Greeting is an act of communication

Communication

Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...

 in which human beings (as well as other members of the animal kingdom) intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status

Social status

In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....

 between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. While greeting custom

Tradition

A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...

s are highly culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

- and situation-specific and may change within a culture depending on social status and relationship, they exist in all known human cultures. Greetings can be expressed both audibly and physically, and often involve a combination of the two. This topic excludes military and ceremonial salute

Salute

A salute is a gesture or other action used to display respect. Salutes are primarily associated with armed forces, but other organizations and civil people also use salutes.-Military salutes:...

s but includes rituals other than gesture

Gesture

A gesture is a form of non-verbal communication in which visible bodily actions communicate particular messages, either in place of speech or together and in parallel with spoken words. Gestures include movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body...

s.

Greetings are often, but not always, used just prior to a conversation.

Some epochs and cultures have had very elaborate greeting rituals, e.g., greeting of a king.

Secret societies

Secret society

A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...

 have clandestine greeting rituals that allow members to recognize common membership.

Greeting gestures

A greeting can consist of an exchange of formal expression, a simple kiss, a hand shake or a hug. The form of greeting is determined by social etiquette, as well as by the relationship of the people.

Beyond the formal greeting, which may involve a verbal acknowledgment and sometimes a hand shake, facial expression, gestures, body language and eye contact can all signal what type of greeting is expected. Gestures are the most obvious signal, for instance greeting someone with open arms is generally a sign that a hug is expected. However, crossing arms can be interpreted as a sign of hostility. Facial expression, body language and eye contact reflect emotions and interest level. A frown, slouching and lowered eye contact suggests disinterest, while smiling and an exuberant attitude is a sign of welcome.

Throughout all cultures people greet one another as a sign of recognition, affection, friendship and reverence. While hand shakes, hugs, bows, nods and nose rubbing are all acceptable greetings, the most common greeting is a kiss, or kisses, on the cheek. Cheek kissing

Cheek kissing

Cheek kissing is a ritual or social gesture to indicate friendship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, to show respect, or to indicate sexual or romantic interest....

 is most common in Europe and Latin America and has become a standard greeting in Southern Europe.

While cheek kissing is a common greeting in many cultures, each country has a unique way of kissing. In Russia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro the Netherlands and Egypt it is customary to “kiss three times, on alternate cheeks.” Italians & Hungarians usually kiss twice in a greeting and in Mexico and Belgium only one kiss is necessary. In the Galapagos women kiss on the right cheek only and in Oman it is not unusual for men to kiss one another on the nose after a handshake. French culture accepts a number of ways to greet depending on the region. Two kisses are most common throughout all of France but in Provence

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

 three kisses are given and in Nantes four are exchanged.

United Nations Languages

• Arabic: مرحبًا / سلام (marḥaban/salām)
• Chinese
  Chinese language
  The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
  
  : 你好 (Mandarin
  Mandarin
  -Officials:* Mandarin , a bureaucrat of Imperial China , Vietnam, and by analogy, any senior government bureaucrat-Language:...
  
  : nǐ hǎo, Cantonese
  Cantonese
  Cantonese is a dialect spoken primarily in south China.Cantonese may also refer to:* Yue Chinese, the Chinese language that includes Cantonese* Cantonese cuisine, the cuisine of Guangdong province...
  
  : nei⁵ hou²)
• English
  English language
  English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
  
  : Hello
• French
  French language
  French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
  
  : Bonjour, Salut
• Russian
  Russian language
  Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
  
  : Здравствуйте, Привет
• Spanish
  Spanish language
  Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
  
  : Hola, Buenos días

Other National Languages

• Afrikaans
  Afrikaans
  Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
  
  : Hallo
• Albanian
  Albanian language
  Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...
  
  : Përshëndetje
• Tamazight: Azul
• Armenian
  Armenian language
  The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
  
  : Բարեւ Ձեզ (Barev Dzez)
• Azerbaijani
  Azerbaijani language
  Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...
  
