Hello in different languages can mean far more than a direct translation. A greeting can ask a question, wish someone peace or good health, mark the time of day, or change depending on who is speaking. Some languages have no single equivalent of the English word at all.

Put hundreds of them together and the similarities become as interesting as the differences. The same ideas recur across languages separated by geography, history and writing system, while others preserve ways of greeting that belong to a particular place or culture.

This exhibit brings together hundreds of languages and language varieties from across the world and across history. Each entry gives a greeting, and a farewell wherever one could be reliably sourced. Every word follows evidence specific to that language; none are simply translated from English.

Not every language has a direct word for hello. A greeting might be a question, a blessing, a wish for health or peace, or something tied to the time of day. It can also change depending on who’s speaking and who they’re speaking to. Historical entries use only what survives in the written record, which is often formal, religious, or drawn from letters rather than everyday speech. Where no reliable form could be found, the field is left blank.

Speaker figures are approximate and are not always comparable from one entry to the next. Some count only native speakers, while others include second-language speakers or a wider language group. Where a solid figure couldn’t be matched to the exact entry, it’s left blank too.