20 English Greetings for ALL Situations

A greeting is a basic act of communication where a person makes their presence known to another when meeting them. It is a way to begin an interaction and a conversation with someone. It is also a way to acknowledge the presence of someone and to give them attention when you are coming into contact with them.

There are many forms of “hello ” greetings, used for various types of people, places and situations. It’s important to learn the appropriate greetings for appropriate circumstances, so that it helps you make a good first impression – either with new friends or even colleagues at a new workplace. There is a greeting for almost any kind of situation, so lets check them out!

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5 Different Everyday Greetings

Here are some conversation English greetings you can use in your day-to-day interactions with anyone and are the most common and simple greetings out there.

1. Hello/Hi/Hey

The general and most common greeting is “hello”, “hi”, “hey”, and these can be used in any occasion or situation with anybody. For example, if you run into someone you don’t know, you can use these simple greetings.

2. Morning/Afternoon/Evening

The general greetings of “good morning”, “good afternoon”, vs “good evening” vary per the time on day. For example, “good morning” is used from 5:00 am to 12:00 pm, while “good afternoon” is used from 12:00 pm up until 6:00 pm, and “good evening” time is used after the sun goes down. 

3. Nice to see you/Good to see you

This is a warm and kind greeting that expresses someone’s care and appreciation for meeting someone. This can be used if you have not seen someone in a little while and can suggest that you missed them. You can use these with people you are close to such as friends, family and colleagues.

4. How are you/ How’s it going?

This a greeting that shows interest and concern for the wellbeing of the person you are meeting. It shows that you care about the person and is also typically a follow-up question after another greeting, which is a more structured conversation. However, its not uncommon to use this as a casual greeting as well, particular with people you close to.

5. Long time no see?/ Its been a while

This is a greeting you would use for someone you have not seen in a long time. Maybe they have been travelling abroad or have just have been caught up in life’s busy cycles. This would be a great way to express that you have missed someone and that you have acknowledged their absence from your life.

5 Different Slang Greetings

Slang greetings are a very informal and casual way of greeting people you know very well and are comfortable with. It gives a relaxed tone to the conversation as well. It is important to remember that slang is dependent on the region/country that you are in. For example, America can have different slang than that of Australia. Here we will give you 5 common slang greetings that are generally used and understood all over the world.

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1. ‘Sup?/Wassup?/Wazzup?

These are typically used among the younger generations to ask what is new in their lives. These are all variations of “What’s Up”. “‘Sup” is a shortened form of this. It can be said face to face and also over text – which is more common these days. This is typically replied to with “Nothing much”. It’s very commonly used by teenagers in the USA.

2. Yo!

This is another slang which is more commonly used in the USA, and is just another way to say “hey, what’s up?” by the younger generations. It is a funny greeting which originated from hip-hop culture in 1990s America.

3. Hey there!

This is a super friendly greeting and shows excitement when meeting your close friends or even just a positive greeting for a stranger – like meeting a new classmate on the first day of school!

4. What’s Happening?/ What’s going on?

This is a casual and relaxed slang greeting to ask someone what’s going on in their lives. Close friends usually greet each other like this.

5. How’s Things/How’s Life?

This is a common slang greeting or follow up question between friends and family. It is common for people who are comfortable with each other and are just checking up on each other

5 Different Formal Greetings

There will be times where you would need to use more polite and formal greeting to create a professional or respectful tone with someone. This could range in situations from job interviews to talking to more senior people than yourself. Here are some great formal greetings to help you find your professional voice, and improve your business English

1. Good Morning/Good Day/Good Afternoon/Good Evening

These are general polite greetings that can be used in all situations and are used at particular times of the day (like good morning when you greet a colleague or manager as you enter the office in the morning.) These keep up a neutral and respectful tone as you acknowledge those you come into contact with. You can even add a “Sir” or “Madam” after this to add more respect depending on the person you are greeting.

2. Pleased to meet you /Its a pleasure to meet you

This is usually a polite reply when someone has greeted you. It shows a professional and respectful demeanor and is usually followed by a handshake – as you would typically do in business meetings or when meeting with clients.

3. How do you do?

This is a more old-fashioned greeting, but it is still used in many formal situations such as business interactions or in job interviews. You would typically reply “I am fine, thank you.” and would reciprocate the question to them, so as to be polite and maintain the level of respect in return.

