How To Say "Hello" In 100 Of The World's Most Spoken Languages

In the famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie states that “the sweetest and most important sound in any language” is a person’s own name. While that might be true, I’d venture to state that the most important sound is ‘hello’ in the person’s own language.

Without ‘hello’ you don’t have a chance to get to the other words. As anyone who travels and has learned how to say ‘hello’ in different languages knows, nothing can make a person brighten and open up as much as the effort to speak at least ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ in the local language. It shows that we’re trying, that we care, and that we are conscientious travelers.

That’s why we put together a list to help you learn how to say ‘hello’ in 100 of the world’s most spoken languages:

1. Mandarin: nǐ hǎoWhere it’s spoken: China, Taiwan, Singapore
2. Spanish: holaWhere it’s spoken: Hispanic America, Spain, United States, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara, Pacific islands

3. English: helloWhere it’s spoken: Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, Singapore, Philippines

4. Hindi: namaste

Where it’s spoken: India, Fiji, Nepal

5. Arabic: márhabanWhere it’s spoken: North Africa, Western Asia (Middle East), East Africa

6. Portuguese: olá, oi, alôWhere it’s spoken: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste

7. Bengali: hyālōWhere it’s spoken: Bangladesh, West Bengal (India), Tripura (India), Assam (India)

8. Russian: privetWhere it’s spoken: Russia, former Republics of the Soviet Union, Mongolia

9. Japanese: kon’nichiwa

Where it’s spoken: Japan

10. Punjabi: sata srī akālaWhere it’s spoken: Punjab region (India, Pakistan)

11. German: hallo, guten tagWhere it’s spoken: Austria, Belgium (Eupen-Malmedy), Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, South Tirol (in Italy)

12. Javanese: nggoleki

Where it’s spoken: Java (Indonesia)

13. Wu (Shanghainese): nóng hō

Where it’s spoken: Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu (eastern China)

14. Malay/Indonesian: selamat siangWhere it’s spoken: Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore

15. Korean: annyeong haseyoWhere it’s spoken: North Korea, South Korea

16. Telugu: halō, vandanaluWhere it’s spoken: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry (India)

17. Vietnamese: xin chào

Where it’s spoken: Vietnam

18. French: bonjourWhere it’s spoken: Belgium (Wallonia, Brussels), Canada (particularly Quebec, New Brunswick and Eastern parts of Ontario), France, Switzerland, Francophone Africa, French Caribbean, French Polynesia, various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

19. Marathi: hĕlō, namaskārWhere it’s spoken: Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat (India)

20. Tamil: vaṇakkamTamil Nadu, Karnataka (India), Puducherry (India), Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius

21. Urdu: assalam u alaikumWhere it’s spoken: India, Pakistan

22. Persian/Farsi: salāmWhere it’s spoken: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan

23. Turkish: merhabaWhere it’s spoken: Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria

24. Cantonese: nǐ hǎoWhere it’s spoken: Guangdong (Canton), southern Guangxi (southern China), Hong Kong, Macau

25. Italian: ciao

Where it’s spoken: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino

26. Thai: sà-wàt-diiWhere it’s spoken: Thailand

27. Gujarati: namasteWhere it’s spoken: Gujarat (India)

28. Basque: kaixoWhere it’s spoken: Northern Spain

29. Minnan hua: lı́ hóWhere it’s spoken: Fujian, eastern part of Guandong (southeastern China), Hainan (southern China), Taiwan, Malaysia

30. Polish: cześć’Where it’s spoken: Poland, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Belarus, western Ukraine, Lithuania

31. Pashto: salamWhere it’s spoken: Afghanistan, Pakistan

32. Kannada: namaskāraWhere it’s spoken: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (India)

33. Malayalam: halēāWhere it’s spoken: Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahé (India)

34. Sundanese: sampurasunWhere it’s spoken: Java (Indonesia)

35. Chamorro: hafa adaiWhere it’s spoken: this is a Austronesian language spoken mainly on the island of Guam, and also in the Marianas Islands.

36. Hausa: sannuWhere it’s spoken: Nigeria

37. Burmese: min-ga-la-baWhere it’s spoken: Myanmar

38. Oriya: namaskarWhere it’s spoken: Odisha (India)

39. Armenian: barevWhere it’s spoken: Armenia Georgi and Russia

40. Ukrainian: dobryj denWhere it’s spoken: Ukraine

41. Bhojpuri: prannamWhere it’s spoken: Bihar (India)

42. Tagalog: kamustaWhere it’s spoken: Manila and Northern Philippines

43. Yoruba: e nle oWhere it’s spoken: Nigeria, Benin and Togo

44. Maithili: prannamWhere it’s spoken: Bihar (India)

45. Sindhi: assalam o alaikumWhere it’s spoken: Sindh (Pakistan and neighboring areas in India)

46. Swahili: habariWhere it’s spoken: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda

47. Uzbek: salomWhere it’s spoken: Uzbekistan

48. Amharic: selamWhere it’s spoken: Ethiopia

49. Fula: mihofnimaWhere it’s spoken: West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Sudan

50. Igbo: keduWhere it’s spoken: Nigeria

51. Oromo: akkamWhere it’s spoken: Ethiopia and Kenya

52. Romanian: bunăWhere it’s spoken: Romania, Moldova

53. Azerbaijani: salamWhere it’s spoken: Azerbaijan and Northern Iran

54. Manipuri/Meitei: khurumjariWhere it’s spoken: North East India, Bangladesh, Burma

55. Chichewa: vanakkamWhere it’s spoken: Chichewa is a Bantu language spoken in parts of Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique

