Saying hello is a big part of talking to people. When we talk to others, it’s important to say hello first so we don’t seem rude or unfriendly. The same goes for saying hello in English.
You probably already know some ways to say hello, like “hello” and “how are you“. But there are other ways to say hello that are more formal or more casual. In this guide, we’ll show you some new words and phrases you can use when you say hello.
- Different Ways to Say Hello
There are many different ways to say hello and they can change depending on the time of day or how formal or casual the situation is. Here are some examples:
- Good morning, good afternoon, good evening (for different times of the day)
- Hi and hello (neutral and formal)
- Hey (informal)
- How are you, how do you do (formal)
- How are you doing, how are things, how’s it going (informal)
- Different Ways to Say Goodbye
When we are done talking to someone, it’s important to say goodbye nicely. The same goes for saying goodbye in English.
There are different ways to say goodbye and some are more formal or casual than others. Here are some examples:
- Goodbye (formal)
- Good night (formal, but not usually used as a goodbye during the day)
- Have a nice day/evening/weekend (formal, used in shops and with friends)
- Nice meeting you (formal, used when saying goodbye to someone you just met)
- Take care (informal)
- See you, see you later, see you soon, so long (informal)
When someone says “have a nice day“, you can reply “you too” to be polite.
- Special Greetings for Different Occasions
Sometimes we want to say special greetings for different occasions. Here are some examples:
- Blessing and Wishing Good Luck:
- Bless you (when someone sneezes)
- Godspeed (when wishing someone success on a new journey or business)
- Good luck (when wishing someone success)
- Happy Occasions:
- Happy birthday (when it’s someone’s birthday)
- Happy new year (when it’s the start of a new year)
- Apologizing or Asking for Attention:
- I beg your pardon (formal)
- Excuse me (formal)
- Pardon me (formal)
- Excuse me (informal)
Example Conversation
Now pay attention to the following conversation in English. Try to identify what kind of speech they say and whether the form is in the category of neutral/formal or informal.
John: Anna, hi! Long time no see!
Anna: Oh, my gosh, John! Hi! How are you?
John: I’m pretty good. How about you?
Anna: I’m good too. You look so different now!
John: I lost 20 kilograms.
Anna: Really? Wow!
John: Yeah, cool, right?
Anna: Definitely! Congratulations!
John: Thank you. What are you doing here, Anna?
Anna: I went to a seminar at this hotel. I was one of the speakers.
John: Oh, really? What was it about?
Anna: It was about people growing in their jobs. It wasn’t the most exciting topic.
John: Haha, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re a successful person now!
Anna: I guess so. Congratulations to me!
John: Anna, I’m sorry but I have to go. My taxi is here and I have to catch my flight home.
Anna: Of course, bye!
John: Nice to see you again, Anna. We should catch up soon.
Anna: Definitely. Have a safe trip!
Greetings and When to Use Them
- Good morning – use this greeting in the morning when you first see someone
- Good afternoon – use this greeting in the afternoon
- Good bye – use this when you’re leaving or saying goodbye to someone
- Good evening – use this greeting in the evening when you first see someone
- Hello – a general greeting that you can use anytime
- Good night – use this greeting at night before going to bed
- Hi – a friendly and casual greeting that you can use anytime
- How are you? – use this to ask someone about their well-being
- Welcome – use this to greet someone who is new or arriving
- See you later – use this when you’re saying goodbye for now
- See you soon – use this when you’re saying goodbye but will see the person soon
- How’s it going? – a casual way of asking someone about their well-being
- How’ve you been? – a casual way of asking someone how they’ve been lately
- See you tomorrow – use this when you’re saying goodbye and will see the person tomorrow
- See you next week – use this when you’re saying goodbye and will see the person next week
- Bye – a simple and short way of saying goodbye
- Long time no see – use this when you haven’t seen the person in a long time
- I haven’t seen you in ages – use this when you haven’t seen the person in a long time
- It has been a long time – use this when you haven’t seen the person in a long time
- Fancy meeting you here! – use this when you’re surprised to see someone in a specific place
- It’s nice to see you – use this to tell someone it’s good to see them
- It’s good to see you – use this to tell someone it’s good to see them
- Nice to meet you – use this when you’re meeting someone for the first time
- It’s such a pleasure to meet you – use this when you’re meeting someone for the first time and it’s a positive experience
- How is your life? – a casual way of asking someone about their life in general
- It’s such a long time we didn’t meet – use this when it’s been a long time since you last saw the person
- How do you do? – a more formal way of asking someone about their well-being
- How are you today? – use this to ask someone about their well-being on that specific day
- How are you this morning? – use this to ask someone about their well-being in the morning
- How is your father? – use this to ask someone about a specific family member
- Bye-bye – a cute way of saying goodbye
- See you again – use this when you’re saying goodbye but will see the person again
- See you on Monday – use this when you’re saying goodbye and will see the person on a specific day
- See you tonight – use this when you’re saying goodbye and will see the person later that night
- See you this afternoon – use this when you’re saying goodbye and will see the person later in the afternoon
- I am glad to see you – use this to tell someone it’s good to see them
- I am happy to see you – use this to tell someone it’s good to see them
- How are you doing? – a casual way of asking someone about their well-being
- It has been lovely to meet you – when you just met someone and you enjoyed the experience of meeting them.
- Have a nice day! – when you are saying goodbye to someone for the day or if you just want to wish them well.
- It was great to meet you – when you have just met someone and you had a positive experience with them.
- Take care! – when you are saying goodbye to someone, especially if they are going somewhere and you want to make sure they are safe.
- It’s time to go – when it’s time for you or someone else to leave a place.
- How is everything? – when you are asking someone about how they are and how things are going for them.
- How’s everything going? – when you are asking someone about how they are and how things are going for them.
- How have you been keeping? – when you are asking someone about how they have been doing since the last time you saw them.
- What have you been up to all these years? – when you haven’t seen someone in a long time and you want to know what they have been doing.
- How long has it been? – when you want to know how much time has passed since something happened or since you last saw someone.
- Why have I never seen you? – when you want to know why someone has not been around.
- It’s been ages since we last met – when a lot of time has passed since you last saw someone.
