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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English Communication: Greetings and Goodbyes, part 1
‘What’s up?’
‘How’s it going?’
‘Good evening, sir.’
When it comes to greetings and words of parting, it is important to know that in the culture of the United States, these are usually ritual greetings. That means that if someone asks you “How are you ?” or “How is it going?” it is meant to be the same thing as saying a simple “hello.” That person is expecting a short reply, one or a few words.
This is different than many other countries, such as Romania, where such a greeting is an opener to discussion about the well-being of each person.
In the United States, there are many ritual greetings and words of parting. But with so many ways to say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ comes a lot to know about which vocabulary and phrases are typically used in what circumstances. Who? When? How? In what context? Knowing the answers to these question will help you feel more comfortable and confident in many situations.
Here are some good options for expanding your ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ vocabulary, with some of those questions answered.
Formal Greetings
Use these in a business setting, in public speaking, or in the service professions, such as restaurants and retail.
• Good morning/afternoon/evening (Answer: ‘Hi’)
• Nice to meet you – Used when meeting someone for the first time. Can be used in informal settings with new acquaintances. (Answer: ‘Nice to meet you too’)
• It’s good to see you again – Used with someone you have met before. (Answer: ‘You too’)
Formal Goodbyes
Use in a business setting, public speaking, or in the service professions
• It was nice to see you again (Answer: ‘You too’)
• Take care – This is also often used with friends and used especially by females. (Answer: ‘Thanks, you too!’)
• Have a good day/week/weekend/trip – This can also be used with friends. (Answer: ‘Thanks! You too.’)
Informal Greetings
Use with friends
• Hey! (Answer: ‘Hey’)
• What’s up? (Answer: ‘Not much’ or ‘hey’)
• Hey! Long time no see (Answer: ‘Yeah, it’s been a while.’)
• How’s it going? (Answer: ‘Hey!’ or ‘Pretty good. You?’ or ‘Not bad. What about you?’)
• Hey! How are you? (Answer: ‘Pretty good. You?’)
Informal Goodbyes
Use with friends
Later, more on avoiding confusion with that little phrase you’ve probably heard over and over again: ‘How are you?’
Contributing editor: Amber McKinney
Transcript
Salut à tous! Hi everyone, welcome to episode number 4, numéro quatre, of French Made Easy. Thanks for joining me today!
In this episode, we’ll learn 10 basic greetings and goodbyes.
Don’t forget to download your episode cheat sheet. Listening and seeing the words at the same time will help you learn them much faster.
Ready? On commence. Let’s get started.
Here are 3 different ways of greeting someone:
• In the morning or in the afternoon, you say BONJOUR. It means hello, but also good morning or good afternoon. Repeat after me: BONJOUR.
• In the evening, you say BONSOIR. It means “good evening”. Repeat after me. BONSOIR.
• If you are familiar with the person you are greeting, you can also use the word SALUT at any time of the day. It means hi. But it can also used to say bye. Repeat after me. SALUT.
Let’s do a quick recap. To greet someone you can say:
• BONJOUR, in the morning or afternoon
• BONSOIR, in the evening
• SALUT at any time of the day, if you are familiar with the person.
Still with me? On continue. Let’s keep going.
Once it’s time for goodbyes, here are a few options:
• at any time of the day, you can say AU REVOIR. It means goodbye. Repeat after me. AU REVOIR.
• Also at any time of the day and only if you are familiar with the person, you can say SALUT. It means bye (but it also means hi) Repeat after me SALUT.
• in the morning or afternoon you can simply say BONNE JOURNÉE. It means have a good day. Repeat after me BONNE JOURNÉE.
• in the evening, you can say BONNE SOIRÉE. It means have a good evening. Repeat after me: BONNE SOIREE.
• at night, just before bedtime, you say BONNE NUIT. Repeat after me. BONNE NUIT.
Parfait. Perfect. Now let’s do a quick recap.
To say goodbye to someone, you can say:
• AU REVOIR, anytime of the day ,
• SALUT, any time of the day if you are familiar with the person
• BONNE JOURNÉE, to wish someone a good day
• BONNE SOIRÉE, to wish someone a good evening or
• BONNE NUIT, to wish someone a good night.
Stay with me, I’ve got a few more things to teach you!
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN…
If are leaving someone but meeting again soon, you can say:
• À BIENTÔT, which means see you soon. Repeat after me. À BIENTÔT.
• À TOUT À L’HEURE. Which means see you later. Only use this if you are going to meet again on the same day. À TOUT A L HEURE.
• À DEMAIN. which means see you tomorrow. À DEMAIN. Obviously only use this if you are going to meet the following day.
