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English greetings

Hello and goodbye, greetings for the time of day, how are you and what to answer, names and titles, meeting someone new, where you are from, please, thank you and sorry. Eight units end with a full first conversation.

Progress

About this course

A Korean learner arrives at a friend's house for dinner at seven and says, Good night! The family laughs kindly, and one child asks, Are you going to bed already? In English, good night closes the evening, so the next time the learner says good evening at the door and saves good night for the end.

The eight units go through a first meeting in order: hello and goodbye, good morning, good afternoon and good evening, how are you and how to answer, your name and Mr and Ms, meeting someone new, where you are from and what you do, please, thank you, sorry and excuse me, and a first conversation from hello to goodbye. Good morning is used from when you wake up until about noon, good afternoon from noon until about five or six o'clock, and good evening after that. Asking back matters: if you only say Fine and stop, it can sound cold. Another scene has a student asked How are you? at a café till who begins to explain that she slept badly. At the till it is like a smile in words, and Good, thanks, you? is all you need.

Names and places come with rules. In English the first name usually comes first and the family name, also called the last name or surname, comes last, so Emma Brown, unlike in Korean, Chinese and Japanese. From goes with the country and the nationality word stands alone: I'm from Korea, I'm Korean, never I'm from Korean. The last unit shows how to close. Give a reason or signal, such as Well, I have to go, then a goodbye like It was nice meeting you. A complete first conversation can use only about 15 short lines.

Before you start

You can begin with no English at all, because each greeting comes with its meaning and a short situation. Knowing how English letters sound helps you say the phrases clearly, so English alphabet and pronunciation is a good partner. Be ready to listen and repeat lines aloud.

When you finish

Afterwards you can choose the right greeting for the time of day, answer How are you? with a short reply, and use Mr or Ms with a surname. You can introduce yourself, say where you are from and what you do, use please, thank you, sorry and excuse me in the right places, and hold a short first conversation from hello to goodbye.

  1. 1Hello and goodbyeGoodbye began as God be with you; Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1575.
  2. 2Good morning, good afternoon, good eveningGood night is a goodbye, not a hello: Cambridge says it is used when people leave in the evening or go to bed.
  3. 3How are you? and how to answerHow are you? is often part of hello, and the usual answer takes two seconds: Fine, thanks. And you?
  4. 4Your name, Mr and MsCambridge Dictionary says Ms is used before a woman’s name to avoid saying if she is married or not.
  5. 5Nice to meet you: meeting someone newCambridge Dictionary marks How do you do? as formal; the reply is the same question back.
  6. 6Where are you from? What do you do?What do you do? is not about today: it asks about your job or studies.
  7. 7Please, thank you, sorry, excuse meIn British English, cheers can mean thank you or goodbye, not only a word for raising a glass.
  8. 8A first conversation from hello to goodbyeA complete first conversation can use only about 15 short lines, and you already know all of them.

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Sources for this course (3)
  • Merriam-Webster, entries hello (first known use 1834, alteration of hollo) and goodbye (first known use 1575, alteration of God be with you) (merriam-webster.com/dictionary/...)
  • Cambridge Dictionary, entries how do you do?, good night, cheers, Ms, excuse me (dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/...)
  • British Council LearnEnglish, Speaking A1: Meeting new people (learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/speaking/a1/meeting-new-people) with the LearnEnglish team reply on nice to meet you and pleased to meet you, and Listening A1: Meeting a new team member (learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/free-resources/listening/a1/meeting-new-team-member).

Checked: 2026-10-17