When travelling to non-English speaking countries you really need to try to learn some of the most commonly used basic words and phrases in other languages.
Some of the most commonly used phrases in any language include hello, please, thank you and goodbye. Not only is it polite to converse in other languages, it is also fun to speak and impress local people and it can also make your trip easier and more enjoyable.
We recently wrote two similar guides, the first, how to say hello in other languages and also how to say thank you in different languages. Both articles turned out to be very popular so we have decided to focus on other phrases that are used a lot by English speaking tourists visiting non-English speaking destinations.
In English there are lots of ways to bid farewell to someone, including “goodbye”, “bye”, “see you soon”, just to name just a few. But with hundreds of languages spoken around the world, how do you translate goodbye into other languages?
In this article we have put together a list of ways of how to say goodbye in some of the most spoken languages around the world.
Where Does the Word ‘Goodbye’ Come From?
Something you might not know is the term goodbye originates from the term “Goodbye”, which literally translates as “God be with ye.”
In the past this word conveyed a prayer, a blessing, or hope that the person who is departing will travel safely.
Over centuries and decades the phrases “God be with ye” was changed to god-b’wye, good-b’wy, and then resulting in today’s simple ‘goodbye’.
Learn to Say ‘Goodbye’ in 25+ Most Spoken World Languages
Rather than just describing how say goodbye in every language in the world we have focused on the most spoken languages around the world. For most of the translated words, the pronunciation is very similar to how the word is spelt.
Afrikaans – Totsiens
Arabic – Wadaeaan
Armenian – Tstesutyun
Basque – Agur
Chinese (Mandarin) – Zàijiàn
Croatian – Doviđenja
Czech – Ahoj
Danish – Farvel
Dutch – Vaarwel
English – Goodbye
Farsi – Khoda hafez
Filipino (Tagalog) – Paalam
French – Au revoir
German – Auf wiedersehen
Greek – Antio sas
Hawaiian – Aloha
Hebrew – Shalom
Hindi – Namaste
Hungarian – Viszontlátásra
Indonesian – Selamat tinggal
Irish Gaelic – Slán leat
Italian – Addio
Japanese – Sayōnara
Korean – Annyeong
Maori – Kia koa
Norwegian – Ha det
Polish – Do widzenia
Portuguese – Tchau
Romanian – La revedere
Russian – Proshchay
Spanish – Adiós
Swahili – Kwaheri
Swedish – Adjö
Thai – Laa-gàawn
Turkish – Güle güle
Vietnamese – Tạm biệt
Welsh – Hwyl fawr
Zulu – Hamba kahle
There are so many unique and beautiful languages spoken in the world and each is different in its own way. If you are going to be travelling to a country where English isn’t the native language, just learning the basic words and phrases can really make the trip more magical. Goodbye, along with hello, please and thank you really is a word you need to learn and it is usually very easy to memorise and remember.
