When you’re out, and about traveling, some of the simplest gestures, such as learning how to say hello in different languages, can really go a long way. When you enter new countries, especially non-English speaking countries, or not your native language, you’ll realize that learning basic words and greetings for the countries you’ll be visiting will help a ton!
Don’t get us wrong; many countries will have locals who are more than willing to try to communicate in English. However, you should try not to rely on this and instead give it a shot in their language. Knowing how to say hello in other languages can go a long way!
That’s why we decided to start this post, a greeting can really show others that you’re not just a snobby tourist and actually want to learn more about the area and culture. Trust us, we speak English fluently and know enough Spanish and French to communicate when we travel abroad.
We noticed, as soon as we started using Spanish and French exclusively, that the locals were more likely to welcome us and give us tips. At some points, we did struggle often and would have to switch back to English because, after all, we are not completely fluent in either language.
However, the learning experience and immersing ourselves in the culture by language really helped us adapt to other countries when traveling. This is why we wholeheartedly recommend learning some of the other languages before traveling ☺️.
This post is all about the different ways to greet people in various countries. Well, teach you how to say hello in different languages for 40 of the most popular countries tourists love to flock to. Plus! Bonus! We also included for most of the countries, how to greet people at different times of the day and formalities to know so you don’t come off as a rude tourist.
How to say hello in a different language!
152 Different Ways to Say Hello: In 41 Different Countries!
How to greet someone in the United States
As you guessed, the most commonly spoken language in the United States is good ole English or should we say relatively new language?
English is a popular language, along with our neighbors, the Canadians, and across the waters, our cousins, the British. But forget that, English is one of the most widely spoken international languages worldwide.
official language: English
How to say hello in English:
- Hello- formal hello
- Hi – informal hello
How to Say Hello in Different Romance Languages
Language Tip: While Latin has a complex history, it was widely spoken during the Roman empire, and then later on Latin evolved into the Romance Language, so you’ll sometimes see similar words or phrases among the different romantic languages spoken in various countries.
How to say hello to someone in Canada
In Canada, English is commonly spoken in major cities, but you will find its other official language, french, being spoken in smaller communities.
official languages: French and English
How to say hello in French:
- Bonjour – formal hello
- Salut- informal hello
How to greet someone in Mexico
Mexico is a country where the Spanish language is primarily used. Do make sure to know the most common Spanish phrases when traveling, especially if you plan on hitting up smaller communities.
Language Spoken: Spanish
How to say hello in Spanish:
- Hola – hello
- Morning: Buenos días,
- Afternoon: Buenas tardes
- Night time: Buenas noches
How to say hello when in Spain
When visiting the beautiful country of Spain, you’ll find yourself surrounded by the romantic language of Spanish. The second most spoken language is Catalan which is very similar to Spanish but not the same language and is commonly spoken in Northern Spain.
Official language: Spanish
How to say hello in Catalan
- Hola – hello
- Bon dia – good morning
- Bona Tarde – good afternoon
- Bona nit – good evening
How to greet a local in Brazil:
Portuguese is commonly spoken in brazil and Portugal, so these phrases will work for either country.
National language: Portuguese
How to say hello in Portuguese
- Olá – hello
- Oi – hi
- ei – hey
- Bom dia – good morning
- boa tarde – good afternoon
- Boa noite – Good evening
How to greet a Parisian in France
Are they exploring France? This is one country where you want to learn at least a few basic phrases and words to get around. The French tend to prefer tourists who try to adjust to their country rather than demanding everyone speak their language.
Official language: French
how to say hello in french
- Hello- Bonjour
- Hello- Salut
- Good afternoon- Bonsoir
- Good evening- Bonuit
How to say hello in Italian for Italy
When the roman empire collapsed it should have meant the end of a century. However, Italy and Rome survived and lived to tell the tale centuries later. Now the current primary language spoken in Italy is Italian. However, don’t feel too worried as English is usually known pretty well by shopkeepers cafes, and in bigger cities.
Official language: Italian
How to say hello in Italian
- ciao – informal settings – hello
- Buongiorno- good morning or hello in formal greetings
How to say hello when in Morocco
Language Spoken: Berber
how to say hello in Berber
- azul – hello
How to say hello in Haiti
Language spoken: Haitian Creole
How to say hello in creole
- Bonjou – good morning
- Bon apwè midi – good afternoon
- Bonswa – good evening
- Alò – hi
- Sali – hello
How to say hello to someone in Peru
National language: Spanish, and the second most used is Quechua which is spoken natively and is not a common language, which is, unfortunately, also why it is an endangered language. That’s why we choose to include it in our list rather than Spanish.
how to say hello in Quechua
- Rimaykullayki – hello
- Allianchu – How are you
- Wuynus diyas – good morning
- Wuynas tardis – good afternoon
- Wuynas Nuchis – Good evening
How To Say Hello In Slavic Languages! The Slavic Edition
The Slavic languages consist of Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian, and Czech
How to greet someone in Russia
Russia is a vast country, and learning to say hello and some other useful Russian phrases will help when touring this large country.
