Greeting

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This article is about the social act. For other uses, see Greeting (disambiguation).
"Good evening" redirects here. For the Marshall Crenshaw album, see Good Evening (album). For the song by John Reuben, see John Reuben.
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Translations of the word welcome shown in many places frequented by foreigners or tourists to welcome people of all different nationalities.

Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings (as well as other animals) intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. While greeting customs are highly culture- and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship, they exist in all known human cultures. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salutes but includes rituals other than gestures. A greeting can also be expressed in written communications, such as letters and emails.

Greetings are often, but not always, used just prior to a conversation.

Some epochs and cultures have had very elaborate greeting rituals, e.g., greeting of a king.

Secret societies have clandestine greeting rituals that allow members to recognize common membership.

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Greeting gestures [edit]

Denis Thatcher, husband of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher, greets former American First Lady Nancy Reagan by kissing her hand, 1988

A greeting can consist of an exchange of formal expression, a simple kiss, a hand shake or a hug. The form of greeting is determined by social etiquette, as well as by the relationship of the people.

Beyond the formal greeting, which may involve a verbal acknowledgment and sometimes a hand shake, facial expression, gestures, body language and eye contact can all signal what type of greeting is expected. Gestures are the most obvious signal, for instance greeting someone with open arms is generally a sign that a hug is expected.[1] However, crossing arms can be interpreted as a sign of hostility. Facial expression, body language and eye contact reflect emotions and interest level. A frown, slouching and lowered eye contact suggests disinterest, while smiling and an exuberant attitude is a sign of welcome.

Throughout all cultures people greet one another as a sign of recognition, affection, friendship and reverence. While hand shakes, hugs, bows, nods and nose rubbing are all acceptable greetings, the most common greeting is a kiss, or kisses, on the cheek. Cheek kissing is most common in Europe and Latin America and has become a standard greeting in Southern Europe.[2]

While cheek kissing is a common greeting in many cultures, each country has a unique way of kissing. In Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, the Netherlands and Egypt it is customary to “kiss three times, on alternate cheeks.”[3] Italians, Hungarians and Romanians usually kiss twice in a greeting and in Mexico and Belgium only one kiss is necessary. In the Galapagos women kiss on the right cheek only[4] and in Oman it is not unusual for men to kiss one another on the nose after a handshake.[5] French culture accepts a number of ways to greet depending on the region. Two kisses are most common throughout all of France but in Provence three kisses are given and in Nantes four are exchanged.[6] However, in Finistère at the western tip of Brittany and Deux-Sèvres in the Poitou-Charentes region, one kiss is preferred. [7]

Other greeting gestures [edit]

Waving

In other languages [edit]

