When travelling to a foreign country, one of the best things you can do to start your trip off on the right foot is to say hello to the locals in their own language. Even if you don’t know any other words or phrases, the fact that you made the effort to say hi to them means a lot and goes a long way towards making your vacation the best it can be.
To help you say hello when you travel, here is a list of phrases in different languages. The first line shows how you spell the phrase and the second line helps with pronouncing it.
| Hello/Good Day | Good-Bye | Please | Thank-You | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARABIC | salam alekom salam alaykum |
maa el salama mah el salahma |
min fadlack min fadlack |
shukran shoukran |
| FRENCH | bonjour bonzhoor |
au revoir oh revwahr |
s’il vous plaît see voo play |
merci mehrsee |
| GERMAN | guten Tag gooten tahk |
auf Wiedersehen owf veederzayn |
bitte bihtuh |
danke dahngkuh |
| GREEK | yassas yahsas |
adeio adio |
se parakalo say parakalo |
efharisto efhareesto |
| ITALIAN | buon giorno bwon jorno |
arrivederci areevehdairchee |
per favore pear favoray |
grazie gratseeyay |
| JAPANESE | konnichi wa konnichi wa |
sayonara sayonara |
onegai shimasu ohnegai shimasu |
arigato arigato |
| MANDARIN | n? h?o nee how |
z? iji? n dzaijeeahn |
q?ng ching |
xièxiè shyeshye |
| PORTUGUESE | bom dia bohm deea |
adeus ahdyoosh |
por favor pur fahvor |
obrigado obreegahdoo |
| RUSSIAN | dobri dyen dobri dyen |
do svidaniya dosvidaniya |
pozhaluysta pozhalusta |
spasibo spaseebo |
| SPANISH | buenos dias bwaynos deeas |
adiós adiohs |
por favor por favohr |
gracias graseeahs |
| SWAHILI | jambo jambo |
kwa heri kwaheyree |
tafadhali tafadhali |
ahsante ahsantay |
| SWEDISH | hej hay |
hejdå haydoh |
tack tack |
tack tack |