If you’ve travelled regularly, you’ll agree that one of the most exciting parts of seeing new destinations is getting to experience different languages. Those lucky enough to be blessed with either a great memory or language skills even get to come home with a few new fancy phrases, like how to say “hello” in different languages, to impress their loved ones.
That’s why, to celebrate World Hello Day on 21 November, Expat Explore is saying “hello”, “bonjour”, and “guten tag” to the top languages of the world. Plus, learn a few key greetings in each of the languages on our list.
Popular languages in the world and how they say ‘hello’:
Mandarin
Topping off the list of the most-spoken languages in the world with 1.3 billion native speakers, Mandarin is the official language of China and the world’s most-spoken language. Here’s how to say your hellos and goodbyes in Mandarin Chinese:
Hello – 你好 (Nǐ hǎo)
Goodbye – 再见 (Zàijiàn)
Please – 请 (Qǐng)
Thank you – 谢谢 (Xièxiè)
Spanish
One of the top languages to learn today is Spanish since about 486 million people speak the language natively across Central and South America as well as in Europe. In other words, if you learn Spanish, it’s almost like unlocking an entire continent of destinations! So, get started by getting the niceties out of the way:
Hello – Hola
Goodbye – Adiós
Please – Por favor
Thank you – Gracias
Related: Practice your Spanish on one of our tours to Spain.
English
While not necessarily the most exciting on our list (especially if you’re a native speaker), English is one of the world’s most spoken languages. Dominating the larger part of the West (Including England and the USA), English is certainly a good language to know for conducting business around the world. Here are some more formal hellos and goodbyes in English:
Hello – Good Day/Morning/Afternoon/Evening
Goodbye – Good Day/Morning/Afternoon/Evening, or simply Goodbye
Related: Take a look at the world’s top English-speaking countries to visit.
Arabic
Coming in a close fourth with roughly 362 million speakers is Arabic, spoken across large parts of the Middle East in countries such as Egypt and Morocco. However, native speakers of this language can be found virtually all over the world. So, it’s useful to at least know hello and goodbye in Arabic:
Hello – مرحبًا (marhaban)
Goodbye – مع السلامة (mae alsalama)
Please – لو سمحت (law samaht)
Thank you – شكرًا لك (shukran)
Related: Learn more about our first time exploring Morocco before solidifying our current itinerary.
Hindi
While Hindi is primarily spoken in India and Pakistan, that still amounts to a whopping 345 million speakers. And that’s only one of India’s 23 official languages! If you ever find yourself travelling to the Indian subcontinent, at least you’ll be able to get in a greeting:
Hello – नमस्ते (namaste)
Goodbye – अलविदा (alavida)
Please – कृपया (krpaya)
Thank you – धन्यवाद (dhanyavaad)
Portuguese
Due in part to a colonial past, Portuguese is another language that is spoken by 236 million people. Not only in the country where it’s an official language (Portugal) but also in many other parts of the world. 15th-century traders brought the language to Africa, Asia and the Americas. You’d be well-off knowing some Portuguese when visiting countries like Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde, to name a few. Say hello to (and in) Portuguese:
Hello – Olá
Goodbye – Adeus
Please – Por favor
Thank you – Obrigado
Related: Embark on a tour to Brazil, Iguazu & Argentina or Spain & Portugal to practise your Portuguese!
Russian
Russia enters the list as around 148 million people in its home country speak the language natively. Many people in former Soviet countries also speak Russian as a second or third language. To this day, it remains one of the six languages of the United Nations. Many consider Russian an incredibly difficult language to learn due to its inscrutable grammar. Take a stab at the niceties, though:
Hello – привет (Privet)
Goodbye – До свидания (Do svidaniya)
Please – Пожалуйста (Pozhaluysta)
Thank you – Спасибо (Spasibo)
Japanese
Japanese is spoken by 123 million people and, unlike the other languages on our list, the majority of those native speakers are in their country of origin, Japan. However, Japanese can also be found spoken in some parts of the United States, the Philippines and Brazil. Here’s how to say hello:
Hello – こんにちは (Kon’nichiwa)
Goodbye – さようなら (Sayōnara)
Please – お願いします (Onegaishimasu)
Thank you – ありがとう (Arigatō)
Related: Practise your Japanese and admire Japan’s attractions any time of the year.
French
While French only has just over 80 million native speakers, the total number of speakers around the world, including second-language speakers, amounts to a whopping 310 million. Similarly to Portuguese, France’s colonial past brought the language to 29 countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and parts of Canada and Belgium. So, it might come in useful to learn the very basics of French:
Hello – Bonjour
Good morning – Bon matin
Afternoon – Bon apres midi
Evening – Bonsoir
Goodbye – Au revoir
Goodnight – Bon nuit
Please – S’il te plaît / S’il vous plaît
Thank you – Merci
There you have it! Some of the world’s top-spoken languages and how to say “hello” (and a bit more) in each! You should be all set to celebrate World Hello Day almost anywhere in the world.
If you’d like to visit some of the incredible destinations on our list, simply book a tour and get packing! Also, check out some of our other, more in-depth language guides, including French, Italian, Dutch, German, Greek and Portuguese.