  : Salam
• Belarusian
  Belarusian language
  The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
  
  : Прывітанне (Pryvitannie)
• Bengali
  Bengali language
  Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
  
  : Namaskar / Salam/Adab
• Bulgarian
  Bulgarian language
  Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
  
  : Здравейте (Zdraveĭte)
• Burmese
  Burmese language
  The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...
  
  : Mingalarba
• Croatian
  Croatian language
  Croatian is the collective name for the standard language and dialects spoken by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina and other neighbouring countries...
  
  : Bok (informal), Dobar dan (formal)
• Czech
  Czech language
  Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
  
  : Ahoj (informal), Dobrý den (formal)
• Danish
  Danish language
  Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
  
  : Hej
• Dutch
  Dutch language
  Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
  
  : Hallo
• Estonian
  Estonian language
  Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
  
  : Tere
• Fijian
  Fijian language
  Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
  
  : Bula Vinaka
• Filipino
  Filipino language
  This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
  
  : Hello/Kumusta
• Finnish
  Finnish language
  Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
  
  : Hei, Terve, Hyvää huomenta/päivää/iltaa (formal)
• Georgian
  Georgian language
  Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
  
  : გამარჯობა gamarǰoba, გამარჯობათ gamarǰobat (plural or formal), გაუმარჯოს gaumarǰos
• German
  German language
  German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
  
  : Hallo (informal), Guten Tag (formal)
• Greek
  Greek language
  Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
  
  : Γεια σας (Yeia Sas) for formality, Γεια σου (Yeia Sou) for informality, Γειά simple
• Hebrew: שלום (Shalom)
• Hindi
  Hindi
  Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
  
  : नमस्ते (Namaste)
• Hungarian
  Hungarian language
  Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
  
  : Szia(sztok)/helló(sztok) (informal; sing./plur.); Jó napot kívánok (formal)
• Icelandic
  Icelandic language
  Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
  
  : Hæ
• Indonesian
  Indonesian language
  Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
  
  : Halo
• Persian
  Persian language
  Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
  
  : سلام / درود
• Irish
  Irish language
  Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
  
  : Dia Duit
• Italian
  Italian language
  Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
  
  : Ciao (informal), Salve (semi-formal), Buongiorno / Buonasera (formal)
• Japanese
  Japanese language
  is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
  
  : こんにちは (Konnichiwa)
• Korean
  Korean language
  Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
  
  : 안녕하세요 (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo)
• Latin: Salve(te) [sing./plur.]
• Latvian
  Latvian language
  Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
  
  : Sveiki, Sveicināti (semi-formal), Labrīt / Labdien / Labvakar (formal)
• Lithuanian
  Lithuanian language
  Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
  
  : Sveiki
• Macedonian
  Macedonian language
  Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
  
  : Здраво (Zdravo)
• Malay
  Malay language
  Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
  
  : Apa khabar
• Maltese
  Maltese language
  Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
  
  : Merhba!
• Nepali
  Nepali language
  Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
  
  : नमस्ते (Namaste)
• Norwegian
  Norwegian language
  Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
  
  : Hallo
• Persian
  Persian language
  Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
  
  : سلام (Salam)
• Polish
  Polish language
  Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
  
  : Cześć (informal), Dzień dobry (formal)
• Portuguese
  Portuguese language
  Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
  
  : Olá
• Punjabi Pakistan
  Punjabi language
  Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
  
  : ki haal ay کی حال اے 
• Romanian
  Romanian language
  Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
  
  : Salut (informal), Bună ziua (formal)
• Serbian
  Serbian language
  Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
  
  : Здраво/Zdravo (informal), Добар дан/Dobar dan (formal)
• Sinhalese: ආයුබෝවන් (Ayubovan)
• Slovak
  Slovak language
  Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
  
  : Ahoj (informal), Dobrý deň (formal)
• Slovenian
  Slovenian language
  Slovene or Slovenian is a South Slavic language spoken by approximately 2.5 million speakers worldwide, the majority of whom live in Slovenia. It is the first language of about 1.85 million people and is one of the 23 official and working languages of the European Union...
  
