hello, hola, jambo, privet, bonjour... etc!

how many languages can you say 'hello' in?
italian - ciao
french - bonjour
spanish - hola
german - guten tag
(reckon everyone knows those!)
other than that i reckon i can say it in about 10 more languages... how bout you guys?

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Reply 1

Myself.

So go on, say it in ten more languages.

Oh..you'll only use some internet site I guess...

Reply 2

gaia_a

Myself.

So go on, say it in ten more languages.

Oh..you'll only use some internet site I guess...

that's a bit harsh. i'm just well-travelled, as i have family and friends who live all over europe!

russian - privet
swahili - jambo
welsh - bore da/ prynhawn da {literally good morning or good afternoon, but more widely used}
portugese - ola
polish - dzien dobry {not sure how that one is spelt!}
finnish - hei
japanese - konichiwa
swedish - hej
norwegian - hallo
hawaiin - aloha {ok, i ran out of proper ones}
:p:

Reply 3

~the_one~

This is without the internet (i hope i spell these right, i can say them though):

Russian: Privet
French: Bonjour/Salut
German: Gutentag
Spanish: Hola
Italien: Ciao/Bonjourno
Finnish: Hei
Japanese: Konichiwa
Chinese:Nihao
Holland: Hallo

These are mainly from places i've been too.

Reply 4

LeeC

Ahoy! - Czech, is my favourite way of saying hello in another language. (You say it as in Ahoy there sailor!)

Reply 5

papad

Gujurati- Kemcho
Hindi-Namaskar

Reply 6

joe_darwin

I can wave, which pretty much covers every known language. Including martian if I'm not mistaken.

Reply 7

Ariadne

Zimbabwean: Mangwanani
English: Hello
Spanish: Hola
French: Bonjour
Arabic: Salaam (I think)
Polish: Yakziemash (not the right spelling I know, but that's how it's pronounced)
Italian: Ciao
Japanese: Konichiwa
Chinese: Nihao

Reply 8

joe_darwin

Ariadne

How many of those did you just look up on t'internet?

Reply 9

HearTheThunder

Hello = English
Hi = Colloquial English
Hey = Sycophant English
Yo = Mentally inept English
Evenin' = Pretentious English

Reply 10

thefish_uk

Swahili:
jambo (reply sijambo) is the formal one
or mambo (reply poa)
or vipi (reply safi)

also I think most people know Shalom can be used as a greeting in Hebrew!

Reply 11

Ariadne

joe_darwin

How many of those did you just look up on t'internet?

I didn't. I know them because I grew up in Zimbabwe, my school tutor is Polish, my brother learns Arabic, I learn the European ones at school and the Japanese and Chinese hellos are common knowledge.

Reply 12

viciouscircle

Irish Dia duit (literally 'God to you' - pronounced: jee-ah ghwich)

Reply 13

gaia_a

these are all awesome!

Reply 14

Ana

English - hello
French - salut/bonjour
German - guten tag
Spanish - buenos dias
Italian - ciao
Latin - salve

Those are the only languages that I have at least a smattering of (much more, in some cases). I could only make a good (ie, non-touristy) showing of myself in two and a half of those. Not much of a polyglot :redface:

Although I'm working on it... :biggrin:

I know all the GK ones as well, like shalom, aloha, etc, but everyone knows those... that's sort of cheating :frown:

I know it in Mandarin, but can't spell it.

Reply 15

littlemissalex

Greek: geia (sas/sou)
Cypriot: REEEEEEEEEEE :P (if you're cyp you'd know that!!)

Reply 16

michaelnicholson88

Scottish Gaelic There's no word for Hello as such but a standard greeting is 'Shin thu ____' (pronounced HinOoh _____) where ____ is the person's name. It literally means 'There you are!'

Alternatively, Good morning/afternoon is usually used

Good morning- Madainn mhath (Ma-ting-va)
Good afternoon/evening- Feasgar math (Fay-scar-ma)

Some may also use Failte (Fal-tch-uh) but that literally means welcome.

And also Latha Math Dhut (La-Ma-Ghoot) which means Good day to you