Greetings in English

A handshake is the most common form of greeting among the English and British people and is customary when you are introduced to somebody new.

Content

1. General / formal greetings
2. Informal greetings
3. Slang English Greetings
4. Audio recording
5. Video – real greetings
6. Vocabulary

Greetings are the most important part of every conversation. The proper greeting forms a good first impression of a person. The first moments of an interaction you have with someone are crucial because they set the tone for the conversation to follow. That is why it is important to know how to use greetings properly and with confidence.

Here is a collection of greetings that you can use in order to build confidence and control during interactions.

General / formal greetings

“Hello” is probably the common word people use to greet someone. However, English-speaking people don’t always say “hello” and “how are you?”

There are specific greetings for informal, formal, business situations. Here is a list of the usual greetings. These greetings can be used in any formal situation, such as a business meeting or meeting someone’s parents, and they can also be used in informal situations as well.

In most business situations, it’s best to begin by using formal greetings. Formal greetings are also used when you meet older people.

There are some particular titles used for addressing strangers in English, and usually, it is more formal speech.

Notice: Most of these questions are giving you an invitation to talk about your life.

1. The common formal greeting is “How do you do?” This is a greeting, not a question. This greeting is VERY formal and quite uncommon, but it may still be used by some older people. The proper response is “I’m doing well” or, as strange as it seems, some people even ask “how do you do?” right back as an answer by shaking hands with someone.
2. The use of the greeting form “Good Morning / Good Afternoon / Good Evening” changes depending on the time of day (6 am-12 pm / 12 pm- 5 pm / 5 pm-10 pm). Keep in mind that “good night” is only used to say “goodbye”, so if you meet someone late in the day, remember to greet them with “good evening”.
3. “How are you?” is a question, and the most common and polite response is “I am fine, thank you and you?” You can use these expressions if you’re trying to be particularly polite.
4. “How are you doing?” / “How’s it going?” You can answer with “it’s going well”, “I’m doing well” or “I am good, and you?” depending on the question. Notice: Answering “good” is not grammatically correct.
5. “How’s everything ?/ How are things? / How’s life?” can be used to casually greet anyone, but most often they’re used to greeting someone you already know. Most people answer with “good” or “not bad”, but to make small talk, you could also briefly describe an interesting thing in your life, before asking “what about you?” to continue the conversation.

Informal greetings

English-speaking people usually greet each other in an informal way, so we have to learn how to use these common conversational greetings for friends, family, and strangers we meet in casual settings.

• Hi – Hi or hello!
• Hey / Hey man (“hey” is used for people who we have already met.)
• Morning / Afternoon / Evening ( The word ‘Good’ is dropped in informal situations).
• How’s you? – Fine thanks. You?
• What’s up? / What’s new? / What’s going on? / What’s the story?
• How’s your day? / How’s your day going?

1. “What’s up?, What’s new?, What’s going on?, What’s the story? “ English-speaking people use them to start a conversation. The real purpose of this question is to start a conversation, so most people will respond with “nothing” or “not much,” but to make small talk, you could also briefly share any news about your life, and then ask the person “what about you?”
2. “How’s your day? or How’s your day going?” These questions mean how you’ve been all day. These greetings are to be used later in the day with someone we see regularly: a co-worker or a cashier at the grocery store we see every evening. “It’s going well” is the grammatically correct response, but many people simply answer with “fine”, “good” or “alright”.

Slang English Greetings

Slang greetings are extremely informal and should only be used with people that you know very well and feel very comfortable with. Keep in mind that a lot of slang is regional.

• Yo! – This extremely informal greeting is common in America. This greeting should only be used with very close friends
• Are you OK? / You alright? / Alright mate? – This way of greeting is common in Britain. You can respond with “yeah, fine”, or simply “alright”.
• Howdy! – This is a very informal abbreviation of “how do you do?” that is common in certain parts of Canada and the U.S. Keep in mind that outside of these regions, you will sound like a cowboy, and it might make the other person laugh.
• Sup? / Whazzup? – These greetings are abbreviations of “what’s up?”. They are common among teenagers. The answer is “nothing” or “not much”.
• Hiya! / Howya? – short for “how are you?”, is commonly used in certain parts of England. As an answer, you can just say “hey!” right back.

By the way, notice that “good”, “fine” or “not bad” are perfect answers to almost any greeting question.

All these greetings are particularly popular among younger people.

Thank you / thanks / cheers

English-speaking people sometime say ‘cheers’ instead of thank you. You may hear ‘cheers’ said instead of ‘good bye’, what they are really saying is ‘thanks and bye’.

Audio recording

Video – real greetings

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jx5oXvuL_Lw?autoplay=0&loop=0&mute=0Real English

Vocabulary

Try to use one of these phrases or expressions the next time you speak English by greeting someone.

• to greet someone;
• to be greeted with words of joy;
• to impress the other people;
• to give the impression;
• to make a very strong impression on smb;
• to get the wrong impression about something;
• to be good at impressing people;
• to greet someone with some impressive hand waving.

Pictures