How to Say Goodbye in 111 Different Languages 

“Hello” is usually the first thing we learn to say in other languages.

But knowing how to say “goodbye” is just as important. How else can you slip out of an awkward interaction without seeming rude?

It’s never too early to learn how to say goodbye.

Contents

• How to Say Goodbye in 12 Common Languages
• • Arabic: مع السلامة (ma’assalama)
  • Cantonese: 再見 (zài jiàn)
  • French: au revoir
  • German: auf wiedersehen
  • Italian: arrivederci
  • Japanese: しつれいします (shitsurei shimasu)
  • Korean: 안녕 (an-young)
  • Mandarin: 再见 (zàijiàn)
  • Polish: do widzenia
  • Portuguese: adeus
  • Russian: до свидания (do svidaniya)
  • Spanish: adiós
• Goodbye in 94 Languages Around the World
• Goodbye in Fantasy Languages
• And One More Thing...

How to Say Goodbye in 12 Common Languages

Below are some key phrases for saying goodbye in some of the world’s most popular languages. Each set of phrases is accompanied by a video that you can watch for more context and pronunciation.

Arabic: مع السلامة (ma’assalama)

As the entertaining video below from LearnArabicwithMaha explains, مع السلامة (ma’assalama) is a formal, polite way of saying goodbye. Maha mentions a “spoken” variation of ma’assalame—as with Arabic in general, pronunciation and usage can differ between dialects.

A common, informal way to say “bye” that’s likely to be more comfortable for English speakers is يلا باي (yalla bye), which you’ll notice actually uses the word “bye.”

Cantonese: 再見 (zài jiàn)

In Cantonese, you can use 拜拜 (bái bái) for a casual “bye,” which sounds like the English “bye-bye.” However, note that while the written syllables look the same, they’re pronounced in different tones.

再見 (zài jiàn) is a more formal way to say “goodbye,” and 遲啲見 (chí dī jiàn) is like “see you later.”

French: au revoir

Au revoir is one common, polite way to say “goodbye” in French, but there are many other ways! Salut, which can also be “hi,” is an informal way to say “bye.”

You can also check out this post on more ways to say goodbye in French to expand your repertoire.

German: auf wiedersehen

There are a ton of ways to say goodbye in German, but here are just a couple.

Tschüss is a common, informal way of saying “goodbye” in German. Auf Wiedersehen is a more formal goodbye that’s used less often.

Italian: arrivederci

You probably already know at least one of these. Ciao is the casual way of saying goodbye (or hello), while arrivederci is the formal equivalent.

It’s worth mentioning that ciao, like the English “bye,” has become very international, with some other languages having adopted their own spellings of it. You could probably often get away with using it in a random location informally, as people tend to know what it means.

So if you want to learn Italian, distinguish yourself from the pack early on by loading up on some basic but lesser-known Italian phrases.

Japanese: しつれいします (shitsurei shimasu)

Stop using sayounara. Yeah, I know Google Translate told you to, but as Misa points out in the video below, not only are you probably pronouncing it wrong, but you’re likely using it incorrectly and confusing people. In any case, there are other ways to say goodbye in Japanese that are much more common.

Instead, you could use またね (mata ne — see you later) or じゃあね (jaa ne — see you) as an informal way of saying goodbye to friends.

In a more formal situation, you can use しつれいします (shitsurei shimasu), which is a polite way of excusing yourself.

Korean: 안녕 (an-young)

In Korean, you can use 안녕 (an-young) as an informal way of saying “hi” or “bye” to close friends and family and those younger than you.

For a more polite goodbye, you can say 안녕히 계세요 (an-nyeong-hi-gye-se-yo) if you’re the one leaving and 안녕히 가세요 (an-nyeong-hi-ga-sae-yo) if you’re the one staying. You can see many other ways to say goodbye in Korean on this blog.

Mandarin: 再见 (zàijiàn)

再见 (zàijiàn) is goodbye in Mandarin Chinese. The video below goes into detail about the character construction and meaning.

In this video below, you can hear another pronunciation example of 再見, only you’ll notice it’s written a little differently here. This is just the difference between traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese.

Polish: do widzenia

In the video below, Marzena explains that do widzenia is a versatile expression for “goodbye” in Polish. You can use dobranoc to say “good night” or do zobaczenia to say “see you” in informal situations.

Portuguese: adeus

Adeus is a formal way to say goodbye. This term has a certain finality to it, so you’ll want to be careful how you use it.

An informal way to say goodbye is tchau, like the Italian ciao, though it tends to be used with a softer “s” sound in Portugal.

While the video below is from a European Portuguese learning channel, it outlines the differences in speech between Brazil and Portugal.

Russian: до свидания (do svidaniya)

In this video from Cafe Russian, we learn some ways to say goodbye, including the more polite до свидания (do svidaniya) and the casual пока (poka). The difference between formal and informal is a pretty big deal in Russian, so make sure to brush up on this if you want to learn it.

There’s also, once again, чао (chao) from the Italian ciao, but as the video notes, чао in Russian can’t be used to say hello, only goodbye.

Spanish: adiós

A common phrase for goodbye in Spanish is hasta luego, which can be used like “see you later.” Adiós is another common and versatile goodbye you’ve probably heard.

If you want some more tips on goodbye expressions, including why you may want to think twice before using the pop culture phenomenon hasta la vista, check out the Butterfly Spanish video below.

Goodbye in 94 Languages Around the World

Goodbye in Fantasy Languages

If you’ve enjoyed learning these expressions from the videos above, you might want to take it a step further and start learning a language with FluentU.

Learning “goodbye” in many languages isn’t just a good way to prepare yourself for encounters in those languages, but to see the similarities and differences between them.

Have fun with the videos in this post, and goodbye ’til next time!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

And One More Thing...

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