Good morning in many languages
Good morning in many languages
These are phrases you use when you greet people in the morning. Exactly when you use these phrases varies from country to country.
- Afrikaans — Hallo (hello) pronounced Hu-llo
- Alibamu (Southeastern Native American) — chíkmàa
- Amharic — "tena yistelegn," which is very formal. You can also say "Selam."
- Albanian — Tungjatjeta (pronounced To-ngyat-yeta) means have a long life, or c'kemi (hi)
- A'Leamona — Tel nĩdo (good day), pronounced tehl-neye-doe
- Arabic — صباح الخير (good morning) pronounced sabahou e l kheir , مساء الخير (good evening) pronounced masaou el kheir; note that Kh-خ is pronounced from the back of the throat. mArHAbAN-مرحبا (Hello) pronounced Mar-ha-ban Other common greetings are Ahalan and Marhaba
- American Sign Language (ASL) — To say "hello," squeeze the fingers in your right hand together, touch the tips of your fingers to your forehead, palm facing outward, and move your hand away from your forehead in a sort of saluting motion.
- Armenian — barev or parev
- Austrian — Grüßgott (formal, pronounced gree'assgott)/ Servus (Informal, said See-ahh-vass, not like the Latin word)
- Azerbaijani — salam (hello) pronounced Sa-lam
- Bahamian English — hello (formal), hi or heyello (informal), what you sayin', Bui/Bey? (very informal - slang)
- Basque — kaixo (pronounced kai-show), egun on (morning; .pronounced egg-un own), gau on (night; pronounced gow own)
- Belarusian — Вiтаю (pronounced Vee-tie-yu)
- Bengali — namaskaar (In West Bengal, India)
- Bodo — Wai or Oi or Oye Informal saying of hello to someone. Like wife saying waito husband. But formally add title after wai...e.g, to call sister wai binanao beo fwi(meaning: come here sister).
- Bremnian — koali (pronounced kowalee)
- Breton - Degemer Mad
- British Sign Language (BSL) — Dominant hand wave, from core to outside with the palm facing towards recipient as the hand moves bring it into a thumbs up gesture (Formal 'Hello'), Give two thumbs up (Informal Literal Translation 'well?')
- Bulgarian — zdravei, zdraveite (to many), zdrasti (informal), Dobro utro (morning),Dobar den (day), Dobar vecher (evening)
- Bosnian — Hej? (Hey) "Dobar dan" (Good Afternoon) "Cao" (Hi) "Laku noc" (Good night)
- Burmese — mingalarba
- Cambodian (Khmer) — Sua s'dei (informal), Jum Reap Sour (formal) good morning,Arun Sua s'dei good afternoon, Tivea Sua s'dei good evening, Sayoan Sua s'deigood night, Reatrey Sua s'dei good bye, Lea Hoy (informal), Jum Reap Lea (formal)
- Cape-Verdean Creole — oi, olá, Entao or Bon dia
- Catalan — hola (pronounced o-la), bon dia (pronounced bon dee-ah) good morning,bona tarda (bona tahr-dah) good afternoon, bona nit (bona neet)good night. You can also say just bones (bo-nahs) to make it informal.
- Cayuga (Northern Iroquois) — sga-noh
- Chamorro — hafa adai (hello/what's up?), hafa? (informal), howzzit bro/bran/prim/che'lu? (informal), sup (informal) and all other English greetings
- Chichewa — moni bambo! (to a male), moni mayi! (to a female), Muribwanji (moori-bwanji) is used often as a generalized greeting to everyone.
- Chubby — Shabe Yabebabe Yeshe
- Chinese — In both Cantonese and Mandarin, it is written as 你好. Cantonese is nei* ho or lei ho (pronounced ne ho or lay ho) and Mandarin is nǐ hǎo (pronounced, nee how) (remember the tones). In Mandarin you can also say 早上好 (zǎo shàng hǎo) for "Good Morning" (pronounced dsao shung haw). In Taiwan, this is not common and people informally use the shorter 早 (zǎo, pronounced dsao).
- Congolese — mambo
- Cook Islands Maori — Kia orana (hello)
- Cree — Tansi (pronounced Tawnsay)
- Croatian - bok (informal), dobro jutro (morning), dobar dan (day), dobra večer(evening), laku noć (night)
- Czech — dobré ráno (until about 8 or 9 a.m.), dobrý den (formal), dobrý večer(evening), ahoj (informal; pronounced ahoy)
- Danish — hej (informal; pronounced hi), goddag (formal), godaften (evening; formal), hey, hejsa, halløj (very informal).