Official Language in Russia: Russian
How to say hello in Russian
- Привет – Privyet- informal setting
How to greet someone in Croatia
National Language: Croatian
how to say hello in Croatian
- zdravo – hello
- Bok- hi
How to greet anyone in Ukraine
Official Language: Ukrainian
How to say hello in Ukrainian
- привіт – pryvit- informal hello
- Вітаю-Vitayu- formal hello
How to greet someone in the Czech Republic:
Official language: Czechian
how to say hello in Czechia
- Ahoj – hello
- Nazdar – hey
- Dobré ráno – good morning
- Dobry večer – good afternoon
How to greet someone in Greek for Greece
Official Language: Greek
How to say hello in Greek
- Χαίρετε – Chaírete
- Γειά σου! – Geiá sou!
The German way to say hello in Germany
Official Language: German
How to say hello in German
- Guten Tag! – hello
- Hallo! – hello
How to greet someone in Sweden:
Official Language in Sweden: Swedish
How to say hello in Swedish
- Hallå – hello
- Hej! – hello
- Tjena – hey
- Tja – hey
How to greet someone in Turkey:
Official Language in Turkey: Turkish
How to say hello in Turkish
- Merhaba – hello
- Hey! – hey
- Selam- hi
How to greet someone in Bulgaria
Official Language: Bulgarian
How to say hello in Bulgarian
- Здравейте- Zdraveĭte- formal hello
- Хей – Kheĭ – informal hey
How to greet someone in China:
China is vast, and the different language and regional dialects are even more extensive; we covered two of the most commonly spoken Chinese languages in China Mandarin and Cantonese. We also included common Chinese greetings in Cantonese and how to say hello in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Official Language: Mandarin is the main language, and Cantonese is spoken second most
How to say hello in Mandarin
Nǐ hǎo – informal setting – hello
Nín hǎo – formal hello
How to say hello in Cantonese
- Jóusàhn- good morning – common Chinese greeting
- ńgh ōn – good afternoon
- máahn ōn- good evening
- jóutáu- good night
- Nǐ hǎo- hello
How to greet a local Singapore
Whether you’re staying in a hotel or with a host family, knowing how to greet someone in Malay is very important so you do not come off as rude.
Official Language in Singapore: Malay
How to say hello in Malay
- Selamat Pagi- good morning
- Selamat Tengahari – good afternoon
- Selamat Petang – good evening
- Selamat Malam – good night
- Hello/Hai – hello and high
How to greet a stranger in Indonesia
Official Language: Indonesian
How to say hello in Indonesian
- Selamat siang – formal hello
- Halo – informal Hello
How To Greet A Local In Vietnam
Official Language: Vietnamese
How to say hello in Vietnamese
- Xin Chào – formal Hello
- Chào – informal Hi (we love the single word greetings ( easier to remember for our brains ?)
How to properly greet someone in Pakistan
Official Languages of Pakistan: Urdu and Punjabi is commonly spoken as well
How to say hello in Urdu
- As-salam-u-alaikum – Peace be unto you
how to say hello in Punjabi
- Sat Sri Akaal – Hello
- śubha savēra – good morning
- sata srī akāla – good afternoon
How to greet someone in Hungary
Official Language in Hungary: Hungarian
How to say hello in Hungarian
- Helló – Hello
- Hé – Hey
- Jó reggelt -good morning (formal)
- Jó estét kívánok- good evening (formal)
- Jó éjszakát kívánok – good night (formal)
How To Greet Someone In Afghanistan
Official language: Dari
How to say hello in Dari
- Salaam alaikum- Hello
- Sobh bakhair- good morning
- Chast bakhir – good evening
- Shab bakhair- good night
How to Greet a Local in Poland
Poland is a country that is slightly traditional in the aspect that greetings are very important, and you never want to come off as rude, especially to strangers and elders alike. There are various different forms of greeting to use, and we made sure to list them below.
