How to Say Goodbye in Several Different Languages

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posted on 17 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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There are many ways to say goodbye — more than there are languages to utter it, even. But saying goodbye is a fundamental part of most languages, one that new learners pick up quickly. Whether you're a roamer hoping to pick up slang for your next trip, or a dreamer filling your fantasies with sights and sounds, this tutorial should be of help. Read on to find out how to say "goodbye" in several different languages.

Steps

Saying Goodbye in Romance Languages

Say "goodbye" in Spanish. Spanish is the most-spoken Romance language in the world today, with upwards of 400 million speakers worldwide. It is spoken in Spain and across Central and South America. "Hasta la Vista." Meaning: "See you later." Pronunciation: Asta-la-VEE-sta "Despedida." Meaning: "Farewell." Pronunciation: Des-peh-DEE-dah "Adios." Meaning: "Goodbye." Pronunciation(s): ah-THYOHS (European Spanish); ah/DIOHS (Spanish of the Americas) "Te veo despues." Meaning: "I'll see you later." Pronunciation: day-VAY-o-des-pwace ""Cuidate."" Meaning: "Take care of yourself." Pronunciation: KUI-da-TAY

Say "goodbye" in Portuguese. Portuguese is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe among others. It has an estimated 250 million speakers worldwide, with 182 million speakers in Brazil alone. "Adeus" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: Ah-deh-ooSH "Adeus Meaning: May you go with God's blessing. "Tchau" is an informal way to say Goodbye and reserved to very close friends, it's considered Slang Meaning: "Bye" or "Ciao" Pronunciation: CHOW "Até Logo" Meaning: "See you later" Pronunciation: Ah-TaY-Loh-GOO "Até amanhã" Meaning: "Until tomorrow" yo man Pronunciation: ah-TAY-ah-ma-NYANG Slight variations in your tone could make words have different meanings, so be sure to practice the correct pronunciations.

Say "goodbye" in French. French is the official language in 29 countries. People speak it in regions in Canada, across much of central Europe, and even in Africa. It is estimated that there are 113 million native French speakers in the world, and approximately 170 million who either speak it as a second language or are currently learning to speak it. "Adieu" Meaning: "Farewell" Pronunciation: ah-DYØH "Au Revoir" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: oh-VWAHR "À bientôt" Meaning: "See you soon Pronunciation: ah-bee-EN-toe "À demain" Meaning: "See you tomorrow" Pronunciation: ah-DE-mah

Say "goodbye" in Italian. Italian is closely descended from Latin. It is spoken in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, and the Vatican City, as well as across the world by minorities. Many people who speak Italian are bilingual, meaning they speak other languages in addition to Italian. There are approximately 85 million Italian speakers worldwide. "Arrivederci" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: ahr-REE-va-DER-chee "Addio" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: ahd-DEEH-oh "Ciao" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: CHOW "Buona sera" Meaning: "Good evening" Pronunciation: BWOH-nah-SEH-rah "Buona Notte" Meaning "Good Night" Pronunciation BWOH-nah-NO-tay

Say "goodbye" in Romanian. The Romanian language is primarily spoken in Romania and Moldova, with approximately 24 million speakers worldwide. Although it descended from Vulgar Latin, Romanian was influenced by Slavic and Greek languages in the Middle Ages. "La revedere" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: LA-re-ve-DEH-re "Rămas bun" Meaning: "Farewell" Pronunciation: RAH-mas-boon "Pa" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: PA

Saying Goodbye in Germanic Languages

Say "goodbye" in German. German is the most widely spoken language in the European Union. In fact, modern English is descended from the West Germanic language. Today, more than 100 million native speakers of German exist, in countries ranging from Germany and Switzerland to Namibia. "Auf Wiedersehen" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: owf-VEE-der-zayn "Bis dann" Meaning: "Until then" Pronunciation: BISS-dun "Bis bald" Meaning: "Until soon" Pronunciation: BISS-balt "Bis später" Meaning: "Until later" Pronunciation: bis-SHPAY-ta "Tschüss" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: CHÜSS "Tschau" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: CHOW "Ade" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: ah-DAY

Say "goodbye" in Dutch. Dutch is spoken as the native language in the Netherlands, and by majority populations in Belgium and Suriname. It is spoken as a first language by over 20 million people worldwide, and has a recognizable connection to both Afrikaans and English. "Tot ziens" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: tut-ZEENS "Dag" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: DACH "Doei" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: DOO-EY

