English greetings: 29 words and phrases to say “hello” in style

Formal greetings · 1. How do you do? · 2. Nice to meet you / Pleased to meet you · 3. How have you been? · 4. Good Morning / Good Afternoon / Good Evening. Articleby:TomCox Hello,Bonjour,Hola,Salaam,Gutentag,Hello,Здравстуйте! It’sthefirstwordyoulearninanynewlanguage,thebasicsignofwelcomethatshowsyourintenttotalktosomeone.Mostlikely,youlearnedthebasicEnglishgreetingsbeforeyouevenstartedinvestingtimeinyourlanguageskills.Butifyouwanttomakethemostofyourfirstimpression,thereareatonofmorecolourfulwaystosay“hello”. Doyouwanttoknowthemostprofessionalwaytogreetcolleaguesonavideocall?Someslangtermstobeginatexttoyourlittlecousin?OraspecificallyBritish-English“hello”toamusethebusdriveronyournexttriptoLondon?ThisultimatelistwillguideyouthroughthewordsandphrasestogreetanyoneinEnglishwithconfidence. Formalgreetings Sometimesyouneedtousemoreformalorbusinesslanguagetokeepaprofessionaltone.Herearethemostcommonsituationswhensuchgreetingsarenecessary: jobinterview businessmeeting communicatingwithtopmanagementorCEO chattingwithanewcolleague havingaconversationwithclients showingrespecttoanolderperson speakingwithsomeoneyoubarelyknow Usethefollowingsalutationstostartaformalconversationinanyofthesesituations. 1.Howdoyoudo? IfyouarelookingforaVERYformalphraseforsomeoneyoumeetforthefirsttime,thisonewillbethemostsuitable.Whilethissalutationisquiteuncommontoday,youcanstillhearitfromolderpeople. “Hello.Howdoyoudo?”isperfectforabusinessdinneroraformalevent,suchasaconference.Asperprofessionalspeechineverylanguage,themostappropriateresponseisneutralorpositive“I’mdoingwellthankyou/Fine,thankyou”tokeepsomedistance,evenifyouareactuallyhavingaverybadday! ImprovefasterwithaPreplytutor LearntospeakEnglishconfidentlywithonlinelessons. MeetPreplytutors Ifusedasaformalgreeting,sometimes“Howdoyoudo”is,strangely,usedasastatementratherthanaquestion.Thismostoftenhappenswhenshakinghandswithsomeoneforthefirsttime.Itiseasytohearifthisisthecase:therewillbenoinflectionattheendofthesentence.Inthisinstance,thecorrectresponseistorepeatthequestionbacktotheaskerinthesameflattone,“Howdoyoudo?” 2.Nicetomeetyou/Pleasedtomeetyou Thisisoneoftherespectfulgreetingexamplesyoucanusereplyingtosomeoneyoumeetfortheveryfirsttime.Forexample: A:Goodmorning.I’mAlexWhitefrom[Company]. B:Nicetomeetyou,Mr.White. Whenpeoplemeet,itisacommonpracticetoshakehands.Ahandshakegenerallylastsforafewseconds,whichgivesenoughtimetosay“Pleasedtomeetyou”. 3.Howhaveyoubeen? Thisisapolitewaytoask“Howareyou?”whenyouhavenotseenapersonforalongtime.Askthisquestiononlyifyouhavemetsomeonebefore. A:Howhaveyoubeen? B:I’vebeenbusyworkingalot.Howaboutyou? Thebestwaytoensurethatyourgreetingssoundnaturalandconfidentistopracticethemaloud,preferablywithafluentspeakertogiveyoupointers.No-onetopracticewith?Findyourperfecttutor. 4.GoodMorning/GoodAfternoon/GoodEvening Thesewaysofgreetingpeopleareusedatdifferenttimesoftheday.Whetheryouspeakwitharegularcustomer,colleaguesornewneighbors,thesephrasesareeffectivetostarttheballrolling. Thegreetingschangedependingonthetimeoftheday.Forexample,“Goodmorning”isgenerallyusedfrom5:00a.m.to12:00p.m.whereas“Goodafternoon”timeisfrom12:00p.m.to6:00p.m.