How to Say Hello: Greetings Around the World

If you learn one word before a trip, make it "hello". It signals respect, opens doors, and almost always earns a smile. Here's how to greet people in a dozen languages — with a note on when to keep it formal.

• 🇫🇷 French — Bonjour / Salut — bon-ZHOOR / sah-LOO — Bonjour for anyone; salut only with friends.
• 🇪🇸 Spanish — Hola — OH-lah — Warm and universal, formal or not.
• 🇮🇹 Italian — Ciao / Salve — chow / SAL-veh — Ciao is casual (hello and goodbye); salve is the safe polite choice with strangers.
• 🇩🇪 German — Hallo / Guten Tag — HAH-loh / GOO-ten tahk — Guten Tag ("good day") is the respectful default.
• 🇵🇹 Portuguese — Olá / Oi — oh-LAH / oy — Oi is the friendly, casual "hi", especially in Brazil.
• 🇷🇺 Russian — Здравствуйте / Привет — ZDRAST-vuy-tye / pri-VYET — The first is polite (and a great tongue-twister); privet is for friends.
• 🇸🇦 Arabic — السلام عليكم — as-sa-LAA-mu a-LAY-kum — "Peace be upon you", understood across the entire Arab world. Reply: wa alaykum as-salaam.
• 🇨🇳 Chinese (Mandarin) — 你好 — nǐ hǎo (nee how) — Literally "you good". Add 您好 (nín hǎo) to be respectful.
• 🇯🇵 Japanese — こんにちは — kon-nee-chee-wah — The daytime hello; bow slightly as you say it.
• 🇰🇷 Korean — 안녕하세요 — an-nyong-ha-se-yo — Polite and used constantly; drop to 안녕 (annyeong) with friends.
• 🇮🇳 Hindi — नमस्ते — nuh-muh-STAY — Palms together, a small bow. It works morning, noon and night.
• 🇹🇭 Thai — สวัสดี — sa-wat-DEE — Add khrap (men) or kha (women) and a wai (hands pressed together) for the full Thai greeting.

A single confident "hello" turns a tourist into a guest. Practise these with native speakers below, and pick up the small talk that comes right after — that's where real travel friendships begin.