English = HelloWhere to Say It: The second most spoken language in the world, it’s an international language for solo travellers to use and be understood It’s the official language of Canada, the UK, the United States, Australia, New Zealand. How to Pronounce it: huh-lOH French = BonjourWhere to Say It: Most popular in France, French is also widely spoken in other countries around the world You’ll be understood in Quebec and most of Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco, Tunisia, and Alergia Additionally, French is spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Guinea, Gabon, and Mauritius. How to Pronounce it: bon-ZHOOR Spanish = HolaWhere to Say It: Spanish is the native language of Spain and Mexico In most of South America and Central America, Spanish is the primary language It is also the second most common language in the United States. How to Pronounce it: OH-laa Italian = CiaoWhere to Say It: Say ciao on your way to get an espresso in Italy. How to Pronounce it: chau Portugese = OláWhere to Say It: Portuguese is the language of Portugal and Brazil It is still spoken in former colonies, like Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Sao Tome, and Macau You’ll also find linguistic roots in the Philippines How to Pronounce it: oh-LAA Maori = Kia OraWhere to Say It: Kia Ora is the traditional greeting of the indigenous peoples of New Zealand. How to Pronounce it: ki-ao-ra Australian = G’dayWhere to Say It: This informal greeting is used in Australia and New Zealand to say good day or hello. How to Pronounce it: guh-day Greek = Geia (γεια)Where to Say It: One of the many ways to say hello in the Greek language is geia It can be used to greet people in Greece and Cyprus. How to Pronounce it: ya Serbian = ZdravoWhere to Say It: This Slavic language is spoken in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Croatia It is similar to many other Slavic languages. How to Pronounce it: ZDRAH-voh Croatian = ZdravoWhere to Say It: Croatian is best used in Croatia, but is also spoken in some parts of Bosnia and Serbia How to Pronounce it: ZDRAH-voh Russian = PrivetWhere to Say It: Russian is the most common language in Eastern Europe Say privet in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and other Eastern European countries. How to Pronounce it: pree-VYEHT Mandarin = Nǐ hǎoWhere to Say It: As the most spoken language in the world, it’s useful to know how to say hello in this language everywhere It’s primarily spoken in China If you’re visiting, you should pick up some books to learn Chinese before you arrive. How to Pronounce it: nee haow Cantonese = Nǐ hǎoWhere to Say It: Many people think “Chinese” is a language, but Cantonese and Mandarin are very different Cantonese is mostly spoken in Southern China, Hong Kong, and Macau. How to Pronounce it: nie haow Hindi = NamasteWhere to Say It: Hindi is one of the official languages of India, but is most commonly spoken in Northern India You’ll also be understood in Nepal or in any yoga class. How to Pronounce it: nah-mah-steh Japanese = Kon’nichiwaWhere to Say It: This is an all day greeting in Japan. How to Pronounce it: kohn-nee-chee-wah Turkish = MerhabaWhere to Say It: Turkish is spoken in Turkey and Cyprus You’ll also find it in parts of Azerbaijan. How to Pronounce it: mehr-hah-bah Korean = Anyeong HaseyoWhere to Say It: North Korea and South Korea. How to Pronounce it: AHN-young-ha-say-yo Slovak = AhojWhere to Say It: Primarily spoken in Slovakia. How to Pronounce it: AH-hoy German = Guten tagWhere to Say It: Greet people this way in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. How to Pronounce it: goo-tenn tahk Dutch = HalloWhere to Say It: Spoken by millions in the Netherlands and northern Belgium. How to Pronounce it: HAAL-oo Polish = CześćWhere to Say It: The official language of Poland, Polish is said to be one of the hardest languages to learn. How to Pronounce it: cheshch Thai = S̄wạs̄dīWhere to Say It: Sole language of Thailand. How to Pronounce it: sa-wat-dii Hungarian = SziaWhere to Say It: Hungary is mostly spoken in Hungary, but parts of the Balkans also speak it. How to Pronounce it: SEE-ah Czech = AhojWhere to Say It: Mainly spoken in the Czech Republic. How to Pronounce it: AH-hoy Bengali = HyālōWhere to Say It: The official language of Bangladesh. How to Pronounce it: hel-oh Urdu = Assalam u AlaikumWhere to Say It: National language of Pakistan, with similarities to the Hindi language. How to Pronounce it: as-salam-u lay-kuhm Persian = SalāmWhere