“Goodevening”isoftenusedafter6p.m.orwhenthesungoesdown. Keepinmindthat“Goodnight”isnotasalutation.Informalcommunication,itisusedtosaygoodbye.Forexample: Itwasnicetomeetyou.Goodnight! Goodnight!Seeyoutomorrow. Toshowyourrespect,youcanalsoaddtheperson’slastnametoyourgreetingwords.Usually,nativeEnglishspeakerstendtobemoreinformaleveninbusinesscommunicationandusetheperson’sfirstnameafterthesalutation: Goodmorning,Mr.Houston Goodafternoon,Ms.Partridge Goodmorning,Tom Goodevening,Kelly Itisalsocommontosay“Goodmorning,sir/madam”whengreetingsomeoneinaformalsituationwhosenameisunknown.Thisisoftenheardbystafftalkingtocustomersinshops,restaurantsandhotels. Wanttopolishyourconversationalskills?Checkoutourarticleonthefivemainprinciplesofsmalltalk. Formalgreetingsforlettersandemails Inanylanguage,manyofthemostformalconversationstakeplaceinwrittenform:jobapplications,legalqueries,complaintsagainstacompany.Herearethebestwaystogreetsomeoneinwritingwhenyouhavesomethingserioustosay. YoumightalsowanttocheckoutourhandyguidetowritingemailsinEnglish. 5.DearSirorMadam Ifyoudonotknowthenameofthepersonyouaresendingaprofessionalletteroremailtothen“DearSirorMadam”isthemostcommonwaytostarttheconversation.Itisclear,respectful,andtothepoint.Someinstanceswhenthisisusefulinclude: Whenyouarereachingouttoadepartmentyouwouldliketoworkwith Whenyouareemailingacompany However,ifyouareabletofindthepersonyouwanttotalktowithsomeonlineresearch,itismuchmoreprofessionaltodosoandsendapersonalizedformalgreeting. 6.ToWhomItMayConcern Thisisanotherprofessionalwaytoaddressanemailtoastranger.Itisalittleoldfashioned,butperfectifyourformalemailisgoingtoberelevanttoagroupofpeople,orifyouwanttosoundespeciallyreserved.Suitablesituationsinclude: Whenyouareemailingawholedepartmentthatyouareunfamiliarwith Whenyouaresendingacomplainttoacompany Whensendingareferenceletterforsomeoneyouusedtomanage 7.TotheHiringManager IfyouaresendingajobapplicationoremailinganHRdepartmentaboutaroleyouwouldliketoapplyfor,“TotheHiringManager”isaveryusefulgreeting.Itisparticularlyhelpfulifyouareemailingagenericcompany-wide“info@”inboxbecauseitsignalsthatyourmessagewillbeaboutaworkopportunity,andimmediatelyinstructswhoevermanagestheinboxtoforwardyourmessagetotheHRdepartment. 8.DearMrX/MrsX/MsX/MissX/ProfX/DrX Ifyouknowthenameandtitleofsomeoneyouaresendingaformalemailto,itisbettertobegintheconversationwith“DearMr[surname]”insteadof“Dearsirormadam.” Inrarecases,thepersonyouareemailingmightuseasalutationwhichsignifiestheirprofession.DoctorsandacademicswhohaveaPhDsometimesuse“Dr”,andcollegeprofessorssometimesuse“Prof”.Otherwise,youcanuse“DearMr[surname]”foraman,“DearMrs[surname]”foramarriedwoman,or“DearMiss[surname]”foranunmarriedwoman.Ifyoudonotknowthemaritalstatusofawomanyouareemailingprofessionally,youshoulduse“Ms[surname]”.Ifyoudonotknowthetitleofthepersonyouwanttoreach,orcannotguesstheirgenderfromtheirname,trylookingthemuponLinkedin. Beaware:evenwhensendingveryformalprofessionalmessages,mostpeoplewillswitchto“Dear[Firstname]afterthefirstorsecondemailexchange.Usually,thepersonyouhavereachedouttowillreplyusing“Dear[firstname]”,andafterthispoint,itispolitetoaddresstheminthesameway. Wantinspirationforthenextline?Checkoutourguideonhowtostartaletterandwriteagreathook. Informalgreetings