As the nutty travel fanatic that you are, I’m sure you often find yourself toasting new friends with a hearty “cheers” or politely offering a polite “thank you” for a gracious favour. But of all the basic phrases to master in a foreign language, none strikes a conversation better than a simple “hello.”
Whether you find yourself in Asia, Africa, Europe, Middle East or The Pacific, this guide of 111+ ways to say hello in different languages will get you making friends quicker than you can say “Hola!”
I’ve split the languages off by geographic area, starting from easiest to learn for English speakers to the most difficult (or least familiar, if you prefer). Included are the original spellings (or transliterations for languages not written in Latin-based scripts) and a rough pronunciation guide.
Europe
If you’re set on a mission to learn hello in different languages, here’s the logical starting point. European languages are among the easiest languages to learn for English speakers. Between the Romance languages and Germanic languages, two of the major Indo-European language families, there’s much overlap.
As you’re ripping through the list, you’ll notice quite a few similarities between languages on the same branch. With the exception of a handful of more obscure European languages, you should have no problem memorizing most of this list in no time!
Albanian
- tungjatjeta (toon-jah-TYEH-tah) — hello (formal)
- tjeta (TYEH-tah) — hello (informal)
Basque
- kaixo (kai-sho) — hello
Belarusian
- vitaju (vee-TAH-you) — hello
Breton
- demat (de-mat) — hello / good day
Bulgarian
- zdravejte (zdrah-VEY-teh) — hello (formal)
- zdravej (zdrah-VEY) — hello (informal)
Bosnian
- dobar dan (DOH-bahr dahn) — good day
- zdravo (ZDRAH-voh) / merhaba (MEHR-hah-bah) — hello (informal)
Catalan
- hola (OH-lah) — hello
Croatian
- bok (bohk) — hello
Czech
- dobrý den (DOH-bree dehn) — good day
- ahoj (ahoy) — hello
Danish
- hallo (ha-loh) — hello
- hej (hai) — hi/hey
Dutch
- hallo (HAH-low) — hello
Estonian
- tere (TEHR-reh) — hello
Finnish
- hyvää päivää (HOO-vah PAI-vah) — good day
- terve (TEHR-veh) — hello
- moi (moy) / hei (hay) — hey
French
- bonjour (bohn-ZHOOR) — hello / good day
- salut (sah-LOO) — hello (informal)
Frisian
- goeie (GOO-ee) — hello
Irish
- dia duit (DEE-ah GHWIT) — hello
Gaelic
- halò (ha-lo) — hello
German
- guten tag (goo-ten tahk) — good day / hello
- hallo (ha-loh) — hello (informal)
Greek
- yasass (YAH sahss) — hello (formal)
- yassou (YAH soo) — hello (informal)
Hungarian
- szervusz (SEHR-voos) — hello
- szia (SEE-ah) — hello (informal)
Icelandic
- góðan dag (goh-than da-yin) — good day
- halló (ha-loh) — hello
- hæ (hai) — hi
Italian
- buon giorno (bwohn JOHR-noh) — good day/hello
- salve (SAHL-veh) — hello (formal)
- ciào (chow) — hello (informal)
Latvian
- sveika (SVEH-kah) — hello (to a male)
- sveiks (SVEH-eeks) — hello (to a female)
Lithuanian
- labas (LAH-bahs) — hi
- sveikas (SVAY-kahs) — hello (to a male)
- sveika (svay-KAH) — hello (to a female)
- sveiki (svay-KEE) — hello (plural)
Luxembourgish
- moïen (moy-en) — hello
Norwegian
- god dag (goo dahg) — hello
- hei (hay) — hi
Polish
- dzień dobry (jeen doh-bree) — good day / hello
- cześć (cheshch)— hello
Portuguese
- olá (oh-lAH) — hello
Romanian
- salut (sah-LOOT) — hello
Russian
- zdravstvuyte (ZDRAHST-vooy-tyeh) — hello
- privet (pree-VYEHT) / zdorovo (zduh-ROH-vuh) — hello (informal)
Serbian
- zdravo (ZDRAH-voh) — hello
Slovak
- dobrý deň (OH-bree deñ) — good day / hello (formal)
- ahoj (ah-hoy) / čau (chow) — hello (informal)
Slovene
- živjo (ZHEE-vyoh) / zdravo (ZDRAH-voh) — hello
Spanish
- hola (oh-lah) — hello
Swedish
- hej (heh) — hello
Ukrainian
- dobriy den (DOH-bree dehn’) — good day / hello
- vitayu (vee-TAH-yoo) — hello (formal)
- pryvit (prih-VEET) — hello (informal)
Welsh
- helo (he-loh) — hello
- s’mae (s-my/shoo-my) — hello (informal)
Yiddish
- a gutn tog (a goo-ten tawg) — good day / hello
- sholem-aleykhem (shoh-lem ah-leh-khem) — hello (greeting)
- aleykhem-sholem (ah-leh-khem shoh-lem) — hello (response)
Middle East
Heading into the Middle East, things will get a little tougher on your quest to learn hello in different languages. In fact, Middle Eastern languages can be among the hardest languages to learn for English speakers! Unlike the Indo-European languages above, you’ll find very little overlap or similarity with English or other more familiar languages here. Best of luck!