Sampeah (Cambodian greeting)
  • Afrikaans: Hallo, goeie more/naand
  • Albanian: Përshëndetje
  • Arabic: مرحبًا / سلام (marḥaban/salām)
  • Armenian: Բարեւ Ձեզ (Barev Dzez)
  • Azerbaijani: Salam
  • Basque: Kaixo
  • Bavarian: Grüß Gott
  • Belarusian: Прывітанне (Pryvitannie)
  • Bengali: Namaskar/Salam/Adab
  • Berber language: Azul!/Ahul!
  • Brazilian Portuguese: Oi, Olá, Bom dia/tarde/noite
  • Bulgarian: Здравейте (Zdraveĭte)
  • Burmese: Mingalarba
  • Canadian French: Allô
  • Catalan: Bon dia. Hola. Com va?
  • Cebuano: Komusta.
  • Chamorro: Hafa Adai
  • Chewa: Moni Bambo
  • Chinese: 你好 (Mandarin: nǐ hǎo, Cantonese: nei5 hou2)
  • Cree: Tansi
  • Croatian: Bok (informal), Dobar dan (formal)
  • Czech: Ahoj (informal), Dobrý den (formal)
  • Danish: Hej/Davs (informal), Goddag (formal)
  • Dutch: Hallo
  • English: Hello, Good Day/Morning/Evening
  • Estonian: Tere
  • Fijian: Bula Vinaka
  • Filipino: Hello/Kumusta
  • Finnish: Hei, Terve, (Hyvää) huomenta/päivää/iltaa (formal)
  • Flemish: Goeindag
  • French: Salut, Bonjour
  • Frisian: Hoi
  • Georgian: გამარჯობა gamarǰoba, გამარჯობათ gamarǰobat (plural or formal), გაუმარჯოს gaumarǰos
  • German: Hallo (informal), Guten Morgen/Guten Tag/Guten Abend (formal)
  • Greek: Γειά σας (Yia Sas) for formality, Γειά σου (Yia Sou) for informality, Γειά simple
  • Hausa: Ina kwana, Ina wuni, (informal). Barka da asuba, Barka da rana (formal). Sai da safe (informal), Mu kwana lafiya, Asuba ta gari (formal).
  • Hausa: Ina Uni
  • Hebrew: שלום (Shalom)
  • Hiligaynon: Komusta.
  • Hindi: नमस्ते (Namaste)
  • Hopi: Mike
  • Hungarian: Szia(sztok)/helló(sztok) (informal); Jó napot kívánok (formal)
  • Icelandic: Hæ
  • Igbo: Nde-Ewo
  • Indonesian: Halo (informal), Salam Sejahtera (formal and time-neutral), Selamat Pagi/Siang/Malam (formal-morning/afternoon/evening)
  • Irish: Dia Dhuit
  • Italian: Ciao (informal), Salve (semi-formal), Buongiorno/Buonasera (formal)
  • Japanese: こんにちは (Konnichiwa)
  • Kazakh: Сәлем, амансыз ба, Ассалаумағалейкм
  • Khmer: ជំរាបសួរ Sousdey (informal), Joum Reab Suor (formal)
  • Korean: 안녕하세요 (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo)
  • Latin: Salve (singular), Salvete (plural)
  • Latvian: Sveiki, Sveicināti (semi-formal), Labrīt/Labdien/Labvakar (formal)
  • Lithuanian: Sveiki
  • Macedonian: Здраво (Zdravo)
  • Malay: Apa khabar
  • Maltese: Merhba!
  • Maori: Kia Ora
  • Marathi: Namaskar
  • Mongolian: Сайн байна уу
  • Navajo: Yáʼátʼééh
  • Nepali: नमस्ते (Namaste)
  • Norwegian: Hei (informal), God dag (formal)
  • Occitan: Bonjorn. Adiu. Consí anatz?
  • Persian: درود (Dorood) / سلام (Salam)
  • Polish: Cześć (informal), Dzień dobry/Witam (formal), Dobry wieczór (good evening)
  • Portuguese: Ei! (very informal), Oi, Olá (mildly informal), Bom dia/boa tarde/boa noite (formal)
  • Pakistani Punjabi: Ki Hal Ay کی حال اے /kiː hɑːl eː/
  • Punjabi: Sat Sri Akal
  • Romanian: Salut (informal), Bună dimineaţa/ziua/seara (formal)
  • Russian: Привет (Privet), Здравствуйте (Zdravstvuite)
  • Serbian: Здраво/Zdravo (informal), Добар дан/Dobar dan (formal)
  • Sinhalese: ආයුබෝවන් (Ayubovan)
  • Slovak: Ahoj (informal), Dobrý deň (formal)
  • Slovenian: Živijo (informal), Zdravo (informal) Dober dan (formal)
  • Somali: Haye
  • Spanish: Hola (informal), Buenos días (formal), Buenas tardes (good afternoon), Buenas noches (good evening, after sunset)
  • Sulka: Marot
  • Swahili: Jambo
  • Swedish: Hej (informal), god dag/god afton (formal)
  • Tagalog: Helo (informal), Kamusta ka (formal)
  • Tamil: வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)
  • Telugu: నమస్కారం (Namaskaram)
  • Thai: สวัสดี (Sawatdi)
  • Turkish: Merhaba
  • Ukrainian: Доброго здоров'я (Dobrogo zdorovya), Добридень(Dobryden')
  • Urdu: سلام (salām)
  • Urhobo: Mavo
  • Vietnamese: Chào
  • Waray: Komusta.
  • Welsh: Helo
  • Yiddish: שלום עליכם (sholem aleikhem)
  • Xhosa: Molo (single person), Molweni (multiple persons)
  • Zulu: Sawubona

Voicemail greetings [edit]

Voicemail greetings are pre-recorded messages that are automatically played to callers, when the voicemail system answers the call. Some voicemail systems allow for different greetings to be played to different callers.

