Greeting someone with a simple “hello” is often the first step toward making a meaningful connection. Whether you’re traveling, studying languages, or just curious about global cultures, knowing how to say hello in different languages helps bridge gaps and open doors.
Below is a comprehensive guide to how “hello” is expressed around the world—with pronunciations and example sentences in 70 different languages.
What Does “Hello” Mean?
“Hello” is a common greeting used when meeting someone, answering a phone call, or starting a conversation. It can be formal, friendly, casual, or even enthusiastic depending on context. Most languages have their own culturally nuanced versions of hello—some rooted in peace, others in blessings, and some simply cheerful sounds of acknowledgment.
70 Ways to Say Hello in Different Languages
- 🇺🇸 English – Hello
Pronunciation: heh-LOH
Hello! How are you today? - 🇪🇸 Spanish – Hola
Pronunciation: OH-lah
¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás? - 🇫🇷 French – Bonjour
Pronunciation: bohn-ZHOOR
Bonjour, mon ami! - 🇩🇪 German – Hallo
Pronunciation: HAH-loh
Hallo, wie geht’s? - 🇮🇹 Italian – Ciao
Pronunciation: CHOW
Ciao! Piacere di conoscerti. - 🇵🇹 Portuguese – Olá
Pronunciation: oh-LAH
Olá, tudo bem? - 🇷🇺 Russian – Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuyte)
Pronunciation: zDRAHS-tvooy-tye
Здравствуйте, как дела? - 🇨🇳 Mandarin Chinese – 你好 (Nǐ hǎo)
Pronunciation: nee-how
你好，我是李明。 - 🇯🇵 Japanese – こんにちは (Konnichiwa)
Pronunciation: kon-nee-chee-wah
こんにちは、お元気ですか。 - 🇰🇷 Korean – 안녕하세요 (Annyeonghaseyo)
Pronunciation: an-nyeong-ha-se-yo
안녕하세요, 만나서 반가워요. - 🇸🇦 Arabic – مرحبا (Marhaban)
Pronunciation: MAR-ha-ban
مرحبا بك في بيتي. - 🇮🇳 Hindi – नमस्ते (Namaste)
Pronunciation: na-mas-tay
नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं? - 🇧🇩 Bengali – হ্যালো (Hyālō) / নমস্কার (Nomoshkar)
Pronunciation: hah-loh / no-mosh-kar
নমস্কার, আপনি কেমন আছেন? - 🇵🇰 Urdu – ہیلو (Hello) / سلام (Salam)
Pronunciation: heh-lo / sa-laam
سلام، آپ کیسے ہیں؟ - 🇹🇭 Thai – สวัสดี (Sawasdee)
Pronunciation: sah-wah-dee
สวัสดีครับ/ค่ะ ยินดีที่ได้พบคุณ. - 🇻🇳 Vietnamese – Xin chào
Pronunciation: sin chow
Xin chào! Bạn khỏe không? - 🇵🇭 Tagalog – Kamusta
Pronunciation: kah-moos-tah
Kamusta ka na? - 🇮🇩 Indonesian – Halo
Pronunciation: hah-loh
Halo, apa kabar? - 🇲🇾 Malay – Hai
Pronunciation: hi
Hai! Apa khabar? - 🇮🇷 Persian (Farsi) – سلام (Salam)
Pronunciation: sah-lahm
سلام، حال شما چطوره؟ - 🇹🇷 Turkish – Merhaba
Pronunciation: mehr-hah-bah
Merhaba, nasılsın? - 🇬🇷 Greek – Γειά σου (Yia sou)
Pronunciation: yah soo
Γειά σου, τι κάνεις; - 🇵🇱 Polish – Cześć
Pronunciation: cheshch
Cześć, jak się masz? - 🇳🇱 Dutch – Hallo
Pronunciation: hah-lo
Hallo, hoe gaat het? - 🇸🇪 Swedish – Hej
Pronunciation: hey
Hej! Hur mår du? - 🇳🇴 Norwegian – Hallo
Pronunciation: hah-loh
Hallo, hvordan har du det? - 🇩🇰 Danish – Hej
Pronunciation: hi
Hej! Hvordan går det? - 🇫🇮 Finnish – Hei
Pronunciation: hey
Hei, mitä kuuluu? - 🇨🇿 Czech – Ahoj
Pronunciation: ah-hoy
Ahoj, jak se máš? - 🇭🇺 Hungarian – Helló
Pronunciation: hello
Helló, hogy vagy? - 🇷🇴 Romanian – Salut
Pronunciation: sah-loot
Salut, ce faci? - 🇧🇬 Bulgarian – Здравей (Zdravey)