  : Živijo (informal), Zdravo (informal) Dober dan (formal)
• Somali
  Somali language
  The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
  
  : Haye
• Spanish
  Spanish language
  Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
  
  : Hola (informal), Buenos días (formal)
• Swahili
  Swahili language
  Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
  
  : Jambo
• Swedish
  Swedish language
  Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
  
  : Hej (informal), god dag/god afton (formal)
• Thai
  Thai language
  Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
  
  : สวัสดี (Sawatdi)
• Turkish
  Turkish language
  Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
  
  : Merhaba
• Ukrainian
  Ukrainian language
  Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
  
  : Доброго здоров'я (Dobrogo zdorovya), Добридень(Dobryden')
• Urdu
  Urdu
  Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
  
  : سلام (salām)
• Vietnamese
  Vietnamese language
  Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
  
  : Chào
• Welsh
  Welsh language
  Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
  
  : Helo
• Yiddish: שלום עליכם (sholem aleikhem)

Regional languages

• Basque
  Basque language
  Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
  
  : Kaixo
• Bavarian: Grüß Gott
• Catalan
  Catalan language
  Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
  
  : Hola
• Cebuano
  Cebuano language
  Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...
  
  : Komusta.
• Chamorro
  Chamorro language
  Chamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana Islands by about 47,000 people Chamorro (Chamorro: Fino' Chamoru or simply Chamoru) is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language, spoken on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan) by about 47,000 people Chamorro...
  
  : Hafa Adai
• Chewa: Moni Bambo
• Cree
  Cree language
  Cree is an Algonquian language spoken by approximately 117,000 people across Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Labrador, making it the aboriginal language with the highest number of speakers in Canada. It is also spoken in the U.S. state of Montana...
  
  : Tansi
• Frisian
  Frisian language
  The Frisian languages are a closely related group of Germanic languages, spoken by about 500,000 members of Frisian ethnic groups, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the second closest related living European languages to...
  
  : Hoi
• Hausa
  Hausa language
  Hausa is the Chadic language with the largest number of speakers, spoken as a first language by about 25 million people, and as a second language by about 18 million more, an approximate total of 43 million people...
  
  : Ina Uni
• Hiligaynon
  Hiligaynon language
  Hiligaynon, often referred to as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian language spoken in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines.Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Capiz but is also spoken in the other provinces of the Panay Island group, including Antique,...
  
  : Komusta.
• Hopi
  Hopi language
  Hopi is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people of northeastern Arizona, USA, although today some Hopi are monolingual English speakers.The use of the language has gradually declined over the course of the 20th century...
  
  : Mike
• Igbo
  Igbo language
  Igbo , or Igbo proper, is a native language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20 million speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. Igbo is a national language of Nigeria. It is written in the Latin...
  
  : Nde-Ewo
• Maori
  Maori language
  Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
  
  : Kia Ora
• Marathi
  Marathi language
  Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
  
  : Namaskar
• Navajo
  Navajo language
  Navajo or Navaho is an Athabaskan language spoken in the southwestern United States. It is geographically and linguistically one of the Southern Athabaskan languages .Navajo has more speakers than any other Native American language north of the...
  
  :
• Punjabi
  Punjabi language
  Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
  
  : Sat Sri Akal
• Pakistani Punjab
  Punjabi language
  Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
  
  : ki Hall ay
• Sulka
  Sulka language
  Sulka is a possible language isolate scattered across the eastern end of New Britain island, Papua New Guinea. There are about 3000 speakers.Sulka is very poorly attested. There is some evidence that it might be related to Kol or Baining....
  
  : Marot
• Tamil
  Tamil language
  Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
  
  : Vanakkam
• Telugu
  Telugu language
  Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
  
  : నమస్కారం (Namaskaram)
• Urhobo
  Urhobo language
  Urhobo is one of the Edoid languages and is spoken by the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria.-Phonology:Urhobo has a conservative consonant inventory for an Edoid language...
  
