One of the first words you’ll most likely use when meeting people while traveling is hello!
It’s the simplest of words regardless of the language being spoken or the country you’re visiting but together with a smile, it always conveys an air of politeness, respect and kindness. Hello is one of the easiest ways of initiating any form of interaction with locals and if you’re lucky, it could even lead to lifelong friendships! Here’s a little guide on how to say hello in 30 different languages.
Afrikaans: Hallo (Hal-oo)
Arabic: Marhaban / Alsalam alaykum (As-salam ala-kyum)
Argentinian: Encantado / Encantada Czech: Ahoj
Danish: Hej
Dutch: Hallo
English: Hello
Filipino: Kamusta
Finnish: Hei
French: Bonjour
German: Hallo / Guten tag (goo-ten-tag)
Greek: Yassas / Yassoo (Yas-sas / Yas-oo)
Hebrew: Shalom (sha-loam / sha-lom)
Hindi: Namaste (na-ma-stay)
Hungarian: Helló
Irish: Dia dhuit
Italian: Ciao (chow)
Japanese: Konichiwa (kon-neen-chee-wah)
Korean: annyeonghaseyo (ann-yeong-has-eyo)
Lithuanian: Sveiki
Mandarin: Ni hao
Mongolian: Sain Bainuu
Portugese: Olá
Russian: Zdravstvuyte (ZDRA-stvooy-tyeh)
Spanish: Hola (oh-LA)
Tamil: Vanakum (Van-a-koom)
Vietnamese: chào bạn
Welsh: Helo
Zambian: Bwanji
Zulu: Sawubona (saaw-u-bona)