Say "goodbye" in Swedish. A descendant of Old Norse, Swedish is spoken in Sweden and in parts of Finland. Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish are mutually intelligible, meaning that speakers of one can understand speakers of another, even if they don't understand the language. There are roughly 10 million native Swedish speakers worldwide. "Hejdå" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: HEY-doh "Adjö" (adieu) Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: ah-YEU "Adjöss" Meaning: "So long" Pronunciation: ah-YEUSS "Vi ses" Meaning: "See you" Pronunciation: vee-SAISS "Ha det så bra" Meaning: "Take care" Pronunciation: HA-de-se-BRA

Say "goodbye" in Danish. Danish is spoken in the homeland of Denmark, as well as in parts of northern Germany and in parts of Greenland. Danish is spoken by roughly six million people. "Farvel" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: fa-VEL "Vi ses" Meaning: "See you" Pronunciation: VEE-saiss "Hej hej" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: hey-hey

Say "goodbye" in Norwegian. Native language to nearly five million people, Norwegian is spoken mainly in Norway, although it is understood by Swedes and Danes. Written Norwegian is broken up into two forms — "Bokmål" (meaning "book tongue") and "Nynorsk" (literally "new Norwegian"). "Farvel" Meaning: "Farewell" Pronunciation: FAR-vel "Ha det bra" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: Ha-de-BRA "Hade" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: HA-day "vi snakkes" Meaning: "Talk to you later" Pronunciation: VEE-snuck-es

Say "goodbye" in Afrikaans. The official language of South Africa, Afrikaans, developed as Dutch settlers and indigenous African mixed languages beginning in the 17th century. Today, an estimated 15 to 23 million people call Afrikaans their mother tongue. "Totsiens" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: TOTE-seens "Tot weersiens" (informal) Meaning: "So long" Pronunciation: TOTE-veer-seens "Tot wederom" (informal) Meaning: "See you again soon" Pronunciation: TOTE-VAY-der-OM "Wederdom" (informal) Meaning: "(See you) again" Pronunciation: VAY-der-OM "Koebaai" Meaning: "Goodbye" (informal; derived from English "Goodbye") Pronunciation: ko-BAI "Ghoebaai" Meaning: "Goodbye" (derived from English "Goodbye") Pronunciation: go-BAI "Baai" Meaning: "Bye" (informal; derived from English "Bye") Pronunciation: bai "Arriewarie" Meaning: "Goodbye" (informal; folk etymology from "Au revoir") Pronunciation: [not found] "Vaarwel" (formal) Meaning: "Farewell" Pronunciation: far-VEL

Saying Goodbye in Slavic Languages

Say "goodbye" in Russian. The Russian language, the official language of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and others, is the 8th most widely spoken language in the world. Although it can be rendered in the Latin alphabet, it is commonly written in Cyrillic. "Do svidaniya" / "До Свидания" Meaning: "Goodbye" (lit.: "Until the next time we meet") Pronunciation: Do-sve-DAN-ya "Poka" / "Пока" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: pa-KA "Do vstrechi" / "До Встречи" Meaning: "Until we meet again" Pronunciation: DO-vtr-ETCHY "Udachi" / "Удачи" Meaning: "Good luck" Pronunciation: oo-DA-chee

Say "goodbye" in Polish. Polish is the second most widely-spoken Slavic language, behind Russian. There are an estimated 40+ million Polish speakers around the world. Polish is written according to the Polish alphabet. "Do zobaczenia" Meaning: "See you" Pronunciation: doh-zoh-bah-CHAN-ya "Żegnaj" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: dzen-NAI (the "dz" sound is the same sound as the "si" in "vision")

Say "goodbye" in Croatian. Croatian, also called hrvatski jezik, is spoken in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina. There are roughly 5 to 7 million Croatian speakers woldwide. "Doviđenja" Meaning: "Goodbye" (as in Russian, literally means "until we see again") Pronunciation: doh-vee-JEN-ya "Bog" Meaning: "God" (literally means "God", but can be pronounced “bok,” so it is differentiated from the word "God") Pronunciation: BOK "Ćao" Meaning: "Ciao" (primarily used in Coastal Croatia, because of it location very close to Italy, where you would say "Ciao" and the pronunciation of Ciao and Ćao are similar, if not the same) Pronunciation: CHOW "Idi s Bogom" Meaning: "Go with God" Pronunciation: ee-Dee's Boh-gom

Say "goodbye" in Czech. Commonly known as Bohemian before the 20th century, Czech is spoken by over 10 million native speakers. In Czech, as in some other Slavik languages, there are many words that don't contain a vowel. "Sbohem" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: "sbo-HEM" "Na shledanou" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: "nah-SKLE-dan-oh" "Ahoj" Meaning: "See you" Pronunciation: "a-HOY"

