It is a shortened version of ‘how do you do?’, but simply means ‘hello’. ‘Howdy’ sounds odd when said by people from outside of the southern US – like you’re pretending to be a cowboy.
10. G’day
Moving from the southern US to Australia, ‘G’day’ is a common greeting among Aussies. A shortened form of ‘Good day’, it is an informal way to greet people you know. As Australians, in general, are informal people, you will often hear ‘g’day’ when you pass someone while hiking in the bush.
11. How do?
And finally to the north of England, where the very short ‘how do?’ is a perfectly acceptable way to greet someone.
Now you know a few different ways to say hello. So what will you choose: a cowboy Howdy!, a ninja Hiya!, or a casual G’day from Down Under?
Learn languages at your pace
Laura is a freelance writer and was an ESL teacher for eight years. She was born in the UK and has lived in Australia and Poland, where she writes blogs for Lingoda about everything from grammar to dating English speakers. She’s definitely better at the first one. She loves travelling and that’s the other major topic that she writes on.
Laura likes pilates and cycling, but when she’s feeling lazy she can be found curled up watching Netflix. She’s currently learning Polish, and her battle with that mystifying language has given her huge empathy for anyone struggling to learn English. Find out more about her work in her portfolio.
30 Ways to Say “Hello” in English | Useful Hello Synonyms
English greetings! List of different ways to say HELLO with examples and ESL pictures. Learn these Hello synonyms to enhance your vocabulary and improve your communication skill in English.
Table of Contents
Hello Synonyms
Different Ways to Say Hello
Greetings: 30 Ways to Say HELLO | Useful Hello Synonyms Image
Hello Synonyms with Example Sentences
List of greetings with example sentences in English.
Hi there
Howdy
Greetings
Hey, What’s up?
Morning/afternoon/evening
What’s going on?
Hey! There she/he is
How’s everything?
How are things?
Good to see you
Great to see you
Nice to see you
What’s happening
How’s it going?
Good evening
Hey, boo
How are you?
Nice to meet you!
Long time no see
What’s the good word?
What’s new?
Look who it is!
How have you been?
Nice to see you again.
Greetings and salutations!
How are you doing today?
What have you been up to?
How are you feeling today?
Look what the cat dragged in!
Good afternoon, sir, how are you today?
Different Ways to Say Hello | Picture
Ways to Say HELLO | Useful Hello Synonyms Video
(English Greetings: 30 Ways to Say HELLO)
How to Say Hello in 100 Different Languages So You Can Greet Anyone
Before you visit a country, it’s smart to learn how to say hello. After travelling to over 29 countries, I’ve learned how to say hello in different languages so I can greet locals in their own words.
Even if you’re terrible at learning languages (like me!), it’s easy to pick up a few words. Hello, please, thank you, and how are you are great terms to know so you can start a conversation with anyone around the world and quickly find a new friend.
This guide will help prepare you to make friends around the world by learning how to say hi in different languages. I couldn’t cover every language – especially as some are very hard to write out phonetically.
But I have covered hello in 100 languages so you’ll be set in almost every country around the world.
Use this guide to say hello in many languages, learn where you should say them, and how to pronounce them. You’ll be able to greet people in every continent!
Let’s dive right into your language lesson!
Need help learning a new language? I recommend iTalki! I’ve tried ALL the apps, but iTalki is the only way I’ve managed to learn as much as living in the local country.
Note: In this guide on how do you say hello in other languages, we’ll be focussing on the translations for “hello” specifically. There are many ways to say hi in different languages, as well as other welcoming greetings. But then we’d be here for years, years you could be spending travelling! Instead, we’ll just be looking at 100 ways to say “hello” specifically.
Hello in Different Languages with Pronunciation
1. English = Hello
Where to Say It: The second most spoken language in the world, it’s an international language for solo travellers to use and be understood. It’s the official language of Canada, the UK, the United States, Australia, New Zealand.
How to Pronounce it: huh-lOH
2. French = Bonjour
Where to Say It: Most popular in France, French is also widely spoken in other countries around the world. You’ll be understood in Quebec and most of Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco, Tunisia, and Alergia. Additionally, French is spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Guinea, Gabon, and Mauritius. You’ll want to pick up a phrasebook to help with the complex grammar.