Let’s do a quick recap:
• To say “see you soon“, say: À BIENTÔT
• To say “see you later”, say: À TOUT À L’HEURE
• To say “see you tomorrow”, say: À DEMAIN
You’ve done it! Très bien. Well done.
Let’s review the words one more time before we wrap up this episode.
Répétez après moi une dernière fois. Repeat after me one last time.
• BONJOUR: Hello.
• BONSOIR: Good evening.
• SALUT: Hi/bye.
• AU REVOIR: Goodbye.
• BONNE JOURNÉE: Have a good day.
• BONNE SOIRÉE: Have a good evening.
• BONNE NUIT: Have a good night.
• À BIENTÔT: See you soon.
• À TOUT À L’HEURE: See you later.
• À DEMAIN: See you tomorrow.
There you have them, 10 basic greetings and goodbyes!
Merci beaucoup et a bientôt.
Greetings and Goodbyes
Greetings
In Spanish the formality of greetings is more pronounced than in English. In English we might say Good morning, Hi, or Hello to anyone. We know that Good morning tends to be more formal, and Hi tends to be less formal but we tend not to pay much attention to the difference.
In Spanish, they are not as interchangeable. Good morning is for people you would NOT call by first name, and Hi is for people you would call by first name and family members. The Spanish language does not allow the speaker to mix these back and forth between the different groups.
Here is a sample list of greetings.
Formal/Informal
Spanish
English
Formal
Buenos días
Good day/good morning
Formal
Buenas tardes
Good afternoon
Formal
Buenas noches
Good evening
Formal
¿Cómo está usted?
How are you?
Informal
Hola
Hi
Informal
¿Qué tal?
How's it going?
Informal
¿Cómo estás?
How are you?
Goodbyes
Goodbyes are not quite as rigid as greetings. The Spanish speaker will use most goodbyes to anyone. It is more important that the goodbye say what you want. I for example, see you later, is not the same as, see you soon.
Here is a sample list of goodbyes.
Spanish
English
Hasta luego
See you later
Hasta pronto
See you soon
Hasta la vista
Until we see each other
Hasta mañana
Until tomorrow
Nos vemos
We'll see each other
Buenas noches
Good night
Adiós
Goodbye
Notice that they are not divided up onto formal and informal.
Informal German Greetings
• Hallo [ˈhalo] – Hello
• Hi [haɪ̯] – Hi
„Hallo“ and „Hi“ are the most comon informal german greetings. You can use them with gestures like giving the hand to the person or giving a short hug. Other informal greetings are:
• Servus! [sẹrvus] – Hello!
• Wie geht’s? [viːˈge:ts] – How are you?
• Alles klar? [ˈaləs kla:ɐ] – Are you all right?
„Servus“ is a greeting mainly used in the southern part of Germany, Austria and North Tirol, Italy. You can use it in these regions as a simple „Hello“.
Phrases as „Wie gehts’s?“ and „Alles klar?“ are another comon form of german greetings among friends and family. As an answer, a simple „Gut, danke!“ (Yes, thank you!) or „Ja, danke!“ (Yes, thank you!) can be the answer.
Written informal German Greetings
• Lieber [ˈli:bɐ] – Dear
„Lieber“ might be the most important form of beginning and informal letter or text-message.
Formal German Greetings
Here are the most important formal german greetings:
• Guten Morgen! [gu:ten ˈmɔrgən] – Good Morning!
• Guten Tag! [gu:ten ta:k] – Good Day!
• Guten Abend! [gu:ten ˈa:bənd] – Good Evening!
Whereas „Guten Morgen!“ is a phrase normally used when getting up but also when greeting people in the morning, „Guten Tag!“ and „Guten Abend!“ can be seen a more formal german greetings to use – „Guten Tag“ as one of the most comon phrase and „Guten Abend“ as a rather old-fashioned german greeting being used when greeting people who are much older than yourself.
• Grüß Gott! [grü:s gɔt] – God greets you!
• Grüß dich! [grü:s dɪç] – God greets you!
• Grüß Sie! [grü:s zi:] – God greets you!
• Grüezi! [ˈgry:ɛtsi] – God greets you!
German greetings like „Grüß Gott!“ and related phrases are used in the southern parts of Germany, especially in Bavaria. You will not hear them in other parts of Germany. Also Austria and Switzerland use these german greetings, whereas only in Switzerland „Grüezi“ is comon.
This way to greet is seen as an old-fashioned way, also in these german speaking parts of the world – nevertheless you will hear them quite often. Remeber that there is a diference between „Grüß Sie!“ (formal) and „Grüß dich!“ (informal).
Written formal German Greetings
You can distinguish between two forms:
• Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren – To whom it may concern
• Sehr geehrter Herr / Sehr geehrte Frau – Dear Sir / Dear Madam
As you know, the adjective „geehrte“ / „geehrter“ adapts to the Noun, in this case to the female noun „Frau“ (Madam) or the male noun „Herr“ (Sir).
