Hello in Different Languages: 113 Distinct Ways to Say Hi

How to say hello in 113 different languages [real & make-believe]

As an avid traveler, I’ve realized that learning to say even a few basic words in the language of the country I’m traveling to can make a huge difference.

Learning basic words like “hello,” “thank you,” “excuse me” or yes and no in different languages can help you a ton during your travels! And even if you’re not a language geek like me, these words are pretty easy to learn in any language - and you can learn any language fast with a few good tips!

The truth is, learning how to say hello in the language of the country you’re traveling to, a person you’re doing business with, or even starting a friendship with, is fundamental to building solid relationships with people.

It's a common courtesy to greet people in their native language. Whether you're traveling or doing business, knowing how to say hello in another language shows that you take an interest in the culture and customs of others. Your message can be taken more seriously, and you might even receive better service!

So, in this article, we’ll cover how to say hello in 113 languages. We’ve also included a pronunciation column to help you learn how to pronounce these foreign words (some can be quite challenging!).

Hello in different languages

We can confidently say that there are at least 100 creative ways to say hello in English, 23 ways to say hello in French, and 77 unique ways to say hello in Spanish. Therefore, it goes without saying that we cannot cover all the possible greetings for each language in this article!

So, while there are many ways to say hello in different languages, ranging from formal to slang, we’re going to focus only on the most common ones.

These three males having a drink in the sunshine know how to say hello in different languages.

Language

Most common way to say hello

Pronunciation

Afrikaans

Hallo

HAH-low

Albanian

Përshëndetje

per-shen-DEAT-ye

Amharic

Iwi selami newi (እው ሰላም ነው)

ewe-selamee-nuhwee

Arabic

Marhaba (مرحبًا)

mur-HAH-ba

Armenian

Barev

bah-REV

Aymara

Kamisaki

kah-mee-sah-kee

Azerbaijani

Salam

sal-aam

Basque

Kaixo

kia-show

Belarusian

Vitaju (Вітаю)

veeta-you

Bengali

Hyālō (হ্যালো)

HEL-oh

Bosnian

Zdravo

ZDRAH-voh

Bulgarian

Zdraveĭte (Здравейте)

ZDRAH-vey-teh

Burmese

Haallo (ဟယ်လို)

HAAL-oo

Cantonese

Nǐ hǎo (你好)

nie HAOW

Catalan

Hola

OH-laa

Cebuano

Kamusta

kuh-moos-tah

Chichewa

Moni

moh-nee

Corsican

Bonghjornu

bon-jornoo

Croatian

Zdravo

ZDRAH-voh

Czech

Ahoj

AH-hoy

Danish

Hej

hey

Dutch

Hallo

HAAL-oo

English

Hello 

hah-low

Estonian

Tere

TEh-reh

Ewe

Hello

hah-low

Farsi (Persian)

Salām (سلام)

saol-AM

Fijian

Bula

mbula

Filipino

Kumusta

koo-moo-stah

Finnish

Hei

hey

French

Bonjour

bon-ZHOOR

Gaelic (Irish)

Dia dhuit

DEE-ah GHWIT

Galician

Ola

oh-laah

Georgian

Gamarjoba (გამარჯობა)

gah-mahr-joh-bah

German

Guten tag

goo-tenn tahk

Greek

Geia (γεια)

gya

Guarani

Mba'éichapa

mbah-ey-chapaah

Haitian Creole

Bonjou

BON-joo

Hawaiian

Aloha

AH-low-ha

Hebrew

Shalom (שלום)

shah-LOHM

Hindi

Namaste (नमस्ते)

nah-mah-steh

Hmong

Nyob zoo

nyo-ZHOW

Hungarian

Szia

SEE-ah

Icelandic

Halló

HAL-oo

Igbo

Ndewo

n-day-wo

Ilocano

Hello

hah-low

Indonesian

Halo

hah-low

Italian

Ciao

chau

Japanese

Konichiwa (こんにちは)

kohn-nee-chee-wah

Kazakh

Sälemetsiz be (Сәлеметсіз бе)

Khmer

Suostei (សួស្តី)

suo-stey

Kinyarwanda

Mwaramutse

mwah-rah-moot-seh

Korean

Anyeong haseyo (안녕하세요)

AHN-young-ha-say-yo

Kurdish

Slav

slawv

Lao

Sabaidi (ສະບາຍດີ)

sa-baai-di

Latin

Salve

sal-veh

Latvian

Sveika (male) or Sveiks (female)