How to Pronounce it: bon-ZHOOR
3. Spanish = Hola
Where to Say It: Spanish is the native language of Spain and Mexico. In most of South America and Central America, Spanish is the primary language. It is also the second most common language in the United States.
How to Pronounce it: OH-laa
If you’re planning a trip to Spain and looking to learn even more Spanish, I highly recommend picking up this pocket phrasebook. It is the perfect guide to keep in your pocket/purse and use on the go and it’s affordable!
4. Italian = Ciao
Where to Say It: Say ciao on your way to get an espresso in Italy.
How to Pronounce it: chau
Learn the top 1000 common Italian phrases with this book to help you get to know locals – and maybe find love in Italy!
5. Portugese = Olá
Where to Say It: Portuguese is the language of Portugal and Brazil. It is still spoken in former colonies, like Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Sao Tome, and Macau. You’ll also find linguistic roots in the Philippines.
How to Pronounce it: oh-LAA
6. Maori = Kia Ora
Where to Say It: Kia Ora is the traditional greeting of the indigenous peoples of New Zealand.
How to Pronounce it: ki-ao-ra
Maori pronunciations are really complicated. Avoid being laughed at for confusing your “f”s with “wh”s. This book helped me a lot.
7. Australian = G’day
Where to Say It: This informal greeting is used in Australia and New Zealand to say good day or hello.
How to Pronounce it: guh-day
8. Greek = Geia (γεια)
Where to Say It: One of the many ways to say hello in the Greek language is geia. It can be used to greet people in Greece and Cyprus.
How to Pronounce it: ya
9. Serbian = Zdravo
Where to Say It: This Slavic language is spoken in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Croatia. It is similar to many other Slavic languages.
How to Pronounce it: ZDRAH-voh
10. Croatian = Zdravo
Where to Say It: Croatian is best used in Croatia, but is also spoken in some parts of Bosnia and Serbia.
How to Pronounce it: ZDRAH-voh
11. Russian = Privet
Where to Say It: Russian is the most common language in Eastern Europe. Say privet in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and other Eastern European countries.
How to Pronounce it: pree-VYEHT
12. Mandarin = Nǐ hǎo
Where to Say It: As the most spoken language in the world, it’s useful to know how to say hello in this language everywhere. It’s primarily spoken in China. If you’re visiting, you should pick up some books to learn Chinese Madarin before you arrive.
How to Pronounce it: nee haow
13. Cantonese = Nǐ hǎo
Where to Say It: Many people think “Chinese” is a language, but Cantonese and Mandarin are very different. Cantonese is mostly spoken in Southern China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
How to Pronounce it: nie haow
14. Hindi = Namaste
Where to Say It: Hindi is one of the official languages of India, but is most commonly spoken in Northern India. You’ll also be understood in Nepal or in any yoga class.
How to Pronounce it: nah-mah-steh
15. Japanese = Kon’nichiwa
Where to Say It: This is an all day greeting in Japan.
How to Pronounce it: kohn-nee-chee-wah
16. Turkish = Merhaba
Where to Say It: Turkish is spoken in Turkey and Cyprus. You’ll also find it in parts of Azerbaijan.
How to Pronounce it: mehr-hah-bah
17. Korean = Anyeong Haseyo
Where to Say It: North Korea and South Korea.
How to Pronounce it: AHN-young-ha-say-yo
18. Slovak = Ahoj
Where to Say It: Primarily spoken in Slovakia.
How to Pronounce it: AH-hoy
19. German = Guten tag
Where to Say It: Greet people this way in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
How to Pronounce it: goo-tenn tahk
This phrasebook helped me massively when I was trying to shop in Germany.
20. Dutch = Hallo
Where to Say It: Spoken by millions in the Netherlands and northern Belgium.
How to Pronounce it: HAAL-oo
21. Polish = Cześć
Where to Say It: The official language of Poland, Polish is said to be one of the hardest languages to learn.
How to Pronounce it: cheshch
22. Thai = S̄wạs̄dī
Where to Say It: Sole language of Thailand.
How to Pronounce it: sa-wat-dii
Want to learn Thai? I recommend this pocket phrasebook that you can easily carry with you. This way you won’t be stranded in a market with no idea how to order dinner – or what you’re ordering!