Greeting is quite important in German culture
Saying Goodbye
Saying Goodbye in German can have many diferent forms, too! We will now see informal and formal phrases and words, aswell as vocabulary you mainly use in phone-conversations and written messages.
Informal German Goodbyes
Well, no further explanation needed – here are the most comon informal ways to say goodbye to each other among friends and family.
• Tschüss! [tʃʏs] – Bye!
• Bis später! [bɪs ˈʃpɛ:tɐ] – See you later!
• Bis bald! [bɪs balt] – See you soon!
• Machs Gut! [maxs gu:t] – Take care!
• Viel Glück! [fi:l glʏk] – Good luck!
• Servus! [ˈsɛrvʊs] – Good Bye!
• Pfiade! [bfiàdde] – Good Bye!
„Servus!“ is a way to say hello, but it can also be used as a way to say goodbye! It simply depends on the context of the conversation, whether you want to start or end it. „Pfiade!“ is used in southern Germany, especially Bavaria, and also in Austria and parts of Switzerland. Only people from these regions acutally understand and use it – so, be carful when aplying it in northern Germany.. People there won’t understand you! By the way, its official translation would be „May god lead you!“.
In order to end an informal written text you can use many diferent kinds of phrases and words. But there is one phrase that is used 99% of the time:
• Viele Grüße! [fi:lə ˈgry:sə] – Best regards!
• Liebe Grüße! [ˈli:bə ˈgry:sə] – Love, … !
Formal German Goodbyes
For saying goodbye to someone in a formal way, you can use the widly known phrase:
• Auf Wiedersehen! – Good bye!
• Auf Wiedehören! – Good bye!
German speakers often mention the frase „Ich wünsche Ihnen noch einen schönen Tag“ – I wish you’ll have a good day! „Auf Wiederhören“ is directly translated as „It would be nice to hear from you again“ – as you can see, it is used as a formal way to say goodbye to someone you talk by phone in a formal way.
Written Formal German Goodbyes
• Thank you for sharing such a nice and informative blog and your knowledge with us.
Here are some study tips and practical advice to help make your learning of German more effective:
1. Use Your First Language to Learn the Second.
2. Avoid Language Interference.
3. Learn Nouns With Their Genders.
4. Stop Translating.
5. Learning a New Language Is Learning to Think in a New Way.
6. Get a Good German-English Dictionary.
Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!
21 ways to say "hello" and "goodbye" in American English
12 ways to say "hello"
1) "Hey there" :
"What's going on?" : This is casual and could be used between friends or acquaintances in an informal situation like a party.
"Hey! What's up?" : This is casual and could be used between friends, colleagues, siblings, etc.
"Good morning" or "good afternoon" : These greetings are generally more formal and are often used in restaurants, hotels, shops or at work between colleagues.
"How are you doing today?" : This is formal and might be used between a professional and a client or customer or between colleagues or a boss and his or her workers.
"Hey! There she is" : This is usually used in situations when you know the person well and it implies that you have been expecting to see the person or that you are very happy to see the person. Emphasis with pronunciation is placed on "there."
"How's everything?" : This is simply another way of saying "how are you." It is usually used casually.
"How are things?" : This is very similar to "how is everything?" and is perhaps more casual than "how is everything?"
"Good to see you," "great to see you," "nice to see you" : These could all be used informally or casually between business colleagues, friends, or family members. These phrases are often used when you haven't seen the person in a while.
"What's happening" or "What's happenin'?" : This is mostly used by young people (college age or younger). They might use the phrase to greet their friends when they arrive at a party or when they see each other in class.
"How's it going?" : This is casual, especially when you shorten it as in "How's it goin'?"
"Good evening": This is formal and is often used in upscale (expensive) hotels or restaurants to greet guests.
9 ways to say "goodbye"
1) "See you later" or "see ya later" : This becomes more casual when you use "ya" instead of "you."
"See you soon" or "see ya soon" : This is similar to the example above. It can be used to indicate that you want to or plan to meet with the person again soon.
"Take care"
"Take it easy" : This is not used now, in 2022, as much as it was used in the 1980's and 1990's. However, it is casual and means "take care."
"Gotta go!" This is used in casual situations when you want to escape the conversation quickly and you don't want to go through a longer or more sentimental goodbye.
"Talk to you soon"
"See you next time" : This is used when you know you will be returning to a specific place and you will see the person when you come back.
"Catch ya later" : This is used very casually between friends or acquaintances.
"Have a good one" : This means, "have a nice day" and is used casually, but it could be used between strangers, friends, colleages, or family members.