One of the first lessons we learn in English is the greetings, the so-called greetings in English. Greetings are essential to start a conversation in another language, after all, imagine arriving in a new place and not knowing how to approach to talk to a person? Using greetings helps make the conversation more fluid and break the ice when communicating, facilitating the creation of bonds and always maintaining cordiality.
Greetings and salutations in English are very easy to learn and, to help you understand a little better, we have made a list of the main ones. greetings and their translations. Let's take a look at them?
What are greetings?
To make it fixed in your memory, every time you read the word greetings, know that we are talking about greetings in English, which are the words, phrases and terms that we use in everyday life to establish good communication with people.
For example, when arriving at a place, we always say “Hello”, “Good afternoon”, “Good morning”, etc. When writing a e-mail or send a message on social media too. Greetings are everywhere, and learning them will make your communication in English much easier.
What are the greetings in English?
“How are you?”, “Good morning!”, “Nice to see you”, “Nice to meet you”… who has never heard these expressions in English in films and series? These are some greetings used in everyday English.
There are formal greetings, informal greetings and those we use when we arrive, during conversation and when we say goodbye. We have separated the main expressions in English to use on each occasion so that you can learn and practice them.
Arrival Greetings – Arrival greetings
There are some everyday expressions used to greet people when we arrive at a place or when we are already there and someone comes to talk. These are called arrival greetings. Check them out!
| Greeting in English | Translation |
| Welcome! | Welcome |
| Hello! | Hello!, Hi! |
| Hi! | Hi!, Hello! |
| Good morning! | Good morning! |
| Good afternoon! | Good afternoon! |
| Good evening! | Goodnight! (used when arriving) |
| Hi, my name is… | Hello, my name is… |
| What's your name? | What is your name? |
| I'm sorry, but what was your name again? | Excuse me, but what's your name again? |
Greetings to use during a conversation
After the first greetings in English, there are some expressions that help make the conversation more cordial, interactive and enjoyable. There are several ways to say “hi, how are you” in english, check out these and other expressions:
| Greeting in English | Translation |
| How are you? / How are you doing? | How are you? |
| How is it going? | How are things? |
| How have you been? | How have you been? |
| I'm fine, thank you, and you? | I'm fine, thanks, and you? |
| You're welcome. | You're welcome. |
| Excuse me. | Excuse me. |
| It's been a long time! | How long! |
| It's been too long! | It's been too long!, How long! |
| Glad to meet you! | Nice to meet you! |
| Nice to meet you! | Nice to meet you! |
| Nice to meet you too! | Nice to meet you too! |
| The pleasure is mine! | The pleasure is mine! |
| My pleasure! | The pleasure is mine! |
| It's always a pleasure to see you! | It's always a pleasure to see you! |
| It's been ages since I've seen you! | It's been a long time since I saw you! |
| I'm Ok! | I am fine! |
| That's all right. | It was nothing. |
| Very well, thank you. | Very good, thank you. |
| Good. What about you? | Well. And you? |
Farewell greetings
The time to say goodbye and say goodbye is also full of specific expressions in English. Do you know how to say “good night” in english, before leaving? Wishing the other person a good day as you say goodbye? Write down the following list so you have everything at your fingertips.
| Greeting in English | Translation |
| Good night! | Good night! (when saying goodbye) |
| See you later! | Until later! |
| See you tomorrow! | See you tomorrow! |
| Goodbye! | Goodbye! |
| Have a good weekend! | Have a nice weekend! |
| Regards! | Greetings! |
| Until next time! | See you next time! |
| Have a nice day! | Have a good day! |
| It was good seeing you! | It was good to see you! |
Formal greetings
The formal ones greetings, formal greetings are most used when we need to maintain a certain degree of formality in conversations, such as in more professional contexts or when meeting someone.
Some expressions are combined with titles that ensure more formality and are used when we need to express an extra level of respect, such as:
- Madam: lady (term used alone);
- Sir: lord (term used alone);
- Mrs.: lady (used with the surname);
- Mr.: sir (used with the surname);
- Ms.: Miss (used with a surname if we don't know whether she is married or single);
- Miss: young lady (used when they are young and single women).
| Greeting in English | Translation |
| Hello, Mr. Edwards! | Hello, Mr. Edwards! |
| Good morning, madam! | Good morning, ma'am! |
| Nice to meet you, Ms. Jackson! | Nice to meet you, Miss Jackson! |
| How are you, sir? | How are you, sir? |
Informal greetings
Now, in situations where we meet people or want to speak in a lighter and more relaxed language, some greetings in English are used, different from what we have already presented here. Take a look!
| Greeting in English | Translation |
| What's up? | So, what can you tell me? |
| See ya! | See you later! |
| Bye! | Goodbye! |
| Take care! | He takes care of himself! |
| Bye Bye | Goodbye! |
| How's everything? | How are things? |
| What's new? | What's new? |
| Hey, there! | Hello! |
| Hey, Buddy! | What's up, partner? |
Want to see an example of informal conversation?
| English conversation | Translation |
| – Hey, buddy! What's up? | – Hey, partner. What's up? What can you tell me? |
| – Hi, I'm fine. And you? | – Hi, I’m fine, and you? |
| – I'm good too. Could you help me? | – I'm fine too. Can you help me? |
| – Sure, man. What do you need? | – Sure, man. What do you need? |
| – Can you give me a ride home? | – Can you give me a ride home? |
| – Yeah, sure! | - Yes of course! |
| – Thanks, brother! | – Thanks, brother! |
Greetings in English for emails
There are some English greetings to write emails and communicate in writing, both formally and informally. These are very common expressions in everyday life, which combine terms that we have already explained here.
We will introduce you to English greetings to start and end. emails formal and informal.
| Greetings to start a e-mail formal in english | Translation |
| Dear Sir, | Dear Sir, |
| Dear madam, | Dear Madam, |
| Dear Mr. (last name), | Dear Sir/Madam (Last Name), |
| Dear Mrs. (spouse's last name), | Dear Madam (last name), |
| Greetings to end a e-mail formal in english | Translation |
| Sincerely, | Yours sincerely, Kind regards, Cordially, |
| Sincerely yours, | Yours sincerely, Kind regards, Cordially, |
| Yours sincerely, | Yours sincerely, Kind regards, Cordially, |
| Yours faithfully, | Yours sincerely, Kind regards, Cordially, |
| Yours truly, | Yours sincerely, Kind regards, Cordially, |
| Greetings to start a e-mail informal in english | Translation |
| Dear …, | Dear …, |
| Dear friend, | Dear friend …, |
| Hi/Hello… | Hi/Hello… |
| My dear …, | My dear…, |
| Greetings to end a e-mail informal in english | Translation |
| Best regards, | Greetings, |
| Regards, | Greetings, |
| Kind Regards, | Greetings, |
| Cheers, | A hug, |
| With love, | With affection, |
| Love, | With affection, |
| See you, | See you later, |
| XOXO, | Kisses and hugs, |
| Best Wishes, | A hug, |
| Kisses and hugs, | Kisses and hugs, |
| Kisses, | Kisses, |
We've already talked about how important learning English is these days, here at blog from CCAA; and simple lessons like these help you start your conversation in the language on the right foot.
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