4. How are you doing?

This is another way to ask someone, in a polite way, how they are doing. This is a more common formal phrase than the previous one, due to it being more modern.

5. Hello [Person’s Name]

When in doubt, go back to basics! It’s also very easy to just say Hello combined with the person’s name for a simple, polite and straightforward greeting. It is neutral, respectful and may even help you remember the person’s name better – which makes it better to use with people you are meeting for the first time.

5 Greetings for Letters and Emails

It is also very important to know the correct letter greetings in your written correspondence with others. Letters, postcards and emails all require the correct greetings depending on who you are addressing and the context of the conversation as well. Let’s take a look at some of these.

1. Dear Sir or Madam

This is a great and professional way to start an email or letter if you do not know the name of the person you are sending it to. It is respectful and neutral. This is very useful for when you are emailing a company for a job application or a business proposal. However, a personalized greeting is always more professional and more welcoming, so if you have the person’s name, it would be better to use that.

2. To Whom It May Concern

This is another professional way to address an email to someone you do not know personally or by name or even a company. It is a very formal and rigid, but it is perfect if it addressing group of people, or if you want to sound reserved. These can be used in reference letters, letters/emails of complaints or other notice letters/emails to people, groups or companies.

3. Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss [Person’s Name]

This is a more personalized and warmer greeting that still maintains formality in your letter or email. This creates a more personal conversation between people and is a polite way to kick off a letter and email to your acquaintances, colleagues, managers or clients.

4. Greetings, [Person’s Name]

Greetings is another way to salute a person on an email, while sound professional. 

5. To [Insert Title]

If you don’t know what the persons name is, you could use “To” and mention the professional title of the person you are emailing.

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10 Greetings from Around the World

It’s important to also be prepared with some other local greetings from different parts of the world, incase we make new friends or travel there someday. Here are some other common greetings that are common in other parts of the world, apart from the USA. Lets check them out:

1. G’day mate! 🇦🇺

This is the standard casual greeting in Australia. This is the Australian abbreviation of “good day”. Australian greetings often replace “you” with “ya”. So “how are ya?” is the same as “how are you?”, and “how are ya doing?” is the same as “how are you doing?”

2. Alright? 🇬🇧

This is a very common greeting in the UK and is basically a way of asking if the person they are greeting is alright. Think of it as another form of “How are you?” used generally, but this one does not have to literally be answered – you can just say “Hey” in return.

3. Hiya! 🇬🇧

This is a slang that varies from “Hi” and is generally used in the UK. Its very friendly and is frequently used over text by the younger generations.

4. Howdy! 🇺🇸

This is a greeting often used in the southern regions of the United States and also Canada. Although, if you use it out of these regions, you might be considered a “Cowboy”!

5. Bonjour 🇫🇷

This is a common French greeting used when meeting during the daytime and is typically used in the morning as well.

6. Namaste 🇮🇳

Indians clasp both their hands together and say “namaste” to each other. Which means “ My soul recognizes yours”. It is a very spiritual and respectful greeting. A common custom of greeting is to bend down and touch the other person’s feet.

8. Ohayo 🇯🇵

A typical hello in Japanese will require the person to bow when they are saying “Ohayo” each other, which means “Hello”. Apart from being their culture, it is also a form of showing respect to the elders and other individuals.

9. Ni Hao 🇨🇳

This is the first phrase you would learn when you start learning Mandarine. It means “Hello” in Chinese. A more formal version of this is “Nin Hao”. The custom would be for people in China to bend forward by kneeling down on the floor, and touching their forehead on the ground.

10. Salaam 🇦🇪 🇪🇭 ☪️

This is a very common and standard way of greeting in the Middle-East. Arabians and Muslims commonly use this when greeting each other and it is a sacred greeting and a form of respect typically consisting of a low bow of the head and body with the hand or fingers touching the forehead.

 

Say Hello to your new “Hellos”!

A nice “Hello” can help turn an empty acknowledgment into a warm welcome, and can even help you make new friends and walk away from a conversation with a smile. A greeting is also an important part of formal letters and emails that helps set a professional tone and make a good impression in your interactions with others.

Now that you have seen how many different types of greetings there are, what are you waiting for? Don’t be afraid to get out there and try out some of your new greetings to your friends, family, colleagues and even new people. You may make some new friends. learn English,  and improve the quality of your conversations with the people in your life. 

Learn English with AmazingTalker online English tutors and improve your greetings skills. 

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