107 interesting and different ways to

say hi in English
December 20, 2021
Author
Kerry Hood

How do you say hello in English when you need to be formal, but

you also want to convey enthusiasm? And how do you greet someone

in English if you’ve never met them? Is there a difference

between hi there and hey you, and why does the same greeting

change meaning when spoken in a different way?

It’s vital to be able to recognize and understand the different contexts of how we
say hello in English. After all, you don't want to be too informal in a corporate
meeting, nor do you want to be overly formal if you're saying hi to close pals.

This article will explore the many ways we say hello in English and will look at the
unspoken and subtle wealth of meanings that accompany our greetings and how
you can learn to recognize and use them.

How do you actually say “hello” and “hi” in English?

“Hello” is pronounced /həˈloʊ/, and “hi” is pronounced /haɪ/. Both are
exclamations; we pronounce them strongly and clearly because we use them
to signal for someone’s attention.

However, hello and hi can carry extra meaning. This is because we naturally
intensify our greetings if we know someone or cool our greetings if we are
uncertain about them.
107 ways to say hi in English
It’s incredible that we can express so much with a single greeting!

Let’s go casual
Greeting Context

Hi We know the person well, and we see them quite often

Hi there We know the person well but have not seen them so recently

Hey We know the person very well

Hello We know the person, but not so closely

Hey you We know them so well, we can become playful

Hi (person’s name) We know the person and like them very much

Let’s go formal

Greeting Context

Hello, nice to meet you You don’t know the person

Hello, nice to see you You know them, but not very well

You know them in a formal and regular situation,

Hello, how are you doing?
such as at work

You know them a little more closely enough to use

Hello Sue, how are you?
their name

Hello there You know them but haven’t seen them for some time
Do greetings change at different times of the day?
They do, but to mix these up is often ok, and even useful as an “icebreaker”
for a formal conversation:
• Good morning/evening/afternoon are quite formal, but morning/
afternoon/evening are casual.
• Goodnight is the same as goodbye, and is not used as a greeting
• We use good morning, how are you when we know the person
• We use morning when we are in a hurry or not planning to stop and
chat
• We say good morning or is it afternoon already as polite conversation
and as a humorous reference to being so busy that we don’t know what
time it is.

Do our greetings change if we know the person we are

addressing?
They certainly do, and they change even more if we like that person.

• Hi will become hiiiiiiii. We lengthen and add volume to the end of

the word. This signifies pleasure and warmth.
• Hello becomes helloooooo. Again, we lengthen and emphasize the
word. Using hello instead of hi can also indicate that we really like this
person but haven’t seen them for a while.
• Hey becomes heeeey. We emphasize this form to get someone’s
attention who we like.
• Hey you or hey you there spoken with an emphasis on the you signals
that we know them. However, this form can also signal displeasure.
• Howdy / Hey mate / Hey man / G’day / and Gidday mate all
indicate that we know a person quite well.
• How are you? / What’s up? / How’s it going? are casual ways to
say hello in English and indicate that we’ve known that person for
some time.
• How’s you? is a casual and tender way to ask after someone’s
wellbeing. It indicates that you know them well.
•

Greetings in English to use when you haven’t seen that

person for some time
1. Long time no see
2. Heeeeeey, good to see you
 3. Hellooo, how are you?
4. Hey, is it really you?
5. Is that you?
6. Is that seriously you?
7. Hello stranger!
8. Are you kidding me?
9. This can’t be true!

How to say hello in English when you’ve never met the

person before
• Nice to meet you. This is simple and courteous. You would use this
form in a new English class, for example, when you are attending in
person.
• So nice to meet you
• I’ve been looking forward to meeting you
• I’ve heard so much about you
• Hello and welcome. You would formally greet a group this way.

How to say hello on the phone, in a text, or email

• We use hello, hi, and our name on the phone. If we know the person,
we might say hey, it’s me or just hi because the other person likely has
us listed in their phone.
• In a formal text, we always use hi or hello. For an informal text, we
don’t use any greeting because texting with people we know is usually
a continuing conversation.
• We always use Hi for emails, or Dear… if it is very formal.

How to say hello while also emphasizing something else

• Hello again – we use this to greet someone we have only met once
before; we say “again” to emphasize that we remember them.
• Well hello! – we use this to greet someone we’ve only met once, but
very much liked.
• Helloooooo – this is a written form, and is used in short messaging as
a greeting, but also to query an absence (where have you been all this
time?)
How we say hello in English when the situation is tricky and
we aren’t sure how we feel about it
English is full of voice tones and gestures that express courtesy. These are
vital to keep conversations smooth and flowing and can also prevent conflict.

For example, when we greet someone we don’t like much, we often

say, hiiiiiiii with a lilt. This sing-song tone can express tension and uneasiness
and can be used to express enthusiasm that we don’t actually feel.
• Hiiiiiii, fancy meeting yuuuu here

• Heeeey, how r yuuuuu

• Oh My God….I did NOT expect to see you here!
• Oh wow. Ok. Hi…
• Oh hello. Sorry, I didn’t expect to see you!

When we’ve had a falling out with someone, we might say hello or hi in
clipped tones that do not invite further conversation.
• Hey.

• Hi.
• Hello.
• A nod (with nothing actually spoken)
• A smile (and nothing actually spoken)
• A stiff smile (and then look away)
How to say hello in English in other English speaking
countries
What all of these forms have in common is each one is simply stating “hello”.
The question format is irrelevant; we aren’t asking an actual question, and we
don’t expect any other answer except “hello” or a format that means “hello”.

Like a Brit Like an American Meanwhile in Australia

Oi!

How are you? Mate!

Good morning
What’s up Hey, what’s up
Good afternoon
How are you going? Cheers
How do you do?
Yo, what’s up? You right?
What’s new?
Where’ve you been? How ya goin?
Well, look who it is!
Whassup? How are ya?
How have you been?
Hey man Howdy
What’s up buttercup?
Hey dude What’s going on?
What’s up doc?
How are you guys? What do you know?

How’s this weather?

Like the Irish In New Zealand And in Scotland

Guid mornin

How’s the form? Kia Ora (a Maori greeting) Guid eenin

What’s the story? Morning! Welcome!

Alright there? Hello. It’s cold out! How are ye?

How’s she cutting? Hi, how are you? How’s it gaun?

Hou's aw wi ye?
FAQs about saying hello in English
What are some English greeting faux-pas?
To greet a formal acquaintance very casually can cause discomfort, while to greet close
friends over formally signals that something is wrong, and they may ask you if
everything is ok.

To add physical touch to your greeting must be handled carefully. We

usually only greet with a physical gesture if we know the person very well.