  : Mavo
• Waray
  Waray-Waray language
  Wáray-Wáray or Samarnon is a language spoken in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, and in some parts of the Leyte and Biliran in the Philippines...
  
  : Komusta.
• Zulu
  Zulu language
  Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
  
  : Sawubona

Gestures

• Añjali Mudrā
  Añjali Mudrā
  Añjali Mudrā or Pranamasana is a hand gesture which is practiced throughout Asia. It is used as a sign of respect and a greeting in India and amongst yoga practitioners and adherents of similar traditions...
  
  
• Bowing
  Bowing (social)
  Bowing is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many countries and distinctively in Europe. Sometimes the gesture may be limited to lowering...
  
  
• Cheek kissing
  Cheek kissing
  Cheek kissing is a ritual or social gesture to indicate friendship, perform a greeting, to confer congratulations, to comfort someone, to show respect, or to indicate sexual or romantic interest....
  
  
• Eskimo kissing
  Eskimo kissing
  The act known as eskimo kissing in modern western culture is loosely based on a traditional Inuit greeting called a kunik.A kunik is a form of expressing affection, usually between family members and loved ones, that involves pressing the nose and upper lip against the skin and breathing in,...
  
  
• Fist pound
  Fist pound
  The fist bump is a gesture similar in meaning to a handshake or high five. A fist bump can also be a symbol of giving respect. It can be followed by various other hand and body gestures and may be part of a dap greeting...
  
  , in which two individuals touch fists
• High-five
• Pressing noses
  Hongi
  A hongi is a traditional Māori greeting in New Zealand. It is done by pressing one's nose and forehead to another person at an encounter....
  
  
• Handshake
  Handshake
  A handshake is a short ritual in which two people grasp one of each other's like hands, in most cases accompanied by a brief up and down movement of the grasped hands.-History:...
  
  
• Hand-kissing
  Hand-kissing
  Hand-kissing is a gesture indicating courtesy, politeness, respect, admiration or even devotion by a man towards a woman, by a vassal towards his master or a child towards his parent or grand-parent....
  
  
• Hat raising or tipping
  Hat tip
  A hat tip is an act of tipping or doffing one's hat as a cultural expression of recognition, respect, gratitude, greeting, or simple salutation and acknowledgement between two persons....
  
  
• Hug
  Hug
  A hug is a form of physical intimacy, that usually involves closing or holding the arms around the neck, back, or waist of another person; if more than two persons are involved, this is referred to as a group hug. A hug, sometimes in association with a kiss, eye contact or other gestures, is a...
  
  
• Kowtow
  Kowtow
  Kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou, however the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu originally meant "knock with reverence", whereas kē has the general meaning of "touch upon ".In Han...
  
  
• Namaste
  Namaste
  Namaste is a common spoken valediction or salutation originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is a customary greeting when individuals meet, and a valediction upon their parting. A non-contact form of salutation is traditionally preferred in India and Namaste is the most common form of such a...
  
  
• Pranāma
  Pranāma
  Pranāma or ', the touching of the feet in Indian culture, is a show of respect and it is often an integral part of darshan. When greeting, children touch the feet of their family elders while people of all ages will bend to touch the feet of a great guru, murti or icon of a Deva .It is customary...
  
  
• Roman salute
  Roman salute
  The Roman salute is a gesture in which the arm is held out forward straight, with palm down, and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out parallel to the ground. The former is a well known symbol of fascism that is commonly perceived to be...
  
  
• Tehniyat
  Tehniyat
  Tehniyat is the symbolic gesture of "Warm Tiding". Arabs often take account of this gesture in numerous occasions , particularly while greeting a guest , relative or a friend. However, this rich Arabic word is widely used to name female new born Muslim babies by the followers of Islam. It is a...
  
  
• Waving, the gesture of moving one's hand back and forth
• Wai
  Thai greeting
  The Thai greeting referred to as the wai consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. It has its origin in the Indic Añjali Mudrā, like the Indian namasté and the Cambodian sampeah...
  
