English Greetings for Every Day
The importance of English greetings exists in every situation where there is a possibility of having a conversation with a particular individual. The type of conversation can decide which kind of English greeting is to be used and what are the words and tone of the greetings to be kept in such situations.
English greetings have their importance and they are used in various situations and different types of English greetings exist to make sure that all of them can be used in an appropriate situation.
There are some different greetings when it comes to using them among friends while there are some different greetings when it comes to using them in formal situations. In this particular article, we will be knowing 20+ English greetings for every day and you as students of the English language can definitely learn from these greetings as to when you can use them appropriately and you will be able to feel more confident in your English language. Make sure you practice them in real-life conversations. Practicing English is FREE on the AceFluency App as you get 20 minutes of FREE calling practice talk time to connect 1:1 with co-learners.
Formal greetings:
As far as formal greetings are concerned, they are basically used in a formal way as they are known to be business-related greetings and the manner of using these formal greetings is always good with a professional tone.
There are certain situations where these greetings are used and they consist of job interviews, business meetings, communicating with top management, having a conversation with clients along chatting with a new colleague of a company. They are also used to show respect to and before a person whom you may know little about. Let’s know some of these formal greetings:
1. How have you been?
People use this particular greeting to ask about somebody’s condition starting in the past and to the present. It can be a condition related to mostly health and sometimes can refer to the professional situation of an individual. The best way you can use this particular greeting is to practice it as much as you can.
2. It’s a pleasure to meet you
This particular greeting is used basically in terms of expressing your satisfaction and happiness when you meet somebody. It’s a great gesture when you meet somebody for the first time or after a long time and because of this you are able to show that kind of feeling for the person you are meeting.
3. How do you do?
While meeting somebody for the first time, this particular greeting is used and it’s a great way of asking about someone’s well being. When it comes to professional responses in different languages, the responses can differ but mainly they remain as “fine, thank you” or some people may say “I’m doing well, thank you”.
4. Good morning / good afternoon
Such greetings are used at different times of the day and they basically happen when people try to welcome someone or they use such greetings to start any particular type of conversation in different situations.
It can be related to handling a customer or talking to a neighbour for the first time in the day. Using these greetings changes as per the time and good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night can have different time zones and they are used accordingly in different parts of the world.
5. Dear Sir or Madam
“Dear Sir or Madam” is basically a kind of greeting that is mainly used in letters and emails. These kinds of greetings are great in professional settings as they convey a better way of starting a particular conversation and they show respectful manners.
They also show the honour that the sender is showing to the one who is going to receive the message related to any particular thing related to business. These greetings are used for business purposes and they can connect well with the one who receives the message.
6. Dear Mr X / Mrs Y / Miss X
If you already have the knowledge about the title of somebody you are going to send the message to, it’s always going to be the preferable thing for you to add “Dear Mr” with your surname and this will definitely convey a great message in terms of how you respect the receiver of the message through emails or letters.
Also Check: 25+ Popular Proverbs in English With Meaning
Informal Greetings:
Informal greetings are those greetings that you can use in a chat with colleagues or having a conversation with your neighbors and they can certainly be great for informal situations. The informal situations include casual meetings, having a chat with your team members, and people in the neighbourhood as well as in situations of having a conversation with a friend.
7. Hello / Hey / Hi
These are the most popular greetings that are usually used among friends and they are used in informal situations. As far as these greetings are concerned, they mostly seem to be followed by the person’s name. For example, “Hello, John. What’s going on?”
8. Hi, how are you?
This greeting is also used in chatting as many friends get involved in conversations of different types and whenever they want to start a conversation, they always use such greetings.
9. How’s life?
This particular greeting is used to ask about somebody’s situation in life at present that is quite common, especially among colleagues to know about each other’s conditions. This shows the care for others in many ways as this is basically about asking about somebody’s overall well-being professionally or personally.
10. Morning / Evening / Night
It is definitely a friendly way to greet somebody in informal situations and you sound quite natural when you say these words to greet people at different times of the day.
11. How’s it going?
This is an informal view of asking about what is going on in somebody’s life and it has become an integral part of informal greeting.
12. Good to see you
When it’s been a while since you have seen somebody, and then suddenly you get to see that person that’s when you use “good to see you” greeting and it is definitely going to convey an adorable tone to greet somebody like this.
13. Long time no see
This particular greeting is used when you have not seen somebody for quite a long time and then you get to see that person. This can be used for any person whom you see after a long time in an informal situation.
Also Read: How to Improve Your English Reading Skills
Slang greetings:
Slang greetings are normally more informal and sometimes they can be unprofessional as well. It is important to be careful while using slang and they are mostly used among friends and close companions.
14. What’s up?
It is used in person as well as text messages and it is a way of asking how somebody is doing or what’s going on in life.
15. Sup
It is normally considered to be a shorter version of “What’s Up” and it started becoming more popular in America in the early 2000s.
16. Heyyy
It has become quite a normal thing for many people to add an extra “y” when greeting somebody at the start of the conversation and that’s why just to say hello, this long term is used very often in text messages with extra y.
17. Yo!
This particular greeting came from America in the 1990s and that’s where it is the most popular way of greeting someone.
All the greetings mentioned above are definitely going to be used in different situations and you should try your level best to use all of them whenever you think they are appropriate in terms of formality. There are some additional greetings that are used and let’s know some of the funny greetings that are widely used in different places:
18. Goodmorrow!
When you want to say good morning in a ridiculous way, this particular greeting is used. It is normally considered to be quite old-fashioned.
19. What’s up buttercup?
It is also a greeting but it can be a laughable one when it is used. Buttercup refers to a yellow flower that grows in grass so addressing someone as buttercup can look quite funny.
20. What’s crackin’?
In a funny tone, this is another method of saying “What’s Up” or “What’s going on” to somebody you meet.
21. Howdy!
When it comes to the abbreviation of “How do you do” this particular greeting is used especially in some regions of America and Canada.
22. Hello stranger!
It is again used in place of “long time no see” for somebody whom you have not seen for quite some time and this is another version of greeting someone like this.
Conclusion:
The greetings mentioned above are used in different contexts and situations and therefore you should always be careful when to use and when not to use the greetings mentioned above. You need to use all these greetings in an appropriate situation and you should practice these greetings as much as possible so that you may understand their contexts and also find them quite easy for you to use in your English.
These greetings will definitely add a great improvement in your English language which will boost your confidence in it. Make sure to practice them when you speak in English to improve your spoken English. You can practice English every day for FREE on the AceFluency App as you get 20 minutes of FREE calling talk time to connect 1:1 with co-learners every day.
