How do you do?
If you are looking for a VERY formal phrase for someone you meet for the first time, this one will be the most suitable. While this salutation is quite uncommon today, you can still hear it from older people.
“Hello. How do you do?” is perfect for a business dinner or a formal event, such as a conference. As per professional speech in every language, the most appropriate response is neutral or positive “I’m doing well thank you / Fine, thank you” to keep some distance, even if you are actually having a very bad day!
If used as a formal greeting, sometimes “How do you do” is, strangely, used as a statement rather than a question. This most often happens when shaking hands with someone for the first time. It is easy to hear if this is the case: there will be no inflection at the end of the sentence. In this instance, the correct response is to repeat the question back to the asker in the same flat tone, “How do you do?”
Nice to meet you / Pleased to meet you
This is one of the respectful greeting examples you can use replying to someone you meet for the very first time. For example:
• A: Good morning. I’m Alex White from [Company].
• B: Nice to meet you, Mr. White.
When people meet, it is a common practice to shake hands. A handshake generally lasts for a few seconds, which gives enough time to say “Pleased to meet you”.
How have you been?
This is a polite way to ask “How are you?” when you have not seen a person for a long time. Ask this question only if you have met someone before.
• A: How have you been?
• B: I’ve been busy working a lot. How about you?
The best way to ensure that your greetings sound natural and confident is to practice them aloud, preferably with a fluent speaker to give you pointers. No-one to practice with? Find your perfect tutor.
Good Morning / Good Afternoon / Good Evening
These ways of greeting people are used at different times of the day. Whether you speak with a regular customer, colleagues or new neighbors, these phrases are effective to start the ball rolling.
Keep in mind that “Goodnight” is not a salutation. In formal communication, it is used to say goodbye. For example:
• It was nice to meet you. Goodnight!
• Goodnight! See you tomorrow.
To show your respect, you can also add the person’s last name to your greeting words. Usually, native English speakers tend to be more informal even in business communication and use the person’s first name after the salutation:
• Good morning, Mr. Houston
• Good afternoon, Ms. Partridge
• Good morning, Tom
• Good evening, Kelly
It is also common to say “Good morning, sir/madam” when greeting someone in a formal situation whose name is unknown. This is often heard by staff talking to customers in shops, restaurants and hotels.
In any language, many of the most formal conversations take place in written form: job applications, legal queries, complaints against a company. Here are the best ways to greet someone in writing when you have something serious to say.
Dear Sir or Madam
• When you are reaching out to a department you would like to work with
However, if you are able to find the person you want to talk to with some online research, it is much more professional to do so and send a personalized formal greeting.
• When you are sending a complaint to a company
• When sending a reference letter for someone you used to manage
To the Hiring Manager
Dear Mr X / Mrs X / Ms X / Miss X / Prof X / Dr X
When it comes to a conversation with a neighbor or a chit-chat with colleagues during a coffee break, you can opt for these informal greetings. Situations where these fit naturally include:
• a casual meeting with colleagues
• having a conversation with your team at work
• networking events
• greeting neighbors
• chatting to a friend
Hello / Hi / Hey
As you almost certainly know already, “Hello” and “Hi” are the most popular greetings for informal situations. Generally, they are followed by the person’s name:
• Hello, Michel. How are you?
• Hi, Monica. Nice to see you!
As a rule, use “hey” with people you know well. It is perfectly okay to start a conversation with a stranger in an informal situation with “hey” too, but do not pronounce it too harshly in this case, or it can come across as rude or confrontational.
Morning / Afternoon / Evening
This is a friendly and warm way to greet someone in most informal situations. It sounds particularly natural if you are just walking past someone who you relate to informally but do not have time for a long chat with, such as a postman, or a neighbor, or a cafe assistant. This said, it works just as well to start a longer conversation.
How are you doing? / How’s it going?
This is a casual way of asking “How are you?” People prefer to ask one of these questions after the main greeting. Usually, it is followed by a brief, positive answer. For instance:
• A: Hello, Amanda! How are you doing?
• B: Fine, thanks. And you?
