How to Say Hello in All Languages for World Travelers
After traveling to 50 countries and every continent, one of the biggest things I’ve learned about travel is the importance of speaking a local language. I know this is challenging, but the best place to start is learning how to say hello in all languages.
Simply knowing how to greet local people in their own language is an instant way to form a connection and build trust.
Some of the most common ways to say hello in different languages is Hola in Spanish, Ni Hao in Mandarin, or Bonjour in French. However, this list goes beyond the languages you learn in school as I share how to say hello in the 100 most common languages around the world.
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How To Say Hello in Different Languages
| Language | Hello (English Spelling) | Phonetic Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| English | Hello | Heh-low |
| Mandarin Chinese | 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) | Nee how |
| Hindi | नमस्ते (Namaste) | Na-mas-tey |
| Spanish | Hola | Oh-la |
| French | Bonjour | Bon-zhoor |
| Standard Arabic | مرحبا (Marhaban) | Mar-ha-ban |
| Bengali | হ্যালো (Hyālō) | Hyah-lo |
| Russian | Привет (Privet) | Pree-vyet |
| Portuguese | Olá | Oh-lah |
| Urdu | ہیلو (Hello) | Heh-lo |
| Indonesian | Halo | Hah-lo |
| German | Hallo | Hah-lo |
| Japanese | こんにちは (Konnichiwa) | Kohn-nee-chee-wah |
| Swahili | Habari | Hah-bah-ree |
| Marathi | नमस्कार (Namaskār) | Na-mas-kar |
| Telugu | నమస్కారం (Namaskāram) | Na-mas-ka-ram |
| Turkish | Merhaba | Mer-hah-bah |
| Tamil | வணக்கம் (Vaṇakkam) | Vah-nah-kkum |
| Korean | 안녕하세요 (Annyeonghaseyo) | Ahn-nyong-ha-se-yo |
| Vietnamese | Xin chào | Sin chow |
| Italian | Ciao | Chow |
| Hausa | Sannu | Sah-noo |
| Thai | สวัสดี (Sawasdee) | Sa-was-dee |
| Cantonese | 你好 (Néih hóu) | Nay hoh |
| Persian | سلام (Salam) | Sa-lam |
| Gujarati | નમસ્તે (Namaste) | Na-mas-te |
| Polish | Cześć | Chesh-ch |
| Ukrainian | Привіт (Pryvit) | Pree-veet |
| Punjabi | ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ (Sat sri akal) | Sat sree a-kaal |
| Dutch | Hallo | Hah-lo |
| Burmese | မင်္ဂလာပါ (Mingalaba) | Min-ga-la-ba |
| Filipino | Kamusta | Ka-mus-ta |
| Romanian | Bună ziua | Boo-nah zee-wah |
| Egyptian Arabic | أهلاً (Ahlan) | Ah-lan |
| Malay | Selamat pagi | Se-la-mat pa-gee |
| Uzbek | Salom | Sa-lom |
| Sindhi | سلام (Salaam) | Sa-laam |
| Amharic | ሰላም (Selam) | Se-lam |
| Oromo | Akkam | Ah-kkam |
| Igbo | Ndewo | N-de-wo |
| Azerbaijani | Salam | Sa-lam |
| Sundanese | Halo | Hah-lo |
| Kurdish | Silav | See-lav |
| Moroccan Arabic | سلام (Salam) | Sa-lam |
| Cebuano | Hello | Heh-lo |
| Nepali | नमस्ते (Namaste) | Na-mas-tey |
| Serbo-Croatian | Zdravo | Zdrah-vo |
| Hungarian | Szia | See-ah |
| Algerian Arabic | سلام (Salam) | Sa-lam |
| Sinhala | ආයුබෝවන් (Āyubōvan) | Ah-yu-bo-wan |
| Northern Kurdish | Silav | See-lav |
| Czech | Ahoj | Ah-hoy |
| Greek | Γεια σας (Geia sas) | Yah sass |
| Chittagonian | নমস্কার (Nomoskar) | No-mo-skar |
| Zulu | Sawubona | Sah-woo-bo-na |
| Khmer | ជំរាបសួរ (Chum reap suor) | Choom ree-ap soo-or |
| Turkmen | Salam | Sa-lam |
| Kannada | ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ (Namaskāra) | Na-mas-ka-ra |
| Xhosa | Molo | Mo-lo |
| Pashto | سلام (Salaam) | Sa-laam |
| Somali | Salaan | Sa-lan |
| Malayalam | നമസ്കാരം (Namaskaram) | Na-mas-ka-ram |
| Saraiki | سلام (Salaam) | Sa-laam |
| Hausa (Ghanaian) | Sannu | Sah-noo |
| Uzbek (Northern) | Salom | Sa-lom |
| Yoruba | Bawo ni | Bah-wo nee |
| Oriya | ନମସ୍କାର (Namaskar) | Na-mas-kar |
| Fula | Salaam aleikum | Sa-lam a-ley-kum |
| Romanian (Moldovan) | Bună ziua | Boo-nah zee-wah |
| Balochi | سلام (Salaam) | Sa-laam |
| Kazakh | Сәлеметсіз бе (Sälemetsiz be) | Sa-lem-et-siz be |
| Sindhi (Singaporean) | سلام (Salaam) | Sa-laam |
| Hebrew | שלום (Shalom) | Sha-lom |
| Lao | ສະບາຍດີ (Sabai dee) | Sa-bai dee |
