It was an international conference conducted at our hospital, that made me realize the importance of learning different languages. We had foreign delegates coming over from almost all continents of the world. Not all were proficient in English, and it was important to break the communication barriers. What better than learning how to greet people in different languages. A simple hello in their native language proved to be a great ice breaker for many visiting delegates. Saying Hello in Different Languages Here's a a quick guide on the different versions of 'hello' in various languages. French One of the most widely spoken romance languages in the world is French. It's a very sophisticated language. All you need to say is Bonjour. If you are saying hello in an informal way, you need to say Salut. If you wish to say good evening, then it translates as Bonsoir and Bonne Nuit for good night. Russian Russian is a rather difficult language to learn and decipher. However, I find it very beguiling. You might find it a bit tongue twisting. All you need to say is Privet (pree-vyet). This is a very informal way to say hello in Russian. If you wish to greet someone more formally, you need to say zdravstvuyte (ZDRA-stvooy-tyeh). German There are different ways to say hello according to region. Let's see how to say hello in German. All you need to say is hallo as an informal way to greet someone. In a formal situation, you need to say guten tag (gootan taa). In an informal situation, you need to say Tag (tack). If you wish to say German in Bavarian and Austrian German, all you need to say is grüß Gott (gruess got). If you were in North Germany, you need to say moin moin. Greet a Swiss German formally as grüezi (grew-tsi) and hallo in an informal situation. Chinese In Cantonese, you can say hello as nei ho (ne ho) or lei ho (lay ho). In Mandarin Chinese, you can say nǐ hǎo (nee how). Italian You can say hello in Italian by saying Buon Giorno. It is pronounced as bwohn geeornoh. Spanish When you visit Spain, you can greet someone with an informal hola ('h' is silent, you say oh-la) or alo. Egyptian When in Egypt, you greet a person by saying Salaam Alekum (sulaam ulakume). Hindi There are many ways in which you can say hello in India. There are many languages spoken in India and each language has many dialects attached to it. You can greet a person in India by saying Namaste, Namaskar or Aadaab. It is always a good idea to learn some common phrases in foreign languages as it may come handy some day.