Greetings in English: Different ways and useful phrases

Greetings in different countries

In Australia, often people say “Good day mate” or G’day Mate for short. Mate is another way to say friend. In England they may say, “Top of the morning” if you are greeting someone in Ireland. In Britain they also say “ You alright”? And the response would be “Alright, you?”. These are some common ways to say hello in Britain.

Moving on to the United States, each region of the Country has its way of greeting each other if we look at the west coast, east coast and the south to name a few. Keep in mind that not everyone in these areas says hello this way but many do 😃 In the south, some people use “Howdy” or “ how y’all doin’?” Y’all is the equivalent to you all plural. Then the g is dropped informally.

Greetings: formal or informal way?

If we take into account the level of formality and how well we know the person, this changes in a significant way the way someone will say hello.

If you are meeting someone for the first time or meeting people for the first time before a business meeting the following are some common options: How do you do? Hello, nice to meet you, or pleased to meet you.

If we are greeting in an informal way with someone that we know very well or trust there are many fun ways! We can say, Hey! Hey man! What’s up! What’s new? How are things going? In some parts of the United States among some young people, they may say “Yo!” or What up? Without the S. Some people may also say “Hiya” which is really informal, I use this greeting only with my sister actually! Between males friends, they may also say, Hey Bro! Or Hey dude!

Now let’s look at how we might respond to the greetings. The same factors can be applied such as formality, nationality and culture. For example if your friend says to you, “Hey! How’s goin’”!? You can respond in an informal way also, such as; it’s all good, I’m good! Now if it is with a business client or partner, you might respond with “a pleasure to meet you” or “likewise”. It is very important to know when to be formal and when you can be informal (with family, friends and close co-workers).

Final thoughts

Remember, language is more than just about words, but also it represents culture and our own way of expressing ourselves. Depending on who you are greeting will usually determine which greeting you will use 😃 The way we greet someone leads to how open the other person will be with us and their openness to us. Think of how you say hello to someone as your calling card, your personal signature, so make sure it is good and that it matches the occasion! If you would like to dive in deeper into the difference between American and British English check out this podcast in Spotify that talks about the many vocabulary differences between these two cultures!