to Say It: Persian or Farsi is spoken is Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Bahrain. How to Pronounce it: saol-am Ukrainian = Dobryj DenWhere to Say It: Spoken in the Ukraine. How to Pronounce it: DOH-brihy dehn Swedish = HallåWhere to Say It: Language of Sweden and the Aland Islands. How to Pronounce it: hal-oa Afrikaans = HalloWhere to Say It: Say good morning this way in South Africa and Namibia Some parts of Botswana and Zimbabwe also speak Afrikans. How to Pronounce it: hel-OH Romanian = BunâWhere to Say It: Spoken in Romania and Moldova. How to Pronounce it: boo-na Hebrew = ShalomWhere to Say It: Historically, the language of those in Israel and of the Jewish faith. How to Pronounce it: shah-LOHM Armenian = BarevWhere to Say It: Republic of Armenia and in Armenian Diaspora communities. How to Pronounce it: bah-REV Arabic = MarhabaanWhere to Say It: There are many dialects of Arabic throughout North Africa and the Middle East Say hell in this Arabic in Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Western Sahara, and Yemen. How to Pronounce it: mur-hah-bahn Punjabi = Sata Srī AkālaWhere to Say It: This 10th most spoken language in the world is a language spoken in India. How to Pronounce it: saht sree ah-kahl Javanese = haloWhere to Say It: Spoken in Java, Indonesia. How to Pronounce it: hah-low Malay/Indonesian = Selamat PagiWhere to Say It: You’ll find this language in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand It is the official language of Malaysia and Brunei. How to Pronounce it: suh-lah-met pah-gee Vietnamese = Xin ChàoWhere to Say It: Primarily spoken in Vietnam. How to Pronounce it: sin CHOW Basque = KaixoWhere to Say It: Spoken in the Basque regions of Spain, located in Northern Spain and Southern France. How to Pronounce it: kia-show Bavarian = ServusWhere to Say It: Regional dialect in Bavaria, Germany and Western Austria. How to Pronounce it: SER-VOOS Tagalog = KamustaWhere to Say It: Tagalog is the primary language of the Philippines. How to Pronounce it: kuh-moos-tah Swahili = JamboWhere to Say It: Swahili is mainly in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya It is the secondary language in East Africa. How to Pronounce it: jam-BOH Uzbek = SalomWhere to Say It: Uzbek is the national language of Uzebekistan. How to Pronounce it: shah-lohm Azerbaijani = SalamWhere to Say It: Say hello this way in Azerbaijan You’ll also find it in Northern Iran, southern Dagestan, Kvemo Kartli in Georgia, Eastern Turkey, and some parts of Iraq. How to Pronounce it: sal-aam Kurdish = SlavWhere to Say It: Spoken by 30 million people in Western Asian, including Kurdistan, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria. How to Pronounce it: slaw Nepali = NamasteWhere to Say It: Sole language of Nepal and one of the languages of India. How to Pronounce it: nah-mahs-teh Haitian Creole = BonjouWhere to Say It: Spoken in Haiti, along with French. How to Pronounce it: BON-joo Belarusian = Dobry DzieńWhere to Say It: Spoken in Belarus and parts of Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. How to Pronounce it: DOH-brihy dehn Chichewa = MoniWhere to Say It: Also called Nyanja, this Bantu language us spoken in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. How to Pronounce it: mooni Fijian = BulaWhere to Say It: Native language of Fiji. How to Pronounce it: mbula Hawaiian = AlohaWhere to Say It: Spoken in Hawaii How to Pronounce it: AH-low-ha Samoan= TālofaWhere to Say It: Greet people in the Samoan Islands this way. How to Pronounce it: tah-low-fah Tongan = Mālō e leleiWhere to Say It: Language of the Kingdom of Tonga. How to Pronounce it: mah-lo eh lei-lei Yiddish = A Gutn TogWhere to Say It: Historical language of the Ashkenazi Jewish peoples. How to Pronounce it: a goo-ten tawg Welsh = S’maeWhere to Say It: Spoken in Wales and routinely mocked in greater Britain for its abundance of consonants. How to Pronounce it: shoe-my Norwegian = HeiWhere to Say It: Norway. How to Pronounce it: hay Lithuanian = SveikiWhere to Say It: Lithuania. How to Pronounce it: SVEH-kii Latvian = Sveika (male) Sveiks (female)Where to Say It: Official language of Latvia. How to Pronounce it: SVYEH-kah or SVYEH-eeks Icelandic = HallóWhere to Say It: Spoken only in Iceland. How to Pronounce it: hal-law Scottish Gaelic = HalòWhere to Say It: Native to the Gaels of Scotland It is now rarely spoken in Scotland. How to Pronounce it: ha-LAW Irish = Dia DuitWhere to Say It: The Irish Gaelic language is spoken in Ireland. How to