Nice to see you / It’s great to see you / Good to see you
When you have not seen a person for a while or meet somebody unexpectedly, use one of these friendly greetings. You can use them at the beginning of a conversation, or just after the initial “hello”.
• Hello, Veronica. Nice to see you there.
Long-time no see / It’s been a while
These common phrases are used to greet an old friend or begin a conversation with a person you haven’t seen for a very long time. These expressions are often followed by questions like “How are you?” or “What’s new?” And it is a great way to start small talk about what has happened since your last meeting.
Slang is fun to learn: it’s informal and a little bit silly, and using it signifies to someone that you’re on friendly terms. Here are some different ways to say “hello” to your good friends and younger relatives.
Yo!
This funny greeting came from hip-hop culture in 1990s America. It is still commonly used in the US today.
What’s up?
This is a very common slang greeting used a lot both in person and over text message. It is a more relaxed way of greeting a friend by asking how they are doing, and what is new in their life. It is not rude and can be used with colleagues who you are close with, as well as family members and friends.
Sup
This is a short version of “What’s up?”, which was very popular in America in the early 2000s. Now it is mostly only used ironically or in text.
Heyyy
When texting or sending direct messages, some people like to add extra “y”s at the end of “hey”. For some mysterious reason, this is most often used when flirting. The longer the tail of “y”s, the flirtier the message! More than three or four looks a little bit desperate though…
Knowing a few British English greetings will make you seem especially friendly when traveling to the UK, showing from the very first impression that you want to engage with the local culture. Here are some British “hello”s, perfect for testing out on the Queen, or on your mates down the pub!
Lovely to meet you / Lovely to see you
When greeting each other in a formal setting, British people are more likely to describe it as “lovely” to meet someone than “nice”. If you travel to the UK, you will notice that many people use the word “lovely” to mean the same as “fine” in American English. To British English speakers, it sounds kinder and more sincere.
Are you OK?
This is a British slang version of “Hello. How are you?” If your friend greets you like this, you can respond with “yeah, fine” or, if you want to sound even more British, “not bad” — which means exactly the same thing.
Alright, mate? / Alright?
This is a very common slang way to say a chilled-out “Hi” to a friend. It is a shortened version of “Are you alright?”. Once again, a suitable and friendly answer is “Not bad, mate, you?”
Hiya!
This is a very common way of saying “hello”, especially in the North of England. It is also used a lot in text messaging.
What’s the craic?
This greeting is only used in Ireland, and “craic” is pronounced to rhyme with the English words “crack” and “back”. It is a very warm phrase which means, “what is new with you?” or “have you got any interesting new gossip since we last met?”
Be careful though: if you use this phrase to greet someone Irish and are not Irish yourself, it is possible that they might think you are making fun of them!
Funny Greetings
It is very difficult to be funny in a new language (or difficult to be funny on purpose, at least!). Being able to understand and make jokes is often even seen as a sign of fluency. If you are still in the process of learning, slipping a silly or old-fashioned version of “hello” into a conversation is a simple way to make someone laugh.
What are simple greetings?
The simplest greetings is the old-fashioned “hello,” “hey,” or “hi.” You can use these in almost any situation!
How do you say hello in a cute way?
If you want to be a little less formal and little more friendly, you can go with “hey there,” or, even better for over text or instant message, “hey there :).” Another cute greetings is to say hello in a different language, e.g. “hola.”
How do you greet someone in chat?
A chat is generally informal, so saying “hey” or something even friendlier (and slang-ier) like “yo” or “sup” will do.
How do you respectfully greet someone?
The most respectful greetings are formal ones like “hello,” or time-related greetings like “good morning” or “good evening.” To make it even more respectful, add the listener's formal title afterwards, like “hello, Mr. or Mrs. ______,” or even “hello, sir or ma'am.”
What is another word for “hello”? There are many ways to say “hello” in English; they are “hi”, “howdy”, “welcome”, “hey”, “salute”, etc. Below is a list of different ways to say “hello” with example sentences and ESL infographic.
• How are you doing?
• Howdy
• Good to see you
• What have you been up to?
• Look what the cat dragged in!
• It is nice to meet you
• How have you been?
• Stay safe
• Welcome
• How are ya?