- Dioula (Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso) — in-i-che
- D'ni — shorah (also goodbye or peace)
- Double Dutch — hutch-e-lul-lul-o (hello), gug-o-o-dud mum-o-rug-nun-i-nun-gug(good morning; formal), gug-o-o-dud a-fuf-tut-e-rug-nun-o-o-nun (good afternoon; formal), gug-o-o-dud e-vuv-e-nun-i-nun-gug (good evening; formal)
- Dutch — hoi (very informal), hallo (informal), goedendag (formal)
- Dzongkha (Bhutan) — kuzu-zangpo
- Edo (Nigeria) — Kóyo
- English - American — hello (formal), hi (informal), hey (informal,) yo (informal)
- English - England — How do you do? (formal), Good Morning (formal), Good Afternoon (formal), Good Evening (formal) hello (less formal), HowDo? (informal),Watchya (informal), Alright (informal) hi (informal), Hiya (informal)
- English - Ireland — hello (formal), hi (informal), hey (informal,) yo (informal), Hiya (informal)
- English - Scotland — hello (formal), hi (informal), hey (informal,) yo (informal), Hiya (informal), howzitgaun (informal, means "Hello, how are you?")
- Esperanto — saluton (formal), sal (informal)
- Estonian — tere päevast" (good day), Tere hommikust (morning), Tere Õhtust(evening) Tere/tervist
- Egyptian Arabic — Salaam Alekum (sulam ulakume) (Goodbye), Ma Salaama (ma sulama) the "U" is pronounced its usual way (Example:up)
- Fijian — Bula Uro (Informal Hello) and Bula Vinaka (Formal Hello) is pronounced 'Buh-la Vina-kah'
- Finnish — hyvää päivää (formal), moi, terve or hei (informal), moro (Tamperensis)
- French — salut (informal; silent 't'), allo,bonjour (formal, for daytime use; 'n' as a nasal vowel, pronounced "bon-shore"), bonsoir (good evening; 'n' is a nasal vowel),bonne nuit (good night)
- Frisian (A Language from northern Netherland, still spoken by many people) —Goeie dei (Formal), Goeie (A bit more informal but still correct).
- Gaelic — dia duit (informal; pronounced dee-ah whu-it; literally "God be with you")
- Georgian — gamardjoba
- German - Traditional — hallo (informal), Guten Tag (formal; pronounced gootan taag), Tag (very informal; pronounced tahg).
- Hindi — नमस्ते, namaste (nuh-muh-STAY)
- Hopi — ha'u (sounds like hah-uh) means "hello" but it's not used as often as we use it in English. It's more traditional to greet someone by saying Um waynuma? (you're around?)
- Hungarian, Magyar — jó napot (pronounced yoe naupote; daytime; formal),szervusz (pronounced sairvoose; informal), szia (pronounced seeya; informal), or even heló, like English hello but a longer "o"
- Icelandic — góðan dag (formal; pronounced gothan dahg), hæ (informal; pronounced hai)
- Igbo — nde-ewo (pronounced enday aywo), nna-ewo (pronounced enna wo), ke-du(informal, pronounced keh-du).
- Indonesian — halo (hello), selamat pagi (morning), selamat siang (afternoon),selamat malam (evening)
- Irish — Dia duit (pronounced "Dee-ah ghwit"; also means "God Be With You")
- Islamic Greeting — السّلام عليكم (peace be upon you) pronounced Assalamou Alykoum.
- Italian — ciào (pronounced chow; informal; also means "goodbye"), buon giorno(pronounced bwohn geeornoh; good morning; formal), buon pomeriggio (pronounced bwohn pohmehreejeeoh; good afternoon; formal), buona sera (pronounced bbwoonah sehrah; good evening; formal)
- Japanese — おはよう（ございます）ohayoou (gozaimasu) (pronounced o-ha-yo (go-zai-mass); good morning), こんにちは konnichi ha (pronounced kon-nee-chee-wa; daytime or afternoon), こんばんは konbanha (pronounced kon-ban-wa; evening); もし もし moshi moshi (pronounced mo-shee mo-shee; when calling/answering the phone); どうも doumo (pronounced doh-moh; informal way of thanking/greeting, but means countless other things as well so only use when context makes sense)
- Jamaican Patois — Yow Wah gwaan (pronounced wa-gwaan)
- Kanien'kéha (Mohawk) — kwe kwe (pronounced gway gway)
- Kannada — namaskara
- Kazakh — Salem (hello), Kalay zhagday (How are you?)
- Klingon — nuqneH? [nook-neck] (literally: "what do you want?")