Arabic
- as-salām ‘alaykum (ahs-sahlahm ‘ah-leh-loom) — hello (formal)
- marhaban (mahr-hah-bahn) / ahlan (ah-lahn) — hello (informal)
Hebrew
- shalom (shah-LOHM) — hello
Kurdish (Kurmanji)
- merheba (mer-he-bah) / silav (see-lav) — hello
Persian
- salâm (sah-laam) / dorud (doh-rood) — hello
Turkish
- merhaba (mehr-hah-bah) — hello
- selam (sel-um) — hello (informal)
Asia
Here’s where things truly get interesting—and more difficult! The linguistic diversity in Asia is staggering, meaning most of what you’ve learned so far won’t help you. With the exception of the Turkic languages of Central Asia and the few Asian languages influenced by European colonization, much of what you’ll see here will be new to you. The good news is as you work through these new language families/branches, you’ll begin to cross some similarities, making it easier as you trek along.
Another point worth mentioning is that many Asian languages—Thai, Lao, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Chinese, etc.—are tonal languages. As you speak, your pitch and your pitch changes can drastically alter the meaning of words and phrases. Transliterating and producing phonetic equivalents using English sounds for these languages can be challenging, if not impossible. Take the pronunciation notes here with a grain of salt. You may even want to double check your pronunciation with a friendly native speaker before busting out one of these “hellos” in public!
Armenian
- barev dzez (bah-REV DZEZ) — hello
- barev (bah-REV) — hello (informal)
Azerbaijani
- salam (sah-lam) — hello
Bengali
- nômoshkar (naw-mo-shkar) — hello (for Hindus)
- assalamualaikum (ahs-sah-lahmoo-ah-lay-koom) / salam (sah-lahm) — hello (for Muslims)
Burmese
- mingalarba (min-ga-la-ba) — hello
Cambodian
- chum reap suor (*) — hello (formal)
- sous-dey (*) — hello (informal)
Cantonese
- néih hóu (*) — hello
Chinese
- nǐ hǎo (nee how) — hello
Dzongkha
- kuzu-zangpo (koo-zoo-zang-poh) — hello
Georgian
- gamarjoba (gah-mahr-joh-bah) — hello
Gujarati
- namaste (nah-mah-steh) — hello
- kem cho (kem-choh) — hello (lit. How are you?)
Hindi
- namaste (nah-mah-steh) — hello
Indonesian
- halo (hah-loh) — hello
Japanese
- konnichiwa (kohn-nee-chee-wah) — good afternoon / hello
Kannada
- namaste (nah-mah-steh) / namaskāra (nah-mah-skah-rah) — hello
Kazakh
- sälemetsiz be? (sah-lem-met-siz beh) — hello (formal)
- sälem (sah-lem) — hello (informal)
Korean
- annyeonghaseyo (an-nyee-ong-hah-seh-yo) — hello (formal)
- annyeong (ah-nyee-ong) — hello (informal)
Kyrgyz
- salamatsyzby (sah-lam-aht-seez-bee) — hello (formal)
- salam (sah-lam) — hello (informal)
Lao
- sabaidee (sah-bai-dee) — hello
Malay
- selamat pagi (se-lah-maht pah-gee) — good morning
- hello (he-loh) — hello
- selamat petang (se-lah-maht pe-tahng) — good afternoon
- selamat malam (se-lah-maht mah-lahm) — good night
- hai (hai) — hello (informal)
Malayalam
- namaskaram (nah-mah-skahr-ahm) — hello (formal)
- aay (ah-yeh) — hello (informal)
Mongolian
- sain baina uu (sain bai-na OO) — hello
Nepali
- namaste (nah-mahs-teh) — hello
Pashto
- salaam (sah-lahm) — hello
- khe chare (KHEH chah-reh) — hello (informal)
Punjabi
- sat sri akal ji (saht sree ah-kahl jee) — hello (formal, Sikh)
- asalamwalaykum (ah-sah-lahm-wah-lay-koom) — hello (formal, Muslim)
- sat sri akal (saht sree ah-kahl) — hello (informal, Sikh)
- salaam (sah-laam) — hello (informal, Muslim)
Sinhala
- āyubōvan (ah-yuh-boh-van) — hello (formal)
- halō (ha-loh) — hello (informal)
Tagalog
- kumusta? (koo-moos-ta) — hello
- helów (hey-LOW) — hello (informal)
Taiwanese Hokkien
- lí-hó (lee-hoh) — hello
Tamil
- vaṇakkam (vah-nahk-kahm) — hello
Tatar