Whenitcomestoaconversationwithaneighbororachit-chatwithcolleaguesduringacoffeebreak,youcanoptfortheseinformalgreetings.Situationswherethesefitnaturallyinclude: acasualmeetingwithcolleagues havingaconversationwithyourteamatwork networkingevents greetingneighbors chattingtoafriend 9.Hello/Hi/Hey Asyoualmostcertainlyknowalready,“Hello”and“Hi”arethemostpopulargreetingsforinformalsituations.Generally,theyarefollowedbytheperson’sname: Hello,Michel.Howareyou? Hi,Monica.Nicetoseeyou! Asarule,use“hey”withpeopleyouknowwell.Itisperfectlyokaytostartaconversationwithastrangerinaninformalsituationwith“hey”too,butdonotpronounceittooharshlyinthiscase,oritcancomeacrossasrudeorconfrontational. 10.Morning/Afternoon/Evening Thisisafriendlyandwarmwaytogreetsomeoneinmostinformalsituations.Itsoundsparticularlynaturalifyouarejustwalkingpastsomeonewhoyourelatetoinformallybutdonothavetimeforalongchatwith,suchasapostman,oraneighbor,oracafeassistant.Thissaid,itworksjustaswelltostartalongerconversation. 11.Howareyoudoing?/How’sitgoing? Thisisacasualwayofasking“Howareyou?”Peopleprefertoaskoneofthesequestionsafterthemaingreeting.Usually,itisfollowedbyabrief,positiveanswer.Forinstance: A:Hello,Amanda!Howareyoudoing? B:Fine,thanks.Andyou? 12.Nicetoseeyou/It’sgreattoseeyou/Goodtoseeyou Whenyouhavenotseenapersonforawhileormeetsomebodyunexpectedly,useoneofthesefriendlygreetings.Youcanusethematthebeginningofaconversation,orjustaftertheinitial“hello”. Hello,Veronica.Nicetoseeyouthere. 13.Long-timenosee/It’sbeenawhile Thesecommonphrasesareusedtogreetanoldfriendorbeginaconversationwithapersonyouhaven’tseenforaverylongtime.Theseexpressionsareoftenfollowedbyquestionslike“Howareyou?”or“What’snew?”Anditisagreatwaytostartsmalltalkaboutwhathashappenedsinceyourlastmeeting. A:Hey,John!Long-timenosee.Howareyou? B:I’mfine,thanks!What’snew? A:Hi,Taya.How’sitgoing? B:Goodthanks. A:Ihaven’tseenyouforages. B:Yes,it’sbeenawhile. Wantthesephrasestofeelnatural?LearnthembyspeakingwithatutoronPreply Slanggreetings Slangisfuntolearn:it’sinformalandalittlebitsilly,andusingitsignifiestosomeonethatyou’reonfriendlyterms.Herearesomedifferentwaystosay“hello”toyourgoodfriendsandyoungerrelatives. 14.Yo! Thisfunnygreetingcamefromhip-hopculturein1990sAmerica.ItisstillcommonlyusedintheUStoday. 15.What’sup? Thisisaverycommonslanggreetingusedalotbothinpersonandovertextmessage.Itisamorerelaxedwayofgreetingafriendbyaskinghowtheyaredoing,andwhatisnewintheirlife.Itisnotrudeandcanbeusedwithcolleagueswhoyouareclosewith,aswellasfamilymembersandfriends. 16.Sup Thisisashortversionof“What’sup?”,whichwasverypopularinAmericaintheearly2000s.Nowitismostlyonlyusedironicallyorintext. 17.Heyyy Whentextingorsendingdirectmessages,somepeopleliketoaddextra“y”sattheendof“hey”.Forsomemysteriousreason,thisismostoftenusedwhenflirting.Thelongerthetailof“y”s,theflirtierthemessage!Morethanthreeorfourlooksalittlebitdesperatethough… Britishgreetings KnowingafewBritishEnglishgreetingswillmakeyouseemespeciallyfriendlywhentravelingtotheUK,showingfromtheveryfirstimpressionthatyouwanttoengagewiththelocalculture.HerearesomeBritish“hello”s,perfectfortestingoutontheQueen,oronyourmatesdownthepub! 