| Bulgarian | Здравейте (Zdraveyte) | Zdra-vey-te |
| Tunisian Arabic | أسلمة (Aslema) | As-le-ma |
| Slovak | Ahoj | Ah-hoy |
| Belarusian | Прывітанне (Pryvitannie) | Pri-vi-tan-nye |
| Sesotho | Lumela | Loo-meh-la |
| Lithuanian | Sveiki | Svay-kee |
| Slovenian | Zdravo | Zdrah-vo |
| Latvian | Sveiki | Svay-kee |
| Tajik | Салом (Salom) | Sa-lom |
| Bosnian | Zdravo | Zdrah-vo |
| Catalan | Hola | Oh-la |
| Croatian | Bok | Bok |
| Georgian | გამარჯობა (Gamarjoba) | Ga-mar-jo-ba |
| Ewe | Akwaaba | Ah-kwah-bah |
| Macedonian | Здраво (Zdravo) | Zdrah-vo |
| Fijian | Bula | Boo-lah |
| Maltese | Bongu | Bon-joo |
| Tigrinya | ሰላም (Selam) | Se-lam |
| Greenlandic | Aluu | A-loo |
| Montenegrin | Здраво (Zdravo) | Zdrah-vo |
| Tibetan | བཀྲ་ཤིས་ (Tashi delek) | Ta-shee de-lek |
| Tswana | Dumela | Doo-meh-lah |
| Luxembourgish | Moien | Moy-en |
| Quechua | Rimaykullayki | Ree-may-koo-yai-kee |
| Shona | Mhoro | Mho-ro |
| Guarani | Mba’éichapa | Mba-ey-cha-pa |
Help Pronouncing Hello in All Languages
Above, I share how to say “hello” in 100 different languages, and I even include the phonetic spelling to help with pronunciation. However, if you’re anything like me, hearing a language is way easier to learn than reading it.
This video shares how to say hello in 46 different languages. Although it doesn’t cover every language on my list, it is a great starting point.
Most Common Languages Around The World
While we’re talking about language, you might be wondering what languages are most commonly spoken around the world.
This list of the 10 most used languages would be a great place to start when teaching yourself how to say hello:
1. Mandarin Chinese (~918 million): Predominantly spoken in China, Taiwan, and Singapore.
2. Spanish (~460 million): Widely spoken across Spain, most countries in Latin America, and a significant portion of the United States.
3. English (~377 million): A global language with the majority of speakers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and numerous Caribbean and Pacific island nations.
4. Hindi (~341 million): Mainly spoken in India, especially in the northern and central regions.
5. Bengali (~228 million): Predominantly spoken in Bangladesh and in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura.
6. Portuguese (~221 million): The official language of Brazil, Portugal, and several African nations such as Angola and Mozambique.
7. Russian (~154 million): The official language of Russia, with significant numbers of speakers in countries of the former Soviet Union.
8. Urdu (~230 million): Primarily spoken in Pakistan and India, especially in states with significant Muslim populations.
9. Standard Arabic (~310 million): Spoken across the Arab world, including countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
10. French (~77 million): Spoken in France, parts of Belgium and Switzerland, several countries in Africa, parts of Canada, the Caribbean, and various island nations.
These numbers represent native speakers and do not include second-language speakers, which would significantly increase the number of speakers for languages like English, French, and Arabic due to their global reach and use as a common language in many regions.
Before You Go…
Great job learning to say ‘hello’ in so many languages! Why not complete the circle by mastering ‘goodbye’ too? Saying farewell properly can be just as meaningful as your greeting.
Related Posts:
- 100 Ways to Say Goodbye in Different Languages
- How to Say Please in Different Languages (100 Ways)
- How to Say Thank You in All Languages (100 Most Common)
- How to Say Sorry in Different Languages Around the World
- 100 Ways To Say How Are You in Different Languages
- 100 Ways to Say Cheers in Other Languages (For Travelers)
- How to Say I Love You in Different Languages & Countries
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