Pronunciation: zdrah-vey
Здравей, как си? - 🇺🇦 Ukrainian – Привіт (Pryvit)
Pronunciation: pri-veet
Привіт, як справи? - 🇷🇸 Serbian – Zdravo
Pronunciation: zdrah-voh
Zdravo, kako si? - 🇭🇷 Croatian – Bok
Pronunciation: bohk
Bok, drago mi je. - 🇸🇰 Slovak – Ahoj
Pronunciation: ah-hoy
Ahoj, ako sa máš? - 🇸🇮 Slovenian – Živjo
Pronunciation: zheev-yo
Živjo, kako si? - 🇦🇱 Albanian – Përshëndetje
Pronunciation: pur-shen-de-tyeh
Përshëndetje, si jeni? - 🇱🇹 Lithuanian – Labas
Pronunciation: lah-bahs
Labas, kaip sekasi? - 🇱🇻 Latvian – Sveiki
Pronunciation: svay-kee
Sveiki! Kā jums klājas? - 🇪🇪 Estonian – Tere
Pronunciation: teh-reh
Tere! Kuidas läheb? - 🇬🇪 Georgian – გამარჯობა (Gamarjoba)
Pronunciation: gah-mar-jo-ba
გამარჯობა, როგორ ხარ? - 🇦🇲 Armenian – Բարև (Barev)
Pronunciation: bah-rev
Բարև, ինչպե՞ս ես։ - 🇦🇿 Azerbaijani – Salam
Pronunciation: sah-lahm
Salam, necəsən? - 🇮🇱 Hebrew – שלום (Shalom)
Pronunciation: sha-LOHM
שלום, מה שלומך? - 🇵🇰 Pashto – سلام (Salam)
Pronunciation: sah-lahm
سلام، څنګه یی؟ - 🇳🇵 Nepali – नमस्कार (Namaskar)
Pronunciation: na-mas-kar
नमस्कार, तपाईंलाई कस्तो छ? - 🇱🇰 Sinhala – හෙලෝ (Hello) / ආයුබෝවන් (Ayubowan)
Pronunciation: ah-yu-boh-wahn
ආයුබෝවන්, ඔබට කොහොමද? - 🇲🇲 Burmese – မင်္ဂလာပါ (Mingalaba)
Pronunciation: min-gah-lah-bah
မင်္ဂလာပါ။ - 🇲🇳 Mongolian – Сайн байна уу (Sain baina uu)
Pronunciation: sai-en bain-a oo
Сайн байна уу, найз минь? - 🇰🇭 Khmer – សួស្តី (Soursdey)
Pronunciation: soo-a-sday
សួស្តី, សុខសប្បាយទេ? - 🇱🇦 Lao – ສະບາຍດີ (Sabaidee)
Pronunciation: sa-bai-dee
ສະບາຍດີ ເພື່ອນ! - 🇰🇪 Swahili – Jambo
Pronunciation: JAM-boh
Jambo rafiki! - 🇿🇦 Zulu – Sawubona
Pronunciation: sah-woo-boh-nah
Sawubona, unjani? - 🇿🇦 Xhosa – Molo
Pronunciation: mo-lo
Molo, unjani? - 🇳🇬 Yoruba – Bawo
Pronunciation: bah-woh
Bawo ni? - 🇳🇬 Igbo – Ndeewo
Pronunciation: n-deh-woh
Ndeewo, kedu? - 🇲🇦 Moroccan Arabic – Salam
Pronunciation: sah-lahm
Salam, labas? - 🇹🇳 Tunisian Arabic – Aslema
Pronunciation: ahs-LEH-ma
Aslema, shnowa ahwelik? - 🇺🇿 Uzbek – Salom
Pronunciation: sah-lohm
Salom, qanday yuribsiz? - 🇰🇿 Kazakh – Сәлем (Sälem)
Pronunciation: sa-lem
Сәлем! Қалайсың? - 🇹🇲 Turkmen – Salam
Pronunciation: sah-lahm
Salam, ýagdaýyň nähili? - 🇰🇬 Kyrgyz – Салам
Pronunciation: sah-lahm
Салам, кандайсың? - 🇧🇹 Dzongkha (Bhutan) – Kuzu zangpo la
Pronunciation: koo-zoo zang-po la
Kuzu zangpo la! - 🏳️🌈 Esperanto – Saluton
Pronunciation: sah-loo-ton
Saluton, kiel vi fartas? - 🏴 Welsh – Helo
Pronunciation: heh-loh
Helo, sut wyt ti? - 🏴 Irish – Dia dhuit
Pronunciation: dee-ah gwit
Dia dhuit, conas atá tú? - 🏴 Scottish Gaelic – Halò
Pronunciation: hah-loh
Halò, ciamar a tha thu? - 🏴 Basque – Kaixo
Pronunciation: kai-sho
Kaixo, zer moduz? - 🇲🇹 Maltese – Bongu
Pronunciation: bon-goo
Bongu, kif inti?
Conclusion
A simple hello can start friendships, open doors in foreign lands, and create bridges across cultures. Each greeting on this list reflects its people, customs, and tone—from the peaceful Shalom in Hebrew to the warm Sawubona in Zulu. Whether you’re learning languages or exploring the world, using a local greeting shows respect and enthusiasm—and can lead to conversations that start with hello and never truly end.