23. Hungarian = Szia
Where to Say It: Hungary is mostly spoken in Hungary, but parts of the Balkans also speak it.
How to Pronounce it: SEE-ah
24. Czech = Ahoj
Where to Say It: Mainly spoken in the Czech Republic.
How to Pronounce it: AH-hoy
Need help learning a new language? I recommend iTalki! I’ve tried ALL the apps, but iTalki is the only way I’ve managed to learn as much as living in the local country.
25. Bengali = Hyālō
Where to Say It: The official language of Bangladesh.
How to Pronounce it: hel-oh
26. Urdu = Assalam u Alaikum
Where to Say It: National language of Pakistan, with similarities to the Hindi language.
How to Pronounce it: as-salam-u lay-kuhm
27. Persian = Salām
Where to Say It: Persian or Farsi is spoken is Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain.
How to Pronounce it: saol-am
28. Ukrainian = Dobryj Den
Where to Say It: Spoken in the Ukraine.
How to Pronounce it: DOH-brihy dehn
29. Swedish = Hallå
Where to Say It: Language of Sweden and the Aland Islands.
How to Pronounce it: hal-oa
30. Afrikaans = Hallo
Where to Say It: Say good morning this way in South Africa and Namibia. Some parts of Botswana and Zimbabwe also speak Afrikans.
How to Pronounce it: hel-OH
31. Romanian = Bunâ
Where to Say It: Spoken in Romania and Moldova.
How to Pronounce it: boo-na
32. Hebrew = Shalom
Where to Say It: Historically, the language of those in Israel and of the Jewish faith.
How to Pronounce it: shah-LOHM
33. Armenian = Barev
Where to Say It: Republic of Armenia and in Armenian Diaspora communities.
How to Pronounce it: bah-REV
34. Arabic = Marhabaan
Where to Say It: There are many dialects of Arabic throughout North Africa and the Middle East. Say hell in this Arabic in Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, and Yemen.
How to Pronounce it: mur-hah-bahn
35. Punjabi = Sata Srī Akāla
Where to Say It: This 10th most spoken language in the world is a language spoken in India.
How to Pronounce it: saht sree ah-kahl
36. Javanese = halo
Where to Say It: Spoken in Java, Indonesia.
How to Pronounce it: hah-low
37. Malay/Indonesian = Selamat Pagi
Where to Say It: You’ll find this language in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand. It is the official language of Malaysia and Brunei.
How to Pronounce it: suh-lah-met pah-gee
38. Vietnamese = Xin Chào
Where to Say It: Primarily spoken in Vietnam.
How to Pronounce it: sin CHOW
39. Basque = Kaixo
Where to Say It: Spoken in the Basque regions of Spain, located in Northern Spain and Southern France.
How to Pronounce it: kia-show
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40. Bavarian = Servus
Where to Say It: Regional dialect in Bavaria, Germany and Western Austria.
How to Pronounce it: SER-VOOS
41. Tagalog = Kamusta
Where to Say It: Tagalog is the primary language of the Philippines.
How to Pronounce it: kuh-moos-tah
42. Swahili = Jambo
Where to Say It: Swahili is mainly in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. It is the secondary language in East Africa.
How to Pronounce it: jam-BOH
43. Uzbek = Salom
Where to Say It: Uzbek is the national language of Uzebekistan.
How to Pronounce it: shah-lohm
44. Azerbaijani = Salam
Where to Say It: Say hello this way in Azerbaijan. You’ll also find it in Northern Iran, southern Dagestan, Kvemo Kartli in Georgia, Eastern Turkey, and some parts of Iraq.
How to Pronounce it: sal-aam
45. Kurdish = Slav
Where to Say It: Spoken by 30 million people in Western Asian, including Kurdistan, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria.
How to Pronounce it: slaw
46. Nepali = Namaste
Where to Say It: Sole language of Nepal and one of the languages of India.
How to Pronounce it: nah-mahs-teh
47. Haitian Creole = Bonjou
Where to Say It: Spoken in Haiti, along with French.
How to Pronounce it: BON-joo
48. Belarusian = Dobry Dzień
Where to Say It: Spoken in Belarus and parts of Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.
