Question How do you say... ...in other languages?

[Thunder Chicken]

In Russian, that would be:

Привет! (pree-vEt)
Как дела? (kUhk deelAh?)
С добрым утром! (sdObryym OOtrohm)
Добрый день! (dObryy dEn')
Добрый вечер! (dObryy vEtcheer)
Всего хорошего! (fsivOH kharOshivoh) - but this is a bit more like a partying
Пока! (pakAH)

(the accented vowel is shown in capital.

This brings back memories of the Russian classes that I took in college years ago. Our professor was leading us through an challenge/response exercise one winter day and slipped in "снег идет!". To his great joy about 75% of the class reflexively turned to look out the window to see that it was indeed snowing. I'm afraid that was the apogee of my Russian language skills.

 

[RangerPL]

Word in English - Word in Polish - Pronounciation
Hello - Hej (More of a "hey" than anything) - Hey
How are you? - Jak sie masz? - Jakh shie mahsh
Good Morning - Dzien Dobry - Jen Dobreh
Good Afternoon - n/a
Good evening - Dobry Wieczor - Dobreh Viehchoor
Have a nice day - Milego Dnia - Mihlego Dniah
Good bye - Do widzenia - Doh Veed-zhenia

Propably not that good, but gives you an Idea. Polish is one of the hardest languages to learn (probably following all the far eastern ones).

 

[The Aviator]

Yes, you can use 'Hoi' when you met and when you part.
Which brings me to Italian.
I always say 'ciao' when I leave.
Is that totally wrong?

No, it isn't wrong. In (informal) Italian you can use "ciao" both when you meet somebody and when you leave.

 

[RisingFury]

In Slovenian:

Zdravo.
Kako si?
Dobro jutro.
Dover dan.
Dover večer.
Lep dan želim.
Nasvidenje.

 

[RangerPL]

Dobro jutro.

Lol, jutro means "tomorrow" in Polish.

 

[RisingFury]

"Jutri" means tomorrow in Slovenian.

 

[cjp]

Dutch a little less formal:

Hoi.
Hoe is 't?
Goeie morruge.
Goeie middag.
Goeien avond.
Goeie dag.
Hoi.

Yes, you can use 'Hoi' when you met and when you part.

That's very informal. I bet 'morruge' doesn't even exist in a dictionary. And 'goeie' is definitely how many people pronounce it, but it's not what the dictionary says.

And, how shall I say it, only some people use 'hoi' when they part. 'Doei' is also frequently said when leaving (informal; maybe not in all parts of the Netherlands either).

 

[SiberianTiger]

ST,

A Russian friend tried to teach me how to say "you're welcome" (I believe it was) and I had such trouble saying it...something like "Strab-tsvuttye" ??

Ciao
MT

No, you evidently confused one word for another: "Здравствуйте" is a greeting, a bit more formal than I've picked for the list, but also widely used. Pronounced like "SdrАh-stvuy-teh". The equivalent for "you're welcome" is "пожалуйста" - "pa-zhA-loos-tah".

 

[Sherrif of Nottingham]

What no French?
I guess I could supply, but I'm a French one so look out.

Hello:
Formal=Bonjour!
Informal=Salut!

How are you: Ça va?
Literally: Its going.
(Sa va)

Good Morning: Bon matin
(Bon mat-i...)

Good Afternoon: Bon après-midi
(bon apri- mid ee)

Good Evening: Bon soir
(bon s-wa)

Have a nice day: Vous avez un bon journee
Literally: You have a good day.
(Voo-z-ah v-ae uh-n bon joo rnay)

Goodbye: adieu
(ah dew)

Hmm, I'm not completely sure if thats correct, and the pronunciation makes sense to me even if not to you.

 

[agentgonzo]

Wie geht es Dir?

I haven't done German since GCSEs, but I was tought that the 'du' form was the informal pronoun, and 'sie' was the formal pronoun.
Is it not more polite to say "Wie geht es einen?" (spelling probably wrong) or has since been dropped or was I being lied to at school? I was told that using the informal pronoun in German to a stranger was tantamount to an insult


-----Post Added-----

How are you: Ça va?
Literally: Its going.
(Sa va)

Also used as "comment ça va?", meaning "How is it going?", just an expansion on the above.