- isänmesez (ees-aen-meh-sehz) / sawmısız (saw-mis-siz) — hello
- sälam (sae-lahm) — hello (informal)
Telugu
- namaskārām (nah-mahs-kaar-am) — hello
Thai
- sà-wàt-dee (*) — hello
Tibetan
- tashi delek (tah-shee del-ek) — hello
Urdu
- āssālam ‘alaykum (ahs-sah-lahm ah-lay-koom) — hello (greeting)
- wālaikum assalām (wah-lay-koom ahs-sah-lahm) — hello (response)
- salām (sah-lam) — hello (informal)
Uyghur
- ässalamu läykum (aes-sah-lahm-oo lae-koom) — hello (greeting)
- wä’äläykum ässalam (wae-aelae-koom aes-sah-lahm) — hello (response)
- yahshimusiz (yah-shih-moo-sihz) — hello (informal)
Uzbek
- assalomu aleykum (ahs-sah-lo-moo ah-lay-koom) — hello (formal)
- salom (sah-lom) — hello (informal)
Vietnamese
- xin chào (sin chow) — hello
Oceania
All of the languages I’ve included here (except Tok Pisin) belong to the Austronesian language family. A couple Asian languages we’ve already covered—Malay, Indonesian, and Tagalog—hang out on this language branch, too. Unfortunately, it won’t help you much for learning how to say hello in these languages. Most share little in common. No worries though: Austronesian languages are fairly easy to pronounce, and keep things simple with short, easy-to-remember “hellos.”
Fijian
- ni sa bula (nee sah boo-lah) — hello
- bula (boo-lah) — hello (informal)
Hawaiian
- aloha (ah-loh-hah) — hello
Maori
- tēnā koe (teh-nah koy) — hello (to one person)
- kia ora (kee-ah aw-rah) — hello (informal)
- tēnā kōrua (teh-nah kaw-roo-uh) — hello (to two people)
- tēnā koutou (teh-nah koh-toh)— hello (to three or more people)
Marshallese
- yokwe (YAW-kweh) — hello
Palauan
- alii (ah-LEE) — hello
Samoan
- tālofa (tah-low-fah) — hello
- malō (mah-loh) — hello (informal)
Tahitian
- ia ora na (ee-ah oh-rah-na) — hello
Tok Pisin
- gude (goo-deh) — hello
Tongan
- mālō e lelei (mah-loh ah leh-leh) — hello
Africa
Even Asia can’t compete with Africa in linguistic diversity. There are literally thousands of languages spoken on the continent spread over at least six major language families.
I’ve done what I can to include most of the major lingua francas of the region. You’ll notice far less overlap between the languages, even between those in the same language family. Mastering hello in these languages might be a bit more of a challenge than expected!
Afrikaans
- hallo (hah-loh) — hello
Amharic
- tena jistilign (teh-nah yihst-ihl-ihgn) — hello (formal)
- selam (sae-lahm) — hello (informal)
Chichewa
- moni (moh-nee) / muli bwanji (moo-lee bwahn-jee) — hello
Hausa
- salama alaikum (sah-lahm-ah ah-lai-koom) — hello (formal)
- sannu (sahn-noo) — hello (informal)
Igbo
- ndêwó (in-deh-woh) — hello (formal)
- kèdú (keh-doh) — hello (informal)
Kinyarwanda
- muraho (moo-rah-hoh) — hello
- bite (bee-teh) — hello (informal)
Lingala
- mbote (mboh-teh) — hello
Luganda
- ki kati (kee kah-tee) — hello (informal)
Malagasy
- manao ahoana (man-ow ah-ohn-ah) / salama (sah-lAHm-ah) / akory (ah-kOO-ree)
miarahaba (mee-arah-hah-bah) — hello
Ndebele
- salibonani (sah-lee-boh-nah-nee) — hello
Northern Sotho
- dumêlang (doo-meh-lang) — hello
Oromo
- ashamaa (ah-shah-maa) — hello
- attam (aht-tahm) — hello (informal)
Sesotho
- dumela (doo-meh-lah) — hello
Shona
- mhoro (mhoh-roh) — hello (singular)
- mhoroi (mhoh-roh-ee) — hello (plural)
Swahili
- jambo (jahm-boh) — hello
- hujambo (hoo-jahm-boh) — hello
Swati
- sawubona (sah-woo-boh-nah) — hello
Tigrinya
- selam (seh-lahm) — hello
Tsonga
- avuxeni (ah-voo-sheh-nee) — hello (greeting)
- ahee (ah-hee) — hello (response)
Tswana
- dumela (doo-meh-lah) — hello
Wolof
- salaam aleekum (sah-laam ah-ley-koom) — hello
Xhosa
- molo (maw-law) — hello
Yoruba
- bawo (bah-woh) — hello
Zulu
- sawubona (sah-woo-boh-nah) — hello