Official Language: Polish
We grabbed most of this info from Wikihow
Also found from Babbel, which is specified
How to say Hello in Polish
- Cześć- Hello (informal)
- Hej- hey (informal)
- Hejka – Hey (informal)
- Witaj- Hi
- Witam Pana – Hello, Gentlemen (Babbel)
- Witam Pania Hello, Ladies (Babbel)
- Dzień Dobry – Good Day
- Dobry Wieczór – Good Evening
- Dobranoc- Good Night
How to greet a stranger in the Netherlands
Official Language: Dutch
How to say hello in Dutch
- Hallo – Hello (formal)
- Hoi- hi (informal)
- Goedendag – Good Day
- Goedemorgen – Good morning
- Goedemiddag – good afternoon
- Goedenacht – Good night
How to greet someone in Thailand
Official Language: Thai
How to say hello in Thai
- Sa-was-dee- Hello (informal)
- Sa-wah-dee Khaa – Woman saying hello
- Sa-wah-dee Khap – Man saying hello
How to greet someone in Cambodia
Official Language: Khmer
How to say hello in Khmer
- Choum-Reap-Sour – Formal Hello
- Suostei- Informal Hello
- Aroun Suostei – Good Morning
- Suostei Pelorsiel – Good Afternoon
- Reatrei Suostei – Good Night
How to greet someone in the Philippines
Official Language in the Philippines: Filipino Tagalog
How to say hello in Filipino Tagalog
- Kumusta – hello
- Magandang umaga – Good morning
- Magandang hapon – Good afternoon
- Magandang gabi – Good evening
How to greet someone in Japan
Official Language in Japan: Japanese
How to say hello in Japanese
- Ossu – Hey (usually by men)
- Yahhō- Hello ( by Women)
- Harō- hello
- Ōi- Hey
- Yaa- Hi
- Yō – Hey
- Ohayō gozaimasu – Good morning
- Konnichiwa- Good afternoon
- Kobanwa – Good evening
Japanese Culture is one of the most exciting and unique cultures you can immerse yourself in, so make sure to pay attention to societal cues, as there are a few taboos to be mindful of.
How to greet someone in South Korea (North Korea)
Official Language in Korea: Korean
How to say hello in Korean
Standard Korean Greeting:
- Annyeong Haseyo – Hello (formal)
- Annyeong – Hi/Hello (informal way)
- Joeun Achimieyo – good morning
How to Greet Someone in India:
Official Language in India: Hindi is the dominant language, in Kerala Mayalama is commonly used
How to say hello in Hindi
- Namaste- hello
- Suno – hello
- Suprabhat – good morning
- Subha Dina – Good afternoon
- Susandhya – Good evening
- Subh Raatri – Good night
How to say hello in Malayalam
- Halēā -hello
- Hāy allenkil hē – hey
How to greet anyone in Nepal
Official Language: Nepali
How to say hello in a different language: Nepali
- Namaste- Hello
- Hē- hey
- Subha bihani – good morning
- Subha Raatri Good night
- Subha diumsō – Good afternoon
How to greet someone in Ethiopia
The official language of Ethiopia is Amharic
How to say hello in Amharic
- Selam- Hello
- Hayi- hi
How to Greet Someone in S. Africa
South Africa has a large number of various languages, so well cover the most commonly spoken language there which is Zulu or also known as isiZulu.
How to say hello in Zulu
- Sawubona – hello (single)
- Sanibonani – Hello (to a group)
How to greet someone in Egypt:
Arabic is a highly complex but beautiful language; it’s definitely one of the hardest languages to learn for a native English speaker because of the vast difference in sounds and writing. That’s why you shouldn’t feel too bad when you have a hard time getting the pronunciation right for these greetings.
Official Language in Egypt: Arabic
How to say hello in Arabic
- Marhaba – Hello
- Naharak saeed – Good day
How to greet someone in Bangladesh
Information found on WikiHow
How to say hello in Bengali
- Nômoshkar – Hello to Hindus
- Salaam – Hello to Muslims
How to greet someone in Iran
Official Language in Iran: Farsi
How to say hello in Farsi
- Salām – Hello
- Salām Sobh bekheir – Good morning
- Salam zorh bekheir – Good afternoon
- Salam asr bekhair – good evening
Remember that Iran has Persian, Azeri, and Kurdish languages—several regional dialects, such as Farsi, Tari, and Tajik. Most native speakers of Farsi will understand the various dialects, so you can usually get around using Farsi or others when visiting different parts of Iran, such as Northern Iran and Southern Iran.
How To Say Hello In Different Languages FAQ
Learning to say hello is an essential first step to learning a new culture and being respectful toward others. Hello is a greeting that can be used to greet others in various settings so it’s an important word to learn.
Hello is universally used as a greeting towards others as a show of respect and acknowledgement. While different languages have different words and greetings, they all stem down to the purpose of greeting someone.
How to greet someone in another country and how to say hello in different languages
That wraps up our post on how to greet someone in different countries and how to say hello in different languages! We hope you enjoyed this post and if you did then you could share this post via social media ☺️.
If you’re traveling to France, we have an in-depth guide on the most common French Phrases to know when traveling to France =) As well as a Spanish Guide to the most important phrases in Spanish for traveling. If you’re also in the market for travel products or need travel tips and guides, then make sure to read our other popular posts.