- Konkani — Namaskar, Namaskaru (I bow to thee, formal)', Dev baro dis div (may God bless you with a good day, informal)
- Korean — 안녕하세요 ahn nyeong ha se yo (formal), 안녕 ahn nyeong (informal; can also be used to mean "goodbye")(when calling/answering the phone"; 여보세요 yeo-bo-sae-yo (prounounced "yuh-boh-say-yoe")
- Kurdish — choni, roj bahsh (day; pronounced rohzj bahsh)
- Lao — sabaidee (pronounced sa-bai-dee)
- Latin (Classical) — salve (pronounced sal-way; when talking to one person), salvete(pronounced sal-way-tay; when talking to more than one person), ave (pronounced ar-way; when talking to one person; when talking to someone respected), avete(pronounced ar-way-tay; when talking to more than one respected person)
- Latvian — labdien, sveiki, chau (informal; pronounced chow).
- Lingala — mbote
- Lithuanian — laba diena (formal), labas, sveikas (informal; when speaking to a male), sveika (informal; when speaking to a female), sveiki (informal; when speaking to more than one person).
- Lojban — coi
- Luxembourgish — moïen (pronounced MOY-en)
- Slavomacedonian — Здраво (Zdravo; meaning Hello), Добро утро (Dobro utro; meaning Good morning), Добар ден (Dobar den; meaning Good day), Добро вечер(Dobro vecher; meaning Good evening)
- Malayalam — namaskkaram
- Malaysian — Selamat datang, which can also mean welcome (pronounced seh-la-mat dah-tang) or you could say apa khabar, which can also mean "how are you" (pronounced a-pa ka-bar), Hai (informal, pronounced hi)
- Maldivian (Dhivehi) — kihineth (meaning "how" - the common way of greeting)
- Maltese — merħba (meaning "welcome"), bonġu (morning), bonswa or il-lejl it-tajjeb(evening)
- Maori — kia ora (kia o ra) (literally "be well/healthy" and is translated as an informal "hi." This term has also been adopted by English speakers in New Zealand), tena koe, ata marie, morena (good morning)
- Marathi — namaskar
- Marshallese — iakwe (pronounced YAH kway)
- Mongolian — sain baina uu? (pronounced saa-yen baya-nu; formal), sain uu?(pronounced say-noo; informal), ugluunii mend (morning; pronounced ohglohny mend), udriin mend (afternoon, pronounced ohdriin mend), oroin mend (evening; pronounced or-oh-in mend)
- Nahuatl — niltze, hao
- Naokien — Atetgrealot (formal), atetel (informal)
- Navajo — ya'at'eeh (Hello or Good) (pronunciation dependant upon the tribe, or area of the reservation you are on)
- Na'vi — kaltxì (informal) (pronounced kal-T-ì with an emphasis on the T), Oel ngati kameie (formal) (pronounced o-el nga-ti kamei-e)
- Niuean — faka lofa lahi atu (formal), fakalofa (informal)
- Neapolitan — cia, cha
- Nepalbhasha — Jwajalapa, ज्वजलपा
- Nepali — namaskar, namaste, k cha (informal), kasto cha
- Northern Sami — "Buorre beaivi", "Bures"
- Northern Sotho — dumelang
- Norwegian — hei ("hi"), hallo ("hello"), heisann ("hi there"), god morgen ("good morning"), god dag ("good day"), god kveld ("good evening").
- Oshikwanyama — wa uhala po, meme? (to a female; response is ee), wa uhala po, tate? (to a male; response is ee) nawa tuu? (response is ee; formal), ongaipi?(meaning "how is it?"; informal)
- Oromo (Afan Oromo) — asham (hi)akkam? (how are you?), nagaa (peace, peace be with you)
- Palauan — alii (pronounced Ah-Lee)
- Pirate — arrrguh (pronounced are-g-uh with emphasis on the are, usually with rolled r) Ahoy Matey (pronounced Ah-hoi mate-ey, is usually to another crew member)
- Persian — salaam or do-rood (salaam is an abbreviation, the full version being as-salaam-o-aleykum in all Islamic societies)
- Pig Latin — eyhay (informal), ellohay (formal), atswhay upay? ("what's up?")
- Polish — dzień dobry (formal), witaj (hello) cześć (hi, pronounced, "cheshch")
- Portuguese — oi, boas, olá or alô (informal); bom dia or bons dias (good morning, good day, used before noon or before the noon meal); boa tarde or boas tardes(good afternoon, used after noon or after the noon meal, until twilight); boa noite orboas noites (good evening and good night, used after twilight).
- Samoan - talofa (formal), malo (informal)
- Scanian — haja (universal), hallå (informal), go'da (formal), go'maren (morning),go'aften (evening)
- Senegal — salamaleikum
- Serbian — zdravo, ćao (informal), dobro jutro (morning, pronounced dobro yutro),dobar dan (afternoon), dobro veče (pronounced dobro vetcheah; evening), laku noć(night), do viđenja (see you soon)
- Sinhala — a`yubowan (pronounced au-bo-wan; meaning "long live")kohomada? (ko-ho-ma-da; meaning how are you?)