Pronounce it: DEE-ah GHWIT Estonian = TereWhere to Say It: Estonia. How to Pronounce it: TEHR-reh Bosnian = ZdravoWhere to Say It: Bosnia. How to Pronounce it: ZDRAH-voh Tibetan = Tashi DelekWhere to Say It: Official language of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China Spoken across the Himalayas. How to Pronounce it: tah-shee del-ek Lao = SabaideeWhere to Say It: Main language of Laos. How to Pronounce it: sa-baai-di Georgian = GamarjobaWhere to Say It: Georgia (the country, not the US state). How to Pronounce it: gah-mahr-joh-bah Sesotho = DumelaWhere to Say It: Basotho in Lesotho, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. How to Pronounce it: doo-meh-lah Esperanto = SalutonWhere to Say It: Artificial language created to be a widely spoken language in the world How to Pronounce it: sahl-oo-tohn Maltese = BonguWhere to Say It: Matla, Gozo, and Comino in the Mediterranean How to Pronounce it: BON-joo Bahaman = HelloWhere to Say It: Bahamas. How to Pronounce it: hel-low Igbo = Nde-ewoWhere to Say It: Nigeria. How to Pronounce it: n-day-wo Luxembourgish= MoïenWhere to Say It: Luxembourg. How to Pronounce it: MOY-en Navajo = Ya’at’eehWhere to Say It: Southwestern United States by the Navajo peoples How to Pronounce it: yah-tah-hey Swiss German = GrüeziWhere to Say It: Upper German dialect name that’s spoken in Switzerland, Lichtenstein, parts of Germany, and Alsace, France. How to Pronounce it: groo-tsi Tahitian = Ia OranaWhere to Say It: Spoken in the Society Islands in French Polynesia How to Pronounce it: ee-ah oh-rah-na Albanian = PërshëndetjeWhere to Say It: Albanian is the predominant language of Albania and Kosovo You will find it in other regions of the Baltics as well. How to Pronounce it: per-shen-DEAT-ye Catalan = HolaWhere to Say It: Official language of Andorra and the co-official language of some Spanish communities, like Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. How to Pronounce it: OH-laa Galician = OlaWhere to Say It: Northwestern Spain. How to Pronounce it: oh-LAA Mongolian = Sain uuWhere to Say It: Mongolia, parts of Russia, and parts of Kyrgyzstan. How to Pronounce it: say-noo Wolof = Salaam AleekumWhere to Say It: Senegal. How to Pronounce it: sah-laam Wu (Shanghainese) = Nóng gōWhere to Say It: A variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the city of Shanghai and it’s surrounding areas. How to Pronounce it: nong haw Tamil = VanakkamWhere to Say It: Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore. How to Pronounce it: vaa–NAK–kam Pashto= SalamWhere to Say It: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. How to Pronounce it: sah-laam Kannada = NamaskāraWhere to Say It: Southwestern India. How to Pronounce it: nah-mahs-KAR Hausa = SannuWhere to Say It: Hausa is the native language of Niger and Northern Nigeria It is also used in some countries in West and Central Africa. How to Pronounce it: san-NU Burmese = MingalabaWhere to Say It: Myanmar, especially by the Bamar people. How to Pronounce it: meen-gah LA-ba Amharic = SelamWhere to Say It: This is an informal way to say hello in the Amharic language It’s the language of Ethiopia, where hello also means “peace be with you” You can also use it in Egypt and Eritrea. How to Pronounce it: sah-lam Breton = DematWhere to Say It: Brittany in the Northwest of France How to Pronounce it: de-MAT Oromo = AkkamWhere to Say It: This Cushitic language is spoken by millions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Egypt. How to Pronounce it: akk-ham Manipuri = KhurumjariWhere to Say It: Manipur in India. How to Pronounce it: koo-rum-jar-ee Cebuano = KumustaWhere to Say It: The Philippines. How to Pronounce it: kuh-moos-tah Malagasy = SalamaWhere to Say It: Madagascar. How to Pronounce it: sah-LAHM-ah Santali = Henda hoWhere to Say It: West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Orissa in India. How to Pronounce it: hen-DAH ho Khmer = Choum Reap SorWhere to Say It: Cambodia. How to Pronounce it: jum reap sour Sinhalese = AyubowanWhere to Say It: Sri Lanka. How to Pronounce it: ah-yuh-boh-van Somali = Salam AlaykumWhere to Say It: Somalia. How to Pronounce it: sah-LAMM ah-lay-KUM Taiwanese Hokkien = Li-hóWhere to Say It: Taiwan. How to Pronounce it: lee-hoh Tswana = DumelaWhere to Say It: Botswana and South Africa. How to Pronounce it: doo-meh-lah Quechua = AllianchuWhere to Say It: Peru. How to Pronounce it: eye-ee-anch-oo Xhosa = MolweniWhere to Say It: Bantu language of South Africa. How to Pronounce it: mol-when-ii |