• Long time, no see
• Bonjour
• Nice to see you again?
• Good morning sir, how are you?
• Look who it is!
• How are you feeling today?
• Good morning, sir. Can I help you?
• Good afternoon, and welcome to our Career Day.
• Shalom Shalom, good evening, have a good day!
• Good to see you, Mr. Thomas. This is my colleague Mr. Smith, David Smith.
• Long time no see. I have a gift for you, my dear teacher. Merry Christmas!
How to say "hello"
We'll start with the greetings you'll probably see in a Spanish phrase book. There's a good chance you've probably already learned these, but here's a quick refresher:
¡Hola!
Buenos días
Good morning
Buenas tardes
Good afternoon
Buenas noches
Good evening
Note that Spanish greetings are always in the plural ("Good days"), but you might occasionally hear the singular "buen día" instead of "buenos días"
Buen día
Good day
"Buen día" is not very commonly used. So if in doubt, stick to "buenos días"
How to say "how are you?"
Just like in English, it's nice to follow up with "how are you?" (Although just like in English, don't always expect to get an answer.)
¿Cómo está?
How are you? (formal)
¿Cómo está usted?
How are you? (also formal)
¿Cómo estás?
How are you? (informal)
For casual, everyday conversations you can take your pick from any of the following. They all mean "how are you?", "what's up?" "how's it going?" "how you doin'?" etc. Which one you pick depends on which Spanish-speaking country you come from, or your own personal preference.
¿Qué tal?
¿Cómo andas?
¿Cómo va?
¿Qué haces? *
how are you? / what's up? / how's it going? how you doin'? (very casual)
Note that ¿Qué haces? can also mean "what do you do?" or "what are you doing?", depending on the context.
How to say "good, thanks!"
Yup, just as you do in English, if someone asks you "How are you?" you will usually say "good, thanks!" Although just like in English, often the person blurting out a quick "¿Qué tal?" isn't really expecting a response.
Bien, gracias, ¿y usted?
Good, thanks, and you? (formal)
Bien, gracias, ¿y tú?
Good, thanks, and you? (informal)
If things are a little better than "good" in your world, you can use one of these instead:
Todo bien
Everything's good
Muy bien
Very good
If things are a bit more so-so, you could also use one of these:
Aquí estamos
Acá andamos
Literally "here we are", but it's usually used like "I'm hanging in there", or "I'm alive".
Bien...¿o te cuento?
Good... or shall I really tell you about it?
Even if you're feeling really terrible, it's bad form to ever come straight out and say "mal" ("bad").
In some Spanish-speaking countries (eg, Argentina) people will often only say that they're "very good" when they're being ironic. If you hear someone say "¡Mejor imposible!" ("it doesn't get any better than this!") — there's a good chance they're probably not having a very good day.
How to say "goodbye"
When it's time to say goodbye, again you've got some polite options, and some more casual options.
Adiós
Goodbye
Chau
Bye! (casual)
Nos vemos
See you (casual)
Hasta mañana
See you tomorrow
Hasta luego
See you later
Hasta la próxima semana
See you next week
Hasta el próximo lunes
See you next Monday
(It's well worth getting familiar with Hasta. It's very adaptable and useful for saying goodbye, and it's easy to remember: Just think of Arnie in Terminator: Hasta la vista, baby.)
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Hello is a Scrabble word. Scrabble point value for hello: 8 points.
Hello is a Words with Friends word. Words with Friends point value for hello: 8 points.
2 letter words made by unscrambling the letters in hello
Above are the results of unscrambling hello. Using the word generator and word unscrambler for the letters H E L L O, we unscrambled the letters to create a list of all the words found in Scrabble, Words with Friends, and Text Twist. We found a total of 11 words by unscrambling the letters in hello. Click these words to find out how many points they are worth, their definitions, and all the other words that can be made by unscrambling the letters from these words. If one or more words can be unscrambled with all the letters entered plus one new letter, then they will also be displayed.
an expression of greeting
10 Words for… HELLO
What is World Hello Day?
