"Hello" in Different Asian Languages

Mandarin Chinese (China, Taiwan)

• • Phrase: 你好 (Nǐ hǎo)
  • Pronunciation: “Nee hao”

Hindi (India)

• • Phrase: नमस्ते (Namaste)
  • Pronunciation: “Nuh-muh-stay”

Bengali (Bangladesh, parts of India)

• • Phrase: হ্যালো (Hyālō) or নমস্কার (Nomoshkar)
  • Pronunciation: “Hy-eh-lo” or “No-mosh-kar”

Japanese (Japan)

• • Phrase: こんにちは (Konnichiwa)
  • Pronunciation: “Koh-nee-chee-wah”

Punjabi (India, Pakistan)

• • Phrase: ਸਤ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ (Sat Sri Akal)
  • Pronunciation: “Sut sree akal”

Vietnamese (Vietnam)

• Phrase: Xin chào
• Pronunciation: “Sin chow”

Korean (South Korea, North Korea)

• Phrase: 안녕하세요 (Annyeonghaseyo)
• Pronunciation: “An-nyoung-ha-se-yo”

Telugu (India)

• Phrase: నమస్కారం (Namaskaram)
• Pronunciation: “Nah-mas-kar-am”

Arabic (Middle East, North Africa)

• Phrase: مرحبا (Marhaba)
• Pronunciation: “Mar-ha-ba”

Thai (Thailand)

• Phrase: สวัสดี (Sawasdee)
• Pronunciation: “Sah-wah-dee”
  (Use “Sawasdee krap” for males and “Sawasdee ka” for females)

Malay/Indonesian (Malaysia, Indonesia)

• Phrase: Selamat pagi (Good morning) / Selamat siang (Good afternoon)
• Pronunciation: “Se-lah-maht pah-gee” / “Se-lah-maht see-yang”

Tagalog (Philippines)

• Phrase: Kamusta
• Pronunciation: “Ka-moo-sta”

Urdu (Pakistan, parts of India)

• Phrase: سلام (Salam)
• Pronunciation: “Sa-lam”

Persian/Farsi (Iran)

• Phrase: سلام (Salam)
• Pronunciation: “Sa-lam”

Hebrew (Israel)

• Phrase: שלום (Shalom)
• Pronunciation: “Sha-lom”

Turkish (Turkey)

• Phrase: Merhaba
• Pronunciation: “Mehr-ha-ba”

Tamil (Sri Lanka, parts of India)

• Phrase: வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)
• Pronunciation: “Vah-nah-kahm”

Nepali (Nepal)

• Phrase: नमस्ते (Namaste)
• Pronunciation: “Nuh-muh-stay”

Burmese (Myanmar)

• Phrase: မင်္ဂလာပါ (Mingalaba)
• Pronunciation: “Min-gah-lah-bah”

Sinhala (Sri Lanka)

• Phrase: ආයුබෝවන් (Ayubowan)
• Pronunciation: “A-yoo-bo-wan”