How to Pronounce it: DOH-brihy dehn
49. Chichewa = Moni
Where to Say It: Also called Nyanja, this Bantu language is spoken in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
How to Pronounce it: mooni
50. Fijian = Bula
Where to Say It: Native language of Fiji.
How to Pronounce it: mbula
51. Hawaiian = Aloha
Where to Say It: Spoken in Hawaii.
How to Pronounce it: AH-low-ha
52. Samoan= Tālofa
Where to Say It: Greet people in the Samoan Islands this way.
How to Pronounce it: tah-low-fah
53. Tongan = Mālō e lelei
Where to Say It: Language of the Kingdom of Tonga.
How to Pronounce it: mah-lo eh lei-lei
54. Yiddish = A Gutn Tog
Where to Say It: Historical language of the Ashkenazi Jewish peoples.
How to Pronounce it: a goo-ten tawg
55. Welsh = S’mae
Where to Say It: Spoken in Wales and routinely mocked in greater Britain for its abundance of consonants.
How to Pronounce it: shoe-my
Russian Greetings: 15 Ways to Say “Hello” in Russian
written by
Arie Helderman
The first thing that baffles everyone who’s ever picked up a basic list of Russian words, is how to say “hello” in Russian…
How can something so basic, have four consonants following each other?
It’s like the language version of military training. It’s meant to test your willpower, reserve, endurance, and only allow those who really want to finish the program. And it’s just the start!
The program here, of course, means learning how to speak Russian.
If you can make peace with the fact that the answer to a simple question, ‘how do you say “hello” in Russian?’, isn’t as easy as you’d expect it to be, you’ve passed the first trial.
But for those who aren’t ready yet, it’s a good idea to look into 15 alternative Russian greetings.
Curious? Let’s find out what these basic Russian phrases are!
Russian Greetings
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines a greeting as a salutation at meeting. Just like in English, you can say the following Russian greetings whenever you meet a Russian person.
Be aware: the Russian language has a high level of politeness. So some greetings are better used for your close friends, where others are only good in specific (formal) situations.
Don’t worry though. After every greeting I’ll quickly discuss what it means (literal meaning & English equivalent) and in which situations you can use it.
1. “Hi” in Russian – Привет (privyet)
After trying to pronounce the tongue twister здравствуйте, you’d do better and switch to this simple way of saying “hi” in Russian. It’s easy to say and chances are you’ll get it right on your first or second try.
Even though it’s officially considered an informal way of saying hello, you can get away with in many cases. For example, saying “hi” to friends, family, or even casual acquaintances. If you’re unsure though, I recommend you only say it to those that you’d otherwise address with the informal “you” (ты).
*The great thing about being a foreigner in Russia, is that you have much more leeway with getting the formality (or anything, really) right. As people know it’s not your native language, they’re quick to forgive little mistakes. *
When I’m in Russia, I basically make привет my default greeting. Unless I’m in the following situations:
In any of those cases, you’re better of doing some mouth gymnastics and saying….
2. “Hello” in Russian – Здравствуйте (zdravstvuyte)
Look, the first thing that you absolutely must know before even trying to pronounce this greeting is that *virtually every Russian person skips the first ‘в’ and softens the ‘c’ to more of a ‘z’ sound. *So instead of four consonants, you actually only have to pronounce three.
This makes it a lot easier (still not easy though!).
Try saying it: Zdraztvuytye
How did that go? Better, right? Good. Don’t worry about perfect pronunciation at this point. Just know that it will get better over time, as you improve your ability to say multiple consonants right after each other.
As far as the use is concerned, it’s a great greeting to use in every situation where you’d otherwise use the formal “you” (Вы) in Russian.
Здравствуйте is the formal command of the verb здравствовать – which means “to live long”. So when you say здравствуйте, you command them to live well and long. Over time the meaning has switched to only hello, but it’s nice to know where it comes from as few foreigners will know this.
Still find it hard to pronounce? Then you’ll love the next greeting.
3. An Informal “Hello” in Russian – Здрасте (Zdraste)
Sometimes I get the feeling that even Russians find здравствуйте a little over the top and too long for a regular greeting.
That’s why you’ll often hear the shortened version of it: Здрасте.