56. Cebuano: kumustaWhere it’s spoken: Central and Southern Philippines

57. Dutch: halloWhere it’s spoken: Belgium (Flanders, Brussels), Netherlands and Suriname

58. Kurdish: slawWhere it’s spoken: “Kurdistan”, northern Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria

59. Serbo-Croatian: zdravoWhere it’s spoken: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro

60. Malagasy: salamaWhere it’s spoken: Madagascar

61. Nepali: namasteWhere it’s spoken: Nepal and neighbouring areas, Sikkim, (India)

62. Saraiki: tudha kaya haal hai saine? (literally, “How are you?”)Where it’s spoken: Sindh (Pakistan)

63. Santali: henda hoWhere it’s spoken: India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan

64. Khmer: choum reap sorWhere it’s spoken: Cambodia

65. Sinhalese: ayubowanWhere it’s spoken: Sri Lanka

66. Bambara: i ni ceWhere it’s spoken: Bambara is a Mali Mande language with about 3 million speakers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghana

67. Assamese: namaskharAssam (India)

68. Madurese: selamat + pagi/siang/sore/malam (for “good morning/day/afternoon/evening”)Where it’s spoken: Madura, and Java (Indonesia)

69. Somali: salaam alaykumWhere it’s spoken: Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Yemen

70. Magahi: pernaam (for older person)/subh pyaar (for younger person)Where it’s spoken: Bihar (India)

71. Dogri: ke aal aeeWhere it’s spoken: Kashmir Jamu (india)

72. Marwari: khammaghaniWhere it’s spoken: Rajastan (India and Pakistan)

73. Hungarian: sziaWhere it’s spoken: Hungary and areas in neighbouring countries

74. Chewa: moniWhere it’s spoken: Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe

75. Greek: wo ho te sεn? (literally, “How are you?”)Where it’s spoken: Greece, Cyprus

76. Akan/Twi: kumnoWhere it’s spoken: Ghana, Ivory Coast

77. Khasi: Nga ieid ia phi

Where it’s spoken: Meghalaya state in India by the Khasi people.

78. Kazakh: dumela rra (when addressing men)/dumela mama (when addressing women)Where it’s spoken: Kazakhstan

79. Tswana: dumela rra (when addressing men)/dumela mama (when addressing women)Where it’s spoken: Botswana and Zimbabwe

80. Hebrew: ShalomWhere it’s spoken: Israel

81. Zulu: NgiyakuthandaWhere it’s spoken: South Africa

82. Czech: ahojWhere it’s spoken: Czech Republic

83. Kinyarwanda: murahoWhere it’s spoken: Rwanda

84. Kokani: deu boro dis diumWhere it’s spoken: Goa (india)

85. Konkani: deu boro dis diumGoa (India)

86. Haitian Creole: bonjou (before noon)/bonswa (after noon)Where it’s spoken: Haiti

87. Afrikaans: goeie + dag/môre/middag/naand (means, “good day/morning/afternoon/evening)Where it’s spoken: South Africa

88. Min Dong: nü houWhere it’s spoken: Fujian (Southeastern China)

89. Ilokano: naimbag nga aldaw (literally, “good day”)Where it’s spoken: Northern Luzon in the Philippines

90. Quechua: allianchuWhere it’s spoken: Peru and Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Argentina

91. Kirundi: biteWhere it’s spoken: Burundi and Uganda

92. Swedish: hejWhere it’s spoken: Sweden and Finland

93. Hmong: Kuv hlub kojWhere it’s spoken: Laos and neighbouring areas

94. Shona: mhoroWhere it’s spoken: Zimbabwe

95. Hiligaynon: helloWhere it’s spoken: Western Visayas in the Philippines

96. Uyghur: yaxshimusizWhere it’s spoken: Xinjiang (Western China)

97. Balochi: chone tao? (literally, “How are you?”)Where it’s spoken: Balochistan (province in Pakistan and Iran)

98. Belarusian: dobry dzieńWhere it’s spoken: Belarus

99. Mossi: ne y windigaWhere it’s spoken: Burkina Faso

100. Xhosa: mholweniWhere it’s spoken: South Africa, Zimbabwe

Regardless of where you’re traveling to, knowing at least hello can open so many doors. Hopefully this list got you closer to learning some new languages today.

Read Next

How to Say ‘I Love You’ in 100 of the World’s Most Spoken Languages

How to Communicate When You Don’t Know the Language