Goodbye is also more formally "Au revoir", meaning "Until [we] see [eachother] again".

 

[MajorTom]

No, you evidently confused one word for another: "Здравствуйте" is a greeting, a bit more formal than I've picked for the list, but also widely used. Pronounced like "SdrАh-stvuy-teh". The equivalent for "you're welcome" is "пожалуйста" - "pa-zhA-loos-tah".

Thank you...evidently the word Здравствуйте was so tough for me to say (and it still appears tough, if I may say so) that I forgot what it even meant! :lol:

So it means "hello" or "good day" or the like?

Спасибо

 

[SiberianTiger]

Thank you...evidently the word Здравствуйте was so tough for me to say (and it still appears tough, if I may say so) that I forgot what it even meant! :lol:

So it means "hello" or "good day" or the like?

Спасибо

Здравствуйте = Hello. Привет = Hi. There's also "Здравствуй", with which you can greet someone you are familiar with - Russian uses plural for politeness like French does.


-----Post Added-----

This brings back memories of the Russian classes that I took in college years ago. Our professor was leading us through an challenge/response exercise one winter day and slipped in "снег идет!". To his great joy about 75% of the class reflexively turned to look out the window to see that it was indeed snowing. I'm afraid that was the apogee of my Russian language skills.

Actually, it was "снег идёт". The two hardest things in studying Russian is which vowel to accent in a word you never heard spoken (there's absolutely no rule on that) and in many cases, is it "е" or "ё" in a word - given that it's a common practice to type the former in place of the latter (I understand the idea of saving on typographic paint, but what's about saving on black pixels?..) - and they are quite distinct sounds making difference. At least, these are two problems that have no remedy other than memorization and speech practice.

 

[TSPenguin]

I haven't done German since GCSEs, but I was tought that the 'du' form was the informal pronoun, and 'sie' was the formal pronoun.
Is it not more polite to say "Wie geht es einen?" (spelling probably wrong) or has since been dropped or was I being lied to at school? I was told that using the informal pronoun in German to a stranger was tantamount to an insult

That is true, although it is "ihnen".
But you wouldn't as someone "Wie geht es ihnen?" on a formal occasion.
Unless you are implying that someone is ill or injured.
I rarely heard it beeing used to address a group of people in an opening to a lecture.

My impression only of course, maybe the other germans can comment on that.

Also you would hear "Wie geht's?" more often than "Wie geht es Dir?"

 

[Thunder Chicken]

Actually, it was "снег идёт". The two hardest things in studying Russian is which vowel to accent in a word you never heard spoken (there's absolutely no rule on that) and in many cases, is it "е" or "ё" in a word - given that it's a common practice to type the former in place of the latter (I understand the idea of saving on typographic paint, but what's about saving on black pixels?..) - and they are quite distinct sounds making difference. At least, these are two problems that have no remedy other than memorization and speech practice.

True - my pronunciation probably would have made you wince. :lol: I had particular troubles with the "-ый" group - there was some fine distinction in pronunciation that my professor kept trying get through to me, but I never picked it up. It always sounded like a strained "oi" to me.

 

[chrisfly]

Pronunciation:
Forget it, unless you want to sound like a US soldier right after WW2.
Life is too short to learn German.

If you are in northern Germany, forget "Hallo" and "Guten.....", just say "moin".

Just as much as it is recommended to use "Grüß Gott" in Bavaria, unless you want to sound like a foreigner, who learned German in the wrong state.

Well for english speakers the pronounciation is not too easy but I know some american friends who do quite well in talking German...
The word "Moin!" is meanwhile even used in southern Germany quite often and northern Germany usually means northwestern Germany, 'Grüß Gott' is a very old fashioned and catholic greeting but you don't need to go to Bavaria to hear it...
In Berlin for example an informal greeting is "Tach!", as it is an abbreviation of "Guten Tag!"
In southern Germany (it originally comes from Bavaria/Austria and is derived from the Latin language where it means "I will do it for you" or "I'll serve you") "Servus" is a typical informal greeting. In southwestern Germany we often say something like "Salli" which comes from the french word "salut"...