18.Lovelytomeetyou/Lovelytoseeyou Whengreetingeachotherinaformalsetting,Britishpeoplearemorelikelytodescribeitas“lovely”tomeetsomeonethan“nice”.IfyoutraveltotheUK,youwillnoticethatmanypeopleusetheword“lovely”tomeanthesameas“fine”inAmericanEnglish.ToBritishEnglishspeakers,itsoundskinderandmoresincere. 19.AreyouOK? ThisisaBritishslangversionof“Hello.Howareyou?”Ifyourfriendgreetsyoulikethis,youcanrespondwith“yeah,fine”or,ifyouwanttosoundevenmoreBritish,“notbad”—whichmeansexactlythesamething. 20.Alright,mate?/Alright? Thisisaverycommonslangwaytosayachilled-out“Hi”toafriend.Itisashortenedversionof“Areyoualright?”.Onceagain,asuitableandfriendlyansweris“Notbad,mate,you?” 21.Hiya! Thisisaverycommonwayofsaying“hello”,especiallyintheNorthofEngland.Itisalsousedalotintextmessaging. 22.What’sthecraic? ThisgreetingisonlyusedinIreland,and“craic”ispronouncedtorhymewiththeEnglishwords“crack”and“back”.Itisaverywarmphrasewhichmeans,“whatisnewwithyou?”or“haveyougotanyinterestingnewgossipsincewelastmet?” Becarefulthough:ifyouusethisphrasetogreetsomeoneIrishandarenotIrishyourself,itispossiblethattheymightthinkyouaremakingfunofthem! HungryforsomemoreBritishslang?Checkoutourguidetothe40mostmemorableBritishslangwordsforESLlearners FunnyGreetings Itisverydifficulttobefunnyinanewlanguage(ordifficulttobefunnyonpurpose,atleast!).Beingabletounderstandandmakejokesisoftenevenseenasasignoffluency.Ifyouarestillintheprocessoflearning,slippingasillyorold-fashionedversionof“hello”intoaconversationisasimplewaytomakesomeonelaugh. IfyouarelearningEnglishtochatwithapartnerorfriends,surprisingthemwithoneoftheseweirdconversationstarterscanbeveryfunny.Herearesomelessserious“hellos”andtipsonwhentotrythemformaximumeffect. 23.Ahoy! ThisisaveryoldgreetingthatdatesallthewaybacktoOldEnglish,andwasonceusedbysailorstocallships.Nowadays,itisonlyreallyspokenbySpongebobandotherocean-basedcartooncharacters.Itisjustassillywhenwritteninatextmessageasinperson. 24.Hellostranger! Thisissometimesusedwhengreetingfriendsthatyouhaven’tseeninalittlewhile.Itisajokierversionof“longtime,nosee”. 25.‘Ello,gov’nor! Thisisashortenedversionof“Hello,governor”,agreetingusedbytradespeopleinVictorianLondon,toshowrespectwhentalkingtoupperclassmembersofsociety.Droppingthe“H”fromthe“Hello”isintendedtomakethepronunciationsoundsimilartothefamous“cockney”accent,associatedwiththeEastofLondon.Today,itisonlyreallyusedbypeopleteasingtheirBritishcolleagues! 26.Goodmorrow! Thisisaridiculouswaytosay“Goodmorning”.Itisunnecessarilyformalandassociatedwithold-fashionedpoetry,sousingitinrealconversationisdefinitelyprettysilly! 27.What’scrackin’? Thisisanotherwayofsaying,“What’sup?”or“What’sgoingon?”. 28.What’supbuttercup? Thisisaveryrarely-usedgreeting,butwilldefinitelymakesomeonelaugh.Abuttercupisadelicateyellowflowerwhichgrowsingrass,andalsoaverycommonthingtonameyourpetcow.Itisquitefunnytoaddressanadultas“buttercup”. 