The multicultural society we live in allows us to enrich ourselves in cultural diversity and is a great chance to learn from other cultures. Language is a sort of identity card through which we present ourselves to others, and while some languages are spoken all over the world, some others are completely unknown to the majority. There are 6909 living languages, but we know just a few.
When you travel, it is common that most of the time English is the most used language since it is basically known worldwide. But what if we start learning some words from the country we visit? It can be seen as not only respectful but also as a way to be more connected to the place and its people.
Let’s see how we can say “Hello” in other languages. Below you will find a list of some more popular languages as well as those less commonly known. The surprising thing is that every language has its own proper way to define something, depending on the cultural but also historical background. For example, the Korean Language, in which there are a lot of honorific titles, has 30 different types of greetings, while Greek just 5.
1. Different hello(s) from all around the world
- German (Germany) Gutel Tag!
- Danish (Denmark) God dag!
- Finnish (Finland) hyvää päivää
- Gaeilge (Ireland) Dia dhuit
- Hebrew (Israel) Shalom
- Igbo (Nigeria, Congo) Nde-ewo
- Korean (Korea) Ahn nyong ha se yo
- Lithuanian (Lithuania) Sveiki
- Nahuatl (Mexico- Nahua People) Niltze
- Polish (Poland) Cześć
- Portuguese (Portugal) Olá
- Swahili (Uganda, Ruanda, Kenya) Hujambo
- Thai (Thailandia) Sawasdee
- Welsh (Wales) Shwmae
- Urdu (South Asia) Assalamo aleikum
- Pashto (Pakistan) Salam
- Vietnamese (Vietnam) xin chào
- Khmer (Cambodia -South Asia) choum reap sor
- Greek (Greece) wo ho te sεn? (literally, “How are you?”)
2. Hello, music!
Is there a better way to learn whilst having fun at the same time than listening to music? This guy decided it was fun learning new ways to say hello, translating a cover of Adele’s famous song ‘Hello’. Travys Kim delights us with his fabulous voice!
