There are over 6000 living languages in the world, and one of the important words in each of them is the one you would use to warmly greet someone – “Hello”. In addition to being part of a greeting, the way this word is pronounced sets the tone for further conversation. So let’s learn how to say “Hello” in 15 different languages.
Hindi
In India, the best way to start an interaction with someone is to greet them. The Hindi word for “Hello” is “Namaste”.
This is their traditional greeting that also expresses respect towards the person.
French
The language which is considered one of the most romantic in the world. You can say “Bonjour” if you want to greet someone formally, while a more casual way to greet someone would be by saying “Salut”.
Spanish
One interesting fact about the Spanish language is that the largest number of people who use it are located in the USA. The usual way to greet someone in Spanish is by saying “Hola”, and it can be used in all situations.
Russian
Listening to a conversation in Russians, one might think that it is the most interesting language in the world. “Zdravstvuite” (здравствуйте) is their formal way of greeting, and “privet” can be used if you are addressing a friend or an acquaintance
Chinese
This is the language with the greatest number of speakers across the world – over a billion people speak this language. “Nin hao” is their formal and informal way of greeting in all situations.
Italian
The greeting that Italians use is probably already familiar to you – “Ciao” or, as we say in Serbia, “Ćao”.
Additionally, “Salve” can be used in more formal situations.
Japanese
The Japanese language is interesting due to its pronunciation. It is a soft-spoken language and “konnichiwa” is their way of saying hello formally.
Arabic
Most people associate Arabic with Muslims or Islam. However, people who are not of this faith also speak this language. In Arabic, the greeting is “asalaam alaikum” to which the response is “alaikum asalaam”.
Portuguese
If you say “ola” in Portugal, you will have expressed your respect to the person you’re talking to. However, in an informal setting, you can also say “oi”, though “ola” is still the most commonly used.
Finnish
Although “hello” is the most common way that Finns greet each other, the correct way to say it is “hei”. It is pronounced the same as “hey” in English and can be used to greet relatives and friends as well as people you don’t know.
Greek
The local word for hello in Greek is “geia sas”. It can be shortened to “geia” and can be used in any situation, and the phrase is usually accompanied by a pronoun..
Hebrew
In Israel, the usual word used for greeting is “shalom”. Although this word by itself means “peace”, it is actually the most common way to greet someone in Hebrew.
Polish
The standard informal greeting in Polish is “czesc”. “Siema” is another phrase that means hello, but it is mostly used by young people.
Lithuanian
The most commonly used greeting for Lithuanians is “labas”. This is a phrase that is easy to learn in this language and can be used in any situation.
You can also use the phrases “sveiki” and “sveikas”.
Turkish
The phrase for “hello” in Turkish is borrowed from the Arabic language and widely used and accepted as a Turkish greeting. It is the word “merhaba” and translates to “I accept you”, and it is used as a formal type of greeting.