If you’d repeat Здравствуйте 20 times as fast as you can, you quickly notice that you drop the вы in the middle of it. And you’re left with an even shorter (and way easier on the tongue) way of saying “hello”.
As far as the usage and formality is concerned, I’d say it’s somewhere in between здравствуйте and привет. You often hear this greeting when someone says “hi” to a small group of people (five or so), and still wants to say hello to each individual.
4. A More Affectionate “Hi” in Russian – Приветик (privyetik)
If you’ve been learning Russian for a while, you’ll know that you can ‘cutify’ almost every word by adding a suffix. One of them is “ик”, and it works well to add to привет. You can hear kids saying this, or sometimes an adult to kids.
I don’t really recommend foreigners to use this mini version of привет, since it’s tough to get its usage right. Saying it to adults can get you some weird looks. So if you’re going the informal route, just stick to the tried and true привет.
5. A Russified “Hello” – Алло / Алё / Элло (Allo / Alyo / Ello)
This one shouldn’t come as a surprise, as I’m sure you’ve heard Russians speak English before, right? You simply take the English “hello” and say it with a Russian accent.
If you try to say this as a foreigner, 80% chance it will look as if you’re making fun of the Russian accent.
So don’t say this.
6. “Hey” in Russian – Здорого (Zdorovo)
This is another trap in the land of Russian greetings (don’t worry, we’ll get to more safe words starting in a moment). When pronouncing this informal greeting, be sure to put the stress on the second o. When the stress is on the first o, it means “nice” or “well done”. So keep this in mind to avoid weird situations, where someone tells you “nice, good job”, and you respond by saying “hi”.
7. “Good Morning” in Russian – Доброе утро (dobroye utro)
We’re back in safe territory. “Good morning” in Russian literally means “kind morning”. The Russian word for morning (утро), is neuter gender, so the adjective should also be in the neuter form.
It’s easy to recognize this, as every word that ends in “е” or “о” is neuter. And the adjective takes these two letters to form the ending. If you want to learn more about this, you can check out this guide to Russian noun genders. As “good day” and “good evening” also follow this adjective plus noun combination.
As you’d expect, you can say доброе утро, every time when it’s morning, or when you just woke up.
8. “Good Day” in Russian – Добрый день (dobriy den)
Again, this literally means “kind day”. You can say this approximately from 12pm until 6pm. The word for day (день) is masculine, so the adjective should follow suit.
9. “Good evening” in Russian – Добрый вечер (dobriy vecher)
Nothing new here. It literally means “kind evening”. You can use it after 6pm.
10. “Goodnight” in Russian – Доброй ночи (dobroy nochi)
I was doubting whether to include this here, as it’s not really a Russian greeting. Just like in English, “goodnight” in Russian is more often used to wish someone a good night of sleep. Even if you’d meet someone late at night, you’re better off saying добрый вечер (“good evening”).
Also notice that Доброй ночи, is not in the nominative case, as with the previous three greetings. This is because often when you’re wishing something to someone, you put the thing you wish in the genitive case.
11. “Welcome” in Russian – Добро пожаловать (dobro pozhalovat’)
If you’ve ever been to Russia, you’ve seen this every time you enter a city, region or village. It’s a formal way of saying “welcome”, but you can use it in any informal situation as well. Literally, it means something along the lines of “kind staying”. So you wish someone a kind stay, you can say these words.
12. “Welcome” (After a Long Journey)- С приездом (S priyezdom)
You probably don’t need to say this, but do expect to hear it said to you. Even though it’s best translated as “welcome”, it’s literally a form of congratulations and means “[congratulations] with arrival”. Приезд is used here in the instrumental case, as the preposition is “с” (with), which always triggers this case.
13. “Welcome” (After a Flight) – С прилётом (S prilyotom)
This expression is the same as “С приездом”, but it’s used if you arrive by plane, as прилёт means flight arrival.
14. Military “Hello” in Russian – Здравия желаю (Zdraviya zhelayu)
This is the military way of saying “hello” in Russian. You won’t need to say this as a foreigner, but it’s good to know. If you know someone really well, you could even say it as a joke to them.
15. “Hello” (After a Long Absence) – Сколько лет, сколько зим! (Skol’ko let, skol’ko zim!)
