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Learn how to say hello, how are you, and good-bye in English. Click on each link to hear that word or phrase pronounced.
Greetings | ||
hello | The most common greeting, used when meeting someone for the first time that day. | |
good morning | Used only in the morning (before noon). | |
good afternoon | This greeting is used between noon and 5pm. | |
good evening | This greeting is used after 5pm. | |
hi | Informal greeting. | |
hey | Informal greeting between friends. | |
After the greeting | ||
How are you? | After you greet someone, it is customary to ask "how are you?" In English, this is just a polite question; you should not respond with a lot of detail. | |
How’s it going? | This is an informal way to ask "how are you?" | |
How are you doing? | This is an informal way to ask "how are you?" | |
Reponses | ||
fine | This is the most common way to respond to "how are you?" | |
good | Another common way to respond. | |
not so good | If you do not feel well or have other problems, you can respond with this. | |
so so / OK | The meaning of these somewhat informal responses is in between "fine" and "not so good." | |
Informal | ||
What’s up? / What’s new? |
These are very informal ways of asking "how are you?" | |
nothing / nothing much |
These responses can only be used to answer "what’s up?" and "what’s new?" | |
Departing | ||
good-bye | This is what you say when you leave. | |
good night | This means "good-bye" but is used only at night (after 7pm). | |
bye | An informal way to say "good-bye." | |
see you later / see you soon |
Other informal ways to say "good-bye" used when you are likely to see the person again later that day, or when you have plans to see each other again. |
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