How to Say Hello in Different Languages

It was an International Conference conducted at our hospital, which made me realize it is important to learn to say 'hello' in different languages. We had foreign delegates coming over from almost all the continents of the world. Not all were proficient in English, and it was important to break the communication barriers. What better than learning how to say hello in different languages. A simple hello in one's native language proved to be a great ice breaker for many visiting delegates. It is also great general knowledge information when taught to kids. Let us have a look at how to do that.

How to Say Hello

Children tend to come across people of other cultures in schools. They meet children from Asian, European, Japanese cultures and become friends. Foreign exchange students become a part of the family as long as their tour lasts. Won't you feel good if someone wished you in your native language? I am sure you would and thus, let us have a look at some 'hellos' in different languages.

French
One of the most romantic languages in the world is French. I feel French is quite a sophisticated language. All you need to say is Bonjour. If you are saying hello in an informal way, you need to say Salut. If you wish to say good evening, then you need to say Bonsoir and Bonne Nuit for good night.

Russian
Russian is a rather difficult language to learn and decipher. However, I find it very beguiling to speak. You might find it a bit tongue twisting. All you need to say is Privet (pree-vyet). This is a very informal way to say hello in Russian. If you wish to greet someone more formally, you need to say zdravstvuyte (ZDRA-stvooy-tyeh).

German
There are different ways to say hello according to region. Let's see how to say hello in German? All you need to say is hallo as an informal way to greet someone. In a formal situation, you need to say guten tag (gootan taa). In an extremely informal situation, you need to say Tag (tack). If you wish to say German in Bavarian and Austrian German, all you need to say is grüß Gott (gruess got). If you were in North Germany, you need to say moin moin. Greet a Swiss German formally as grüezi (grew-tsi) and hallo in an informal situation.

Chinese
The world's largest population resides in China. So, some day or the other, you are bound to meet a Chinese citizen. In Cantonese you can say hello as nei ho (ne ho) or lei ho (lay ho). In Mandarin Chinese, you can say nǐ hǎo (nee how).

Italian
You can say hello in Italian by saying Buon Giorno. It is pronounced as bwohn geeornoh.

Spanish
When you visit Spain, you can greet someone with an informal hola ('h' is silent, you say oh-la) or alo.

Egyptian
When in Egypt, you greet a person by saying Salaam Alekum (sulaam ulakume).

Hindi
There are many ways in which you can say hello in India. There are many languages spoken in India and each language has many dialects attached to it. You can greet a person in India by saying Namaste, Namaskar or Aadaab.

It is always a good idea to learn some common phrases in foreign languages as it may come handy some day.