This greeting is likely the last one that a Russian person would expect from a foreigner. If you haven’t seen someone for a very long time, you can say “how many summers, how many winters”, to signify how many years it has since you’ve last seen each other.
As you can probably tell, this is an informal greeting!
What’s Your Favourite Russian Greeting?
So how about you? Have you traveled to Russia before and noticed some specific greetings not on this list?
Arie Helderman
Arie Helderman started learning Russian four years ago and shares which strategies and tips have worked for him at Learn the Russian Language.
20 Different Ways To Say Hello in English
Justlearn
We are sure that everyone who read this understood the previous greeting.
But, do you know how to greet people in some other way besides ‘Hello,’ ‘Hi’ or Good morning etc.?’
There are many ways to say hello in English, formal or informal. They are slightly different, but useful for many reasons. One advantage is the possibility to use different words or phrases depending on the situation.
Let’s learn all the ways to say hello in English.
Whether you are a student that started learning the language, or a fluent speaker, we got you covered.
If you want to practice and improve greetings in English, the right exercise is with English tutors on Justlearn.
What does ‘greeting’ mean?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a greeting is defined as ‘something friendly or polite that you say or do when you meet or welcome someone.’
Every language has its forms of salutations, so English is no exception. Just like English idioms and phrases, this is also a necessary part of every conversation. To greet someone shows that you are polite. Depending on the occasion, it means you want to start a conversation with that person or a group of people.
For a start, take a glance at the video explanation about saying hello in different ways:
The importance of using greetings
As we mentioned, it’s polite to greet someone.
People you greet will consider you a nice person, and someone they can talk to.
Wherever you go, the first thing you do is greet someone. Almost every person on the planet knows to say hello in several more languages besides their mother tongue and English.
Saying ‘hello’ in different languages is always fun to learn. If you still haven’t learned it, then what are you waiting for?
Informal Greetings
Informal greetings are used among friends, family members, or with someone of your age.
While some of the greetings clearly show the form to salute someone, others, however, don’t seem like that in the first place.
Hello
This form of salutation is the most common and the most familiar one worldwide. It is used in movies, songs, used when English people are answering the phone.
It’s an informal way to greet someone, although it can be used when you see someone your age in the street.
Even though both are informal, ‘Hi’ is a bit more informal than this one.
Hi/ Hey, Hey man
‘Hi’ is the most common greeting in English.
There is a slight difference, though, between saying ‘Hi’ and ‘Hey.’
People mainly use ‘Hi’ in many different casual situations, while ‘Hey’ is mostly used with the people you already know.
If you want to be specific and greet a male friend, then you can say ‘Hey man.’
How are things?/ How’s everything?
Instead of using ‘How are you?’, there are several similar options. They are used mainly to greet someone you already know, but they can also be used to greet someone informally.
If your speaker is willing to continue the conversation, they will probably go in details when you ask them how everything is. If they perhaps don’t want to talk, they will give you a simple answer like ‘good,’ or ‘not bad.’
How’s your day (going)?
Using these phrases is one of the ways to ask, ‘how are you?’
By asking ‘How’s your day’ or ‘How’s your day going?’ you greet that person, and at the same time, ask them how their day is going.
It’s also good for starting a conversation between people. If the speaker is willing to chat, they may ask you, ‘what about you?’ to continue the conversation.
It’s been a while/ Long time no see
It’s one more informal way to greet someone close to you, especially if you haven’t seen them for a while. For example, in case you haven’t seen each other for a few months. If you accidentally come across someone like that, then this greeting is perfect for that situation.
Look who it is!/ Hey! There she/he is!
When you haven’t seen someone for a while and you run into them accidentally, then you can use this form of greeting. By saying it, you seem delighted to run into that person, which you can show with this salutation.
Morning!/ Afternoon!/ Evening!
This form is a shorter and more casual form of ‘Good Morning/ Afternoon/ Evening.’
Don’t take this the wrong way; you can use ‘Good morning/ Afternoon/ Evening’ on any occasion you want to, but this form of greeting is mainly used informally among close friends and family members.
Nice to see you/ Good (Great) to see you
This greeting can be used in situations when you haven’t seen some of your close friends or family members. This one is usually followed by a hug, though, it isn’t necessary.