Say "goodbye" in Slovene. Spoken by roughly 2.5 million people as a mother tongue, Slovene is the language of the people of Slovenia. "Nasvidenje" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: nas-VEE-dan-yeh "Adijo" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: ah-DEE-oh "Čav" Meaning: "Ciao" Pronunciation: CHAHV

Saying Goodbye in Asian Languages

Say "goodbye" in Japanese. "Sayōnara" / "さようなら" Meaning: "Goodbye (forever)" (this implies that you don't know when you will meet again with the person you're saying this to) Pronunciation: sai-OH-nar-ah "Jā ne" / "じゃあね" Meaning: "See you" (informal) Pronunciation: JAH-neh "Jā mata ne" / "じゃあまたね" Meaning: "See you again" Pronunciation: JAH-ma-ta-neh "Oyasuminasai" / "おやすみなさい" Meaning: "Good night" (say only when it is late at night) Pronunciation:

Say "goodbye" in Mandarin. "Zài jiàn" / "再见" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: tzai-JIEN "Míng tiān jiàn" / "明天見/明天见" Meaning: "I'll see you tomorrow" Pronunciation: "miin-tyen-JIEN "Yī huĭr jiàn" / "一會兒見/一会儿见" Meaning: "See you later" (the same day) Pronunciation: ee-hwur-JIEN "Huí tóu jiàn" / "回頭見/回头见" Meaning: "See you later" (the same day) Pronunciation: hway-toh-JIEN

Say "goodbye" in Cantonese. "Joigin" / "再見" Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: JOI-gin "Bāaibaai" / "拜拜" Meaning: "Bye" Pronunciation: bai-bai

Say "goodbye" in Korean. "Annyeong" / "안녕"(Informal) Meaning: "Goodbye" Pronunciation: AN-nyeong "Anyeonghi Gasyeo" / "안녕히 가세요" Meaning: "Goodbye" (if you're staying and the other person is leaving) Pronunciation: AN-nyeong-HE-ga-SEH-yo "Annyeonghi Kyeseyo" / "안녕히 계세요" Meaning: "Goodbye" (if you're the one that is leaving) Pronunciation: AN-nyeong-HE-gye-SEH-yo

Saying Goodbye in Indo-Aryan Languages

Say "goodbye" in Hindi. "Namaste" (same as hello) "Fir milenge" (see you) "Alvida" (Goodbye, bit formal)

Say "goodbye" in Punjabi. "Alweda" / "ਅਲਵਿਦਾ" "Rabb rakha" / "ਰੱਬ ਰਾਖਾ" "Guru rakha" / "ਗੁਰੂ ਰਾਖਾ"

Say "goodbye" in Nepalese. "Namaste" "Subha yatra" "Feri bhetaula"

Say "goodbye" in Bengali. "Bidāẏa (nichhi)" / "বিদায় (নিচ্ছি)" ([I take your] farewell) "Bhaalo thaakben" / "ভালো থাকবেন" (Stay well) "Aabar dekha hobey" / "আবার দেখা হবে" (We will meet again) "Aashchhi" / "আসছি" (It means 'coming'. Colloquially, it is believed to be improper to say 'going'. Instead, by saying 'coming', the speaker makes a promise/gives a hope of revisit)

Say "goodbye" in Sinhalese. "Nawatha hamu wemu" (This means "Catch you later") "Subha dawasak" (This means "Have a nice day") "Gihillā ennam" / "ගිහිල්ලා එන්නම්" "Mama yanawā" / "මම යනවා"

Say "goodbye" in Marathi. "Punha bhetu"

Say "goodbye" in Gujarati. "Aavjo" / "આવજો"

Saying Goodbye in Semitic Languages

Say "goodbye" in Arabic. "Ma'a as-salaama" / "مع السلامة" Meaning: "With safety/peace." "As-salaamu 'alaykum" / "السلام عليكم" Meaning: "Peace upon you." "Elalleqa" Meaning: "Till the meeting."

Say "goodbye" in Hebrew. "L'hitraot" / "להתראות" "Shalom" / "שָׁלוֹם" Meaning: "Peace" "Shalom aleichem" / "שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם" Meaning: "Peace be upon you."

Saying Goodbye in Austronesian/Polynesian Languages

Say "goodbye" in Tagalog. "Paalam na" Meaning: "Goodbye, now." Pronunciation: puh-AH-lam-nah "Aalís na ako" Meaning: "I'm leaving now." Pronunciation: uh-ah-LISS-na-a-KOH

Say "goodbye" in Pangasinan. "Sige la"

Say "goodbye" in Malay. "Selamat jalan" "Selamat tinggal"

Say "goodbye" in Indonesian. "Sampai jumpa" ("see you later"; literally "until meet") "Sampai bertemu lagi" ("until we meet again") "Daag" (non-formal)