Whatever the reason for your trip abroad, it's important to know a few words in the local language, especially for saying "hello" and "thank you."
In this article, we've compiled a list of greetings in all languages to help you on your journey. In the last paragraph, you'll also find the pronunciation of greetings written in a different alphabet than ours, so you can learn them quickly and easily.
Greeting is a form of politeness, used in both formal and informal contexts. When traveling, you often come into contact with other people-in airports, train stations, hotels, shops, restaurants, and bars, but also on the street or on public transport. It's important to say "hello" in certain situations, both out of politeness and when you want to start a conversation.
This doesn't mean you absolutely have to memorize the word "hello" in every language in the world to travel, but learning "hello" in the local language is a great way to enhance your experience abroad (and broaden your linguistic and cultural horizons).
A "hello" is often the first step in establishing a relationship with someone, asking for information, or striking up a conversation with your seatmate on a plane. Greetings are the foundation of any conversation, which is why they are often among the first things people learn when learning a new language.
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Notably, this programme is designed for participants aged 18 & above, following destination-specific regulations on course duration and pre-requisites.
The key highlight of this programme is also that through the student visa, you will be able to travel freely in and across Europe, thanks to the Schengen Agreement. Therefore, you can both work, study, and also have all European destinations at your fingertips!
Before you begin working, you'll enrol in an intensive language course at one of Sprachcaffe's partner schools in Spain, Malta, or Germany. The goal is to equip you with the practical, day-to-day language skills you'll need for your job and life abroad.
This phase also helps you settle into your new country and gain confidence in both language and cultural understanding.
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Speak to our team and select the country that excites you most-Spain, Malta, or Germany. We'll help you understand which location suits your goals and interests best.
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After your course, we'll help you find a suitable job-usually in hospitality, tourism or customer service-so you can put your new language skills to real use.
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There are helpful workshops on public speaking, resume building, and networking - all in sunny Malta or Barcelona.
From the moment you join Sprachcaffe, your journey is personalized to fit your goals. Before your program even begins, we'll get to know your language level through a simple placement test, so we can place you in the right group - one that matches your skills and helps you thrive.
Choose the language that aligns with your ambitions and future plans: English, German, Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian, Arabic, or Portuguese - it's your call.
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Choose weekly modules or a full-immersion experience. Add online sessions before or after your travels. Combine language study with volunteer work, internships, or career-building projects. Whatever your path, we're here to make it work for you.
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Shape your future with SPRACHCAFFE’s Work & Study Programme, where language learning meets real-world experience. Gain paid placements in sectors such as hospitality, retail, health care, or education, while improving your fluency through daily practice and cultural immersion. Whether you’re on a gap year, considering a career change, or seeking personal growth, this programme helps you build professional skills, confidence, and independence abroad.
With our full support—from visa guidance to interview preparation—you can focus on learning, working, and exploring Europe at the same time.
If you're 18 or older, eager to live abroad, and open to new experiences-this programme is for you! No previous work abroad or advanced language experience needed-we'll prepare you.
No worries if you're not fluent! That's exactly what our language courses are for. We'll help you reach a confident conversational level before you begin working.
Yes! You can choose between Spain, Malta, or Germany based on your goals, interests, or career ambitions. Our team will help you find the best fit.
Most students work in the hospitality or service industries, where language practice is built in. Jobs may include cafes, restaurants, hotels, or tourism-related roles.
From visa assistance and job matching to language classes and arrival orientation, we're with you from day one. You'll also have a local team to support you while you're abroad.
Absolutely! If you fall in love with the experience (and many do), we'll help you extend your stay or transition to another country or programme if possible.
Languages are not all the same, and this applies to the alphabet used, the sound of words, and the number of speakers. Some languages are more widespread because they are spoken by tens of millions of people, while others are in danger of disappearing within a few generations. Among the most widely spoken languages in the world are English and Mandarin Chinese, with over a billion speakers each, followed by Hindi, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Bengali, Russian, Portuguese, and Urdu also appear in the rankings. The placement of different languages in the rankings can vary depending on how important the language is in a particular location-that is, whether it is a first language, a second language, or a language studied.
If you want to learn how to greet people in the world's most common languages, you can start by saying "hello" in English. You can say "hello" or "hi" in all English-speaking countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In France, as well as in the Canadian province of Quebec, Belgium, Morocco, and Tunisia, and among people who also speak French, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon, you can use "salut" or "bonjour" instead. Want to greet someone in Russian? You can use the word "privet."
In Spain and many Latin American countries, you can greet each other in Spanish with "hola." This includes Argentina, Guatemala, Peru, Uruguay, Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba, Chile, and Colombia, as well as Panama, Paraguay, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and various other countries where Spanish is the native language. Portuguese, on the other hand, is spoken in Portugal and Brazil, but also in countries like Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and East Timor. Here, you can say "hello" with the word "oi" or "olá."
Mandarin Chinese is the official language in Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, and of course, in China. If you are in one of these countries, you can say "hello" with "Nǐ hǎo" or 你好. In Hindi, on the other hand, you can say "hello" with the word "namaste," which is also very familiar to us Westerners. Arabic, as we have seen, is also one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. In this case, it is a language spoken in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in Tunisia, Qatar, Somalia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Algeria, Israel, Jordan, Sudan, and other countries in Africa and Asia, where you can greet each other with "as-salāmu ʿalaykum" (i.e., ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ). Bengali is the language spoken in Bangladesh and India. According to various statistics, Bengali was spoken by more than 270 million people in 2022. To greet someone in this language, you say "Hyālō" (dh হ্যালো).
