Greetings and farewells: hello, goodbye, Happy New Year

Saying hello

When we see someone we know, we usually exchange greetings:

Good morning/afternoon/evening

Hello

Morning

Hi

Hi there

more formal

less formal

A:
Hi.

B:
Hello, how are you?

A:
Fine, thanks. How about you?

When we leave people, we usually say something as we leave:

Good night

Goodbye

Bye bye

Bye

See you later

See you

more formal

less formal

A:
See you later.

B:
OK. Bye.

Warning:

We use Good night only when we are leaving someone at the end of the day, before going home or going to bed:

[leaving someone’s house]

Good night. Thanks for a lovely evening.

[before going to bed]

I’m off to bed. Good night.

We use different expressions for celebrations:

on special occasions

Happy New Year!

Happy birthday!

to wish someone luck before an important event

Good luck!

to congratulate someone

Well done!

Congratulations! (more formal)

We don’t say congratulations to wish someone a happy birthday:

Happy birthday, Nora.

Not: Congratulations, Nora.

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