World Hello Day was started in response to the 1983 conflict between Egypt and Israel with the intention of promoting and encouraging communication as a vital tool for keeping peace. Over the years, World Hello Day has been observed in 180 different countries.
How can I take part in World Hello Day?
The goal of World Hello Day is for each participant to greet ten people over the course of the day. This can be in person, over the phone, or via written communication. Some people like to get in touch with world leaders using social media.
To help you take part, here are ten different ways to greet people in English:
1. Good morning/afternoon/evening/night – a formal greeting that distinguishes the time of day
2. Good to see you! – a way of greeting someone that shows enthusiasm
3. Hey/hi/hiya – three variations on a common informal way to greet people
4. How are you doing? – a way of greeting someone, not necessarily an enquiry about their life and wellbeing
5. How’s it going? – a way of greeting someone, not necessarily an enquiry about their life and wellbeing
6. Howdy! – a very informal way of greeting someone
7. Long time no see! – a way to greet someone you haven’t seen for a long time
8. Nice/Pleased to meet you! – a way of showing enthusiasm when greeting someone for the first time
9. What’s up? – a way of greeting someone, not necessarily an enquiry about their life and wellbeing
10. You alright? – a way of greeting someone, not necessarily an enquiry about their life and wellbeing
It’s the most famous program. Known as the first example in nearly every programming language for every programmer, where did this message come from?
As a function, the computer program simply tells the computer to display the words “Hello, World!” Traditionally, it’s the first program developers use to test systems. For programmers, seeing the two words on the screen means their code can compile, load, run and they can see the output.
It’s a test, signifying a start to a program. Over the past several decades, it’s grown to become a time-honored tradition. All programmers that have come before you have, at some point, felt the same rush of adrenaline after realizing they successfully communicated through the computer. Here’s how the two most famous words in the history of programming first began:
Where does ‘Hello World’ come from?
main( ) {
extrn a, b, c;
putchar(a); putchar(b); putchar(c); putchar(’!*n’);
} 1 ’hell’;
b ’o, w’;
c ’orld’;
Unfortunately, the legend himself can’t definitely pinpoint when or why he chose the words “Hello, World.” When asked what sparked the idea for the name “Hello, World” in interview with Forbes India, he said his memory’s dim.
“What I do remember is that I had seen a cartoon that showed an egg and a chick and the chick was saying, “Hello, World.”
Still in its Shell
People generally saw computers as untouchable, complex and ridiculously expensive devices reserved only for the elite in academia, defense or the government. In fact, the industry titans who devoted their lives to the world of computing worked hard to overcome this stigma. It’s amazing to think how we’ve come from then. Today some people actually feel anxiety when they don't have their personal devices.
From an educational standpoint, most of all the programming language books about the earlier programming languages, like FORTRAN or BASIC, started off by proving a point: Computers are, in fact, useful. This is according to Algorithmist and Researcher John Mount. Mount says the explosive popularity of “Hello, World” released computer scientists from the burden of justifying why computers are good to the rest of society.
For instance, in the 1964 book My Computer Likes Me When I Speak Basic, the introduction talks about the purpose of programming languages in general. Plus, the first example outputs: “MY HUMAN UNDERSTANDS ME.”
Using this example aims to reinforce the unpopular idea that humans can, in fact, talk to computers. The 1956 Dynamic Programming kicks off with examples that can be applied to ordinary calculus.
It wasn’t until The C Programming Language when “Hello World” really took off.
‘Hello World:’ Programming Has Arrived
One major catalyst that sparked the spread of ‘Hello World’ was the parallel introduction of the PDP-11, one of the first commercial success of microcomputers. Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) sold over 600,000 units of the PDP-11 total at about $10,000 each. This price point was drastically lower than the millions of dollars computers typically cost.
Almost every programmer who worked on desktop software in the 80s and 90s thereafter owned a copy or referenced the book. Millions of copies have sold to date.
There were probably many different basic programs to start with. But ‘Hello World’ is, by far, the most famous today. Every programmer remembers their first ‘Hello World’ as a rite of passage. Many might not realize it, but each time a programmer feels the sweet feeling of triumph in clearing the first hurdle of programming with the words ‘Hello World,’, they're experiencing a moment that transcends history.