29.Howdy! Thisisanabbreviationof“Howdoyoudo?”stereotypicallyusedinsomeregionsofCanadaandAmerica.Now,itismostlyonlyusedbycartooncowboys. Abriefafterword Awell-chosen“hello”setsthetoneforanyconversation,whethertalkingtoaclosefriendorsomeoneyoubarelyknow.  Don’tbeafraidtotryoutthesenewexpressionsinyourdailycommunication.Armedwiththesewordsandphrases,youcanstartalmostanyconversationoffinamorevibrantandfluentway. Wanttospeakwithconfidenceasquicklyaspossible?FindapersonalEnglishtutorperfectlysuitedtoyourbudgetandschedule. FAQaboutEnglishgreetings Whataresimplegreetings? Thesimplestgreetingsaretheold-fashioned"hello,""hey,"or"hi."Youcanusetheseinalmostanysituation! Howdoyousayhelloinacuteway? Ifyouwanttobealittlelessformalandlittlemorefriendly,youcangowith"heythere,"or,evenbetterforovertextorinstantmessage,"heythere:)."Anothercutegreetingistosayhelloinadifferentlanguage,e.g."hola." Howdoyougreetsomeoneinchat? Achatisgenerallyinformal,sosaying"hey"orsomethingevenfriendlier(andslang-ier)like"yo"or"what'sup"willdo. Howdoyourespectfullygreetsomeone? Themostrespectfulgreetingsareformaloneslike"hello,"ortime-relatedgreetingslike"goodmorning"or"goodevening."Tomakeitevenmorerespectful,addthelistener'sformaltitleafterwards,like"hello,Mr.orMrs.______,"oreven"hello,sirorma'am." Nextarticle Englishvocabulary 18.10.2020 9IdiomsinEnglishthatmentionclothing Articleby  CandiceBenjamine Previousarticle Englishvocabulary 26.01.2021 13Phrasalverbswith“get”(andhowtousethem!) Articleby  NehaD. Articleby: TomCox 56articles TomisaContentMarketeratPreply,andisonajourneytodiscoverandshareeffectivewaystolearnalanguage.Since2005,hehasbeenworkingincontentandcommunicationacrossawiderangeofindustries,includingeducationandlanguagelearning.Akeenwriterandcreator,TomhasaCreativeWritingdegreefromtheUniversityofKent,andrunsapodcastforcreatorsandmarketerscalledIdeaShots.TomiscurrentlylearningSpanishwiththehelpofhisPreplytutor,Clara.ConnectwithTomonTwitterhere. Findonlinetutor LearnEnglishwithgroupclassesonline Learnmore WanttolearnEnglishonline? Theseresourcesarejustforyou! Englishtutors LearnEnglishonline OnlineEnglishclasses Englishvocabulary 30.03.2021 NamesofcountriesandnationalitiesinEnglish[VocabularyList] Englishvocabulary 19.03.2021 9Englishwordswithmultiplemeanings(andexamplesentences) Englishvocabulary 26.01.2021 13Phrasalverbswith“get”(andhowtousethem!) Articleby  NehaD. Englishvocabulary 18.10.2020 9IdiomsinEnglishthatmentionclothing Articleby  CandiceBenjamine Englishvocabulary 11.10.2020 MedicalWordsinEnglishthatYouNeedtoKnow Articleby  LarryJones Englishvocabulary 11.10.2020 FitnessVocabulary:Let’sTalkAboutFitness Articleby  LarryJones Englishvocabulary 27.09.2020 11IdiomsinEnglishthatusewordsrelatedtothebeach&sea Articleby  LarryJones Englishvocabulary 27.09.2020 NamesofWomen’sDressStylesinEnglish Articleby  CandiceBenjamine Englishvocabulary 25.09.2020 300mostcommonEnglishwords(andhowtolearnthemfast) Articleby  TomCox Everyyear100,000+studentspreparetospeakconfidentlyonPreply Getfastresultswithprofessionalonlinetutors.Preparetoachieveyourgoalstoday. Exploretutors Let’sgetyoutalking.Choosefrom32,000+tutorsin50languages Findyourtutor