We saw above how to say "hello" in the world's most common languages, from Mandarin Chinese to Arabic, from English to Spanish, from Russian to Hindi. Below are ways to say "hello" in all the world's languages , from the most widely spoken to the less common.
Afrikaans - hello
Albanian - përshëndetje
Amharic - ሃይ
Arabic - ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ
Armenian - Ողջու՜յն
Assamese - নমস্কাৰ
Azerbaijani - Salam
Aymara - Kamisaki
Bambara - aw ni baara
Basque - kaixo
Bengali - হ্যালো
Bhojpuri - एहो
Burmese - ဟိုင်း
Bosnian - zdravo
Bulgarian - здрасти
Cebuano - kumusta
Chichewa - moni
Chinese (simplified) - 你好
Chinese (traditional) - 你好
Danish - Hej
German - hello
dhivehi
Dogri - नमस्ते
English - hi
Esperanto - Saluton
Estonian - Tere
Ewe - Alekee
Filipino - helo
Finnish - Hei
French - salut
Frisian - hoi
Galician - ola
Georgian - გამარჯობა
Greek - γεια
Guarani - Mba'éichapa
Gujarati - હાય
Haitian Creole - alo
Hausa - sannu
Hawaiian - ooh
Hebrew - היי
Hindi - नमस्ते
Hmong - nyob zoo
Igbo - ndewo
Ilocano - Hi
Irish - Haigh
Indonesian - hai
Icelandic - hæ
Italian - ciao
Japanese - やあ
Javanese - hi
Yiddish - הי
Kannada - ನಮಸ್ತೆ
Kazakh - сәлем
Catalan - hola
Khmer - សួស្តី
Kyrgyz - салам
Kinyarwanda - muraho
Konkani - हाय
Krio - kushɛ
Croatian - bok
Korean - 안녕하세요
Corsican - salute
Kurdish (Kurmanji) - merheba
Kurdish (Sorani) - سڵاو
Lao - ສະບາຍດີ
Latvian - Sveiki
Lingala - Mbote
Lithuanian - Labas
Luganda - Nkulamusizza
Luxembourgish - Salut
Macedonian - sane
Maithili - नमस्कार
Malayalam - ഹായ്
Malay - hai
Malagasy greetings
Maltese - Bonġu
Māori - kia ora
Marathi - हाय
Mizo-Chibai
Mongolian - сайн уу
Dutch - hoi
Nepali - नमस्ते
Norwegian - hei
Odia (oriya) - ନମସ୍କାର
Oromo - Akkam
Pashto - سلام
Persian - سلام
Polish - cześć
Portuguese - Oi
Punjabi - ਹੈਲੋ
Quechua - Allinllachu
Romanian - Salut
Russian - Привет
Samoan - talofa
Sanskrit - नमस्कार
Scottish Gaelic - halò
Sepedi - Thobela
Serbian - Zdravo
Sesotho - dumela
Schona - mhoro
Swedish - Hej
Sindhi - هاءِ
Sinhalese - හායි
Slovak - Ahoj
Slovenian - živjo
Somali - waan ku salaamay
Spanish - hola
Swahili - habari
Sundanese - halo
Tagico - salom
Tamil - வணக்கம்
Tataro - сәлам
Telugu - హాయ్
Thai - สวัสดี
Tigrinya - ሰላም
Czech - Ahoj
Tsonga - Xewani
Turkish - Merhaba
Turkomanno - Salam
Uyghur -
Ukrainian - Привітياخشىمۇسىز
Hungarian- Szia
Urdu - ہیلو
Uzbekistan - Salom
Vietnamese - Chao
Welsh - helo
Belarusian - прывітанне
Xhosa - mholweni
Yoruba - Peleo
Zulu - sawubona
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Sometimes the written word doesn't match the pronunciation, and this applies to our alphabet as well as other alphabets around the world. For us Germans, some words can be more difficult to pronounce than others, especially if we don't know the characters they're made of.
This is the case, for example, with Japanese or Chinese, but also with European languages like Bulgarian, Greek, and Russian. Below you'll find the pronunciation of the word "hello" in all languages that use an alphabet other than ours, to facilitate interaction with people from all over the world.
Amharic - hayi
Arabic - as-salāmu ʿalaykum
Armenian - Voghju՜yn
Bengali - Hyalo
Belarusian - pryvitannie
Burmese - hine
Bulgarian - zdrasti
Kyrgyz - salam
Chinese (Simplified) - Nǐ hǎo
Chinese (traditional) - Nǐ hǎo
Dhivehi - assalaam 'alaikum
Georgian - gamarjoba
Greek - geia
Gujarati - Hāya
Hindi - namaste
Japanese - Yā
Kannada - namaste
Kazakh - sälem
Khmer - suostei
Korean - annyeonghaseyo
Lao - sabaidi
Malayalam - hāy
Marathi - hāya
Macedonian - zdravo
Mongolian - sain uu
Nepali - Namaste
Punjabi - Hailō
Russian - Privet
Serbian - Zdravo
Sinhalese - hāyi
Tajik - Salom
Tamil - Vaṇakkam
Telugu - Hay
Thai - S̄wạs̄dī
Ukrainian - Pryvit
Yiddish - hi