  

Voicemail greetings

Voicemail greetings are pre-recorded messages that are automatically played to callers, when the voicemail system answers the call. Some voicemail

Voicemail

Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...

 systems allow for different greetings to be played to different callers.

Telephone greetings

Most languages have alternate greetings to be used over the telephone

Telephone

The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...

. In this case, the greeting is meant to confirm whether the person on the other line is present.

The term "greeting" may also refer to a pre-recorded message replayed when the call cannot be answered.

Country/Language	Owner answers phone	Caller's response
Argentina	Hola?
Brazil	Alô?	Quem está falando?
Canada - Québec	Oui, allô?	Oui? C'est qui?
China - Hong Kong	Wei / 喂
Catalonia	Digui?
Finland	Haloo?
France	Allô?
Germany	using family name, often with first name
Hungary	Halló, jónapot kívánok! /	Halló, tessék!
Iceland	Halló?
India	Hello	Hello!
Iran	Alo. / Baleh?
Israel	Shalom.
Italy	Pronto. Chi parla?	Pronto. Sono , Parlo con ?
Japan	Moshi moshi / もしもし
Japan	Hai / はい	Dochirasama desuka? / どちら様ですか？
Japan	Hai / はい	Dare desuka? / 誰ですか？
Korea	Yeoboseyo? / 여보세요?	Nuguseyo? / 누구세요?
Malta	Hello?	Min hemm fuq il-linja?
Mexico	Bueno.	¿Con quien hablo?
Netherlands	using first and family name, sometimes only the first or family name is used.	Hallo met "name of caller"
Paraguay	Hola.	Hola. ¿Con quien hablo?
Poland	Słucham. / Halo?
Portugal	Está?	Quem fala?
Romania	Alo?	Cine e?
Russia	Slushayu vas. (Allyo?) / Слушаю вас.
Spain	Diga/Digame.
Spain - Catalonia	Digui?
Turkey	Alo? (Efendim?)	Kiminle görüşüyorum?
Venezuela	¿Aló?	¿Quien habla?
Vietnam	A-lo?

See also

Aloha Aloha Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, peace, compassion and mercy. Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting to say goodbye and hello... Ciao Ciao The word "ciao" is an informal Italian verbal salutation or greeting, meaning either "hello", "goodbye", "bye" or "hi". Originally from the Venetian language, it was adopted into the Italian language and eventually entered the vocabulary of English and of many other languages around the world... Etiquette Etiquette Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group... Hare Krishna List of greetings Mahalo Manners Manners In sociology, manners are the unenforced standards of conduct which demonstrate that a person is proper, polite, and refined. They are like laws in that they codify or set a standard for human behavior, but they are unlike laws in that there is no formal system for punishing transgressions, the... Parting phrase Parting phrase Parting phrases are elements of parting traditions, phrases used to acknowledge the parting of individuals or groups of people from each other....

Paschal greeting Paschal greeting The Paschal greeting is an Easter custom among Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Christians, as well as among some Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians... Salaam S-L-M Shin-Lamedh-Mem is the triconsonantal root of many Semitic words, and many of those words are used as names. The root itself translates as "whole, safe, intact".-Salam "Peace":... Salutation Salutation (greeting) A salutation is a greeting used in a letter or other written communication, such as an email. Salutations can be formal or informal. The most common form of salutation in a letter is Dear followed by the recipient's given name or title... Salute Salute A salute is a gesture or other action used to display respect. Salutes are primarily associated with armed forces, but other organizations and civil people also use salutes.-Military salutes:... Sat Sri Akaal Sat Sri Akaal Sat Sri Akal is a greeting in the Punjabi language used by followers of the Sikh religion.... Shalom Shalom Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, completeness, and welfare and can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye... Tashi Delek Tashi delek Tashi delek is a Tibetan greeting.-Origin and meaning:... Voicemail Voicemail Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...