SVYEH-kah or SVYEH-eeks

Lithuanian

Sveiki

svey-kee

Luxembourgish

Moien

MOY-en

Malagasy

Salama

sah-LAHM-ah

Malay

Selamat pagi

suh-lah-met pah-gee

Maltese

Bongu

BON-joo

Mandarin

Nǐ hǎo (你好)

nie HAOW

Maori

Kia ora

kya-orah

Marathi

Namaskāra (नमस्कार)

nah-mahs-kah-rah

Mongolian

Sain uu (сайн уу)

say-noo

Nahuatl

Niltze Tialli Pialli

nilts-tialee-pialee

Navajo

Ya’at’eeh

yah-tah-hey

Nepali

Namaskāra (नमस्कार)

nah-mahs-kah-rah

Norwegian

Hei

hay

Pashto

Salam (سلام)

sah-laam

Polish

Cześć

cheshch

Portuguese

Olá

OH-laa

Punjabi

Sata srī akāla (ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ)

saht sree ah-kahl

Oromo

Akkam

akh-kaam

Quechua

Allianchu

eye-ee-anch-oo

Romanian

Bunâ

boo-na

Russian

Privet (Привет)

pree-VYEHT

Samoan

Talofa

tah-low-fah

Sepedi

Thobela

tob-eh-lah

Serbian

Zdravo (Здраво)

ZDRAH-voh

Sesotho

Dumela

doo-meh-lah

Slovak

Ahoj

AH-hoy

Slovenian

Zdravo

ZDRAH-voh

Somali

Hello

hah-low

Spanish

Hola

oh-laa

Swahili

Jambo

jam-BOH

Swedish

Hallå

hal-oa

Tagalog

Kamusta

kuh-moos-tah

Tahitian

Ia Orana

ya-rah-nah

Taiwanese

Li-hó

lee-hoh

Tamil

Vanakkam (வணக்கம்)

vaa–NAK–kam

Thai

S̄wạs̄dī (สวัสดี)

sa-wat-dii

Tibetan

Tashi delek

tah-shee del-ek

Tongan

Mālō e lelei

mah-lo eh lei-lei

Tsonga

Avuxeni

Turkish

Merhaba

mehr-hah-bah

Ukrainian

Privit (привіт)

pree-VEET

Urdu

Assalāmu Alaykum (السلام عليكم)

as-salam-u lay-kuhm

Uzbek

Salom

shah-lohm

Vietnamese

Xin chào

sin CHOW

Welsh

Helo

hah-low

Xhosa

Molo

moh-loh

Saying “hello” in constructed languages

Did you know that apart from the whopping 7,100+ languages spoken in the world, there are also 900 constructed languages?

Unlike real languages, constructed languages (or conlangs) haven’t developed naturally but were intentionally created with a specific purpose in mind (usually as part of a work of fiction). Fantasy languages that we cover below also fall under this category.

Constructed languageHello
EsperantoSaluton
IntelinguaBon die
Lingua Franca NovaBon dia (Бон диа)
NovialKehan chhi (meaning how are you)

Saying “hello” in fantasy languages

If you’re a Lord of the Ring, Game of Thrones, or Harry Potter fan, you’re in for a treat! Bring out your inner geek with these ways to say hello in fantasy languages from your favorite books, movies, and TV shows.

Want more? We've got an entire article dedicated to the most interesting and distinctive famous phrases from fictional languages here.

Say hello in fantasy languages such as Valyrian from Game of Thrones.

Fantasy languageWhat we think is the right way to say helloSpoken by:Book/movie/showLanguage created by:
DothrakiM’atchomaroonThe indigenous habitents of the Dothraki Sea.A Game of ThronesDavid Peterson
KlingonNuqnehThe Klingons.Star TrekDr. Marc Okrand
ParseltongueSeethaaa-ssse-hathehhh-hathehhh-ayaeehSerpents, and descendents of Salazar Slytherin may inherit the ability to speak Parseltongue, although it's rare. Some notable exceptions to this rule include Harry Potter, and Ginny Weasley.Harry PotterDr. Francis Nolan
ValyrianRytsasHigh Valyrian is no longer used as a language of everyday communication, but rather as a language of learning and education among the nobility of Essos and Westeros, with much literature and song composed in High Valyrian. The Nine Free Cities of Essos speak locally evolved variants of Valyrian.A Game of ThronesDavid Peterson
SindarinASpoken by the Elves, called the Eledhrim [ɛˈlɛðrɪm] or Edhellim [ɛˈðɛlːɪm] in Sindarin.Lord of the RingsJ.R.R. Tolkien
Quenya (Elvish)AiyaSpoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi ('speakers') in Quenya.Lord of the RingsJ.R.R. Tolkien
Na’viKaltxìThe inhabitants of Pandora.AvatarDr. Paul Frommer

While we’re experts on many spoken languages, we can’t boast our knowledge of constructed languages. So, here are some YouTube videos that may help you learn how to pronounce “hello” in these languages:

  1. Basic Expressions in Klingon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx0M7FaUAkU
  2. Learn to Speak Quenya in 8 Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZkTOIFpZkg
  3. Valyrian Phrases: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33ZsUckmSZk

Valyrian Phrases!

It’s time to say “goodbye”!

After reading this guide, you can now greet people in over 100 languages! That’s something to be proud of. Knowing how to say hello in different languages has helped me make better connections during my travels (and not look like a lost tourist) and make lasting impressions on people from other countries and cultures. Sadly, every hello does come with a goodbye, which you can also learn to say in different languages here.

However, we bet that your language learning journey doesn’t stop here! If we’ve inspired you to take up a new, exciting language to learn, you might want to check out this article on the easiest languages for English speakers to learn or other resources on our blog.

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