- Slovak — dobrý deň (formal), ahoj (pronounced ahoy), čau (pronounced chow) anddobrý (informal abbreviation)
- Slovenian — živjo (informal; pronounced zhivyo), zdravo (informal), dobro jutro(morning), dober dan (afternoon), dober večer (evening; pronounced doh-bear vetch-air)
- South African English — hoezit (pronounced howzit; informal)
- Southern Sami — "buaregh"
- Spanish — hola (pronounced with a silent 'h': o-la), alo, qué onda (South America; very informal, like "what's up"; pronounced keh ondah), qué hay, (South America; very informal), qué pasa (Spain, informal), buenos días ("good morning"), buenas tardes (afternoon and early evening), buenas noches (late evening and night). These three forms can be made informal by saying "buenas". Also Qué Transa(Mexico; very informal, like "what's up", pronounced keh trahansa). Qué tál (meaning "what's up", pronounced kay tal)
- Sulka — marot (morning; pronounced mah-rote [rolled r and lengthened o],mavlemas (afternoon; v is pronounced as a fricative b), masegin (evening; g is pronounced as a fricative)
- Swahili — jambo? or hujambo?, which loosely translates as 'how are you?', are commonly used but you may also say Habari gani? (What is the news?)
- Swedish — tja (very informal; pronounced sha), hej (informal; pronounced hey), god dag (formal)
- Tagalog (Pilipino - Philippines) — Kumusta po kayo? (formal, means "How are you, sir or madam", pronounced "kuh-muh-stah poh kah-yoh"), Kumusta ka?(informal, means "how are you?", "kuh-muh-stah kah"). You can also add na when talking to someone you haven't see in a while, Kumusta na po kayo? or Kumusta ka na?. Magandang umaga po (Good morning, pronounced "mah-gan-dang oo-mah-gah poh"), Magandang hapon po (Good afternoon, "mah-gan-dang ha-pon poh"),Magandang gabi po (Good evening or night, "mah-gan-dang gah-beh poh"),Magandang tanghali po (good day, literally midday or noon, "mah-gan-dang tang-ha-leh poh"). NOTE: to make these informal greetings, drop po from the end and add the person's first name. Still, some people use words like mare or pare (very informal greeting, mare (pronounced "mah-reh") for a close female friend; pare (pronounced "pah-reh") for a close male friend). You may add it either before or after the greeting. Example, Mare, kumusta ka na? or Kumusta ka na, pare?
- Tahitian — ia orana
- Taiwanese (Hokkien) — Li-ho
- Tamil — vanakkam
- Telugu — namaskaram, baagunnara (means "how are you?"; formal)
- Tetum (Timor-Leste) — bondia (morning), botarde (afternoon), bonite (evening)
- Thai — sawa dee-ka (said by a female), sawa dee-krap (said by a male)
- Tibetan - Lhasa Dialect — Tashi delek
- Tibetan - Amdo Dialect — Cho demo
- Tigrinya (Ethiopia and Eritrea) — selam (peace be with you); Haderkum (Good morning); T'ena yehabeley (May good health be upon you)
- Tongan — malo e lelei
- Tshiluba — moyo
- Tsonga (South Africa) — minjhani (when greeting adults), kunjhani (when greeting your peer group or your juniors)
- Turkish — merhaba (formal), selam (Informal)
- Ukrainian — dobriy ranok (formal; morning), dobriy den (formal; afternoon), dobriy vechir (formal; evening), pryvit (informal)
- Uzbek — Assalomu Alaykum (Formal) Salom(Informal) YM
- Ung Tongue — Hello (This is a made-up language, like Pig latin. In it 'hello' is pronounced Hung-ee-lung-lung-oh.)
- Urdu - adaab or salam or as salam alei kum (the full form, to which the reply would be waa lay kum assalaam in most cases)
- Vietnamese — xin chào (pronounced sin CHOW)
- Welsh — shwmae (South Wales; pronounced "shoe-my"), "Sut Mae" North Wales (pronounced "sit my"), or S'mae (pronounced "S' my"), or simply Helo
- Yiddish — sholem aleikhem (literally "may peace be unto you"), borokhim aboyemor gut morgn (morning), gutn ovnt (evening), gutn tog (day), gut shabbos (only used on the Sabbath)
- Yoruba — E kaaro (Good morning), E kaasan (Good afternoon), E kaaale (Good evening,) O da aaro (good night)
- Zulu — sawubona for one person, sanibonani for multiple people. Sawubonatranslates to mean 'we see you' and you should respond by saying yebo, meaning 'yes'