Telephone greetings [edit]

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Most languages have alternate greetings to be used over the telephone. In this case, the greeting is meant to confirm whether the person on the other line is present. The term "greeting" may also refer to a pre-recorded message replayed when the call cannot be answered.

In some cultures as the Brazilian one, giving personal names to strangers in the telephone is a commonly avoided practice (due to the regularity of faux kidnapping scams, as well various forms of civilian violence), so one is expected to neither give it nor ask for it, especially if the called is from a background of middle or high income. In others, such as the German and the Dutch, it is generally given before it could be solicitated.

Country/Language Owner answers phone Caller's response
Argentina ¿Hola?
Belgium and The Netherlands using first and family name, sometimes only the first or family name is used. Hallo met "name of caller"
Brazil Alô? Oi? Sim? Pronto. (Residência/casa de família, a residence)
Bom dia/boa tarde/boa noite, quem deseja? (both residences and shops)		 Quem fala? Quem está falando? Com quem falo? Quero falar com (called).
Oi, sou (quem chamou, caller), posso falar com (quem desejo, called)?
Olá, eu sou (caller), poderia me comunicar com (called) por favor?
Canadian French Oui? Allô? Bonjour! C'est (appelant, caller) puis-je parler à (appelé, called) s'il vous plait?
Chile ¿Aló?
China/Hong Kong Wei? / 喂?
Catalan Digui?
Finland Using first and/or family name. When the ID of the caller is known, they may be greeted directly. "Haloo?" is sometimes used as a neutral confirmation.
France Allô?
Germany using family name, often with first name
Hungary Halló, jónapot kívánok! Halló, tessék!
Iceland Halló?
India Hello
Indonesia Halo? (informal)
Selamat Pagi/Siang/Sore/Malam. (semi-formal)
previous line + dengan <receiver's name> di sini. (formal-personal)
second line + dengan kediaman <fullname/surname>. (formal-residential)
Iran Alo.
Baleh?
Israel Shalom.
Italy Pronto. Chi parla? Pronto. Sono (chiamante, caller), parlo con (chiamato, called)?
Japan Moshi moshi / もしもし
Hai / はい		 Dochirasama desuka? / どちら様ですか？
Dare desuka? / 誰ですか？
Khmer Allô? Joum Reap Suor!
Korea Yeoboseyo? / 여보세요? Nuguseyo? / 누구세요?
Malta Hello? Min hemm fuq il-linja?
Mexico Bueno. ¿Con quien hablo?
Mongolia Сайн байна уу? Сайн, сайн байна уу?
Paraguay Hola. Hola. ¿Con quien hablo?
Poland Słucham.
Halo?
Portugal Está? Quem fala?
Romania Alo? Cine e?
Russia Алло (Да) Алло
Sindhi Bhalee karey aayaa.
Spain Diga/Dígame.
Turkey Alo? (Efendim?) Kiminle görüşüyorum?
Venezuela ¿Aló? ¿Quien habla?
Vietnam A-lo?

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ George Boeree. "personpercept.html". Webspace.ship.edu. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  2. ^ Cheek kissing
  3. ^ "Greetings Lesson". Hawaii.edu. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  4. ^ "Galapagos FAQs Preparing for your trip". Galapagosonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  5. ^ "Greetings in other cultures". Brucevanpatter.com. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  6. ^ "Faire la bise - French Gestures". French.about.com. 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-01-27. 
  7. ^ "210 French Kissing Map". Frank Jacobs. 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 
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External links [edit]

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