Phrases
South Africa
Hello / Good afternoon
Hello / Good afternoon
Standard daytime greeting, works in almost all situations
Hello / Good day
Hello / Good day
Always say this when entering any shop, restaurant, or office
Nice to meet you
Nice to meet you
Hello
Hello
Works at any time of day with anyone
Good evening
Good evening
Use after around 6–7pm
Good morning
Good morning
Formal good morning. "Ohayou" alone is casual
Good morning
Good morning
Used until about noon
Nice to meet you too
Nice to meet you too
How are you?
How are you?
Good evening
Good evening
Good afternoon
Good afternoon
Noon to evening
Goodbye
Goodbye
I'm doing well
I'm doing well
Please
Please
Formal. "S'il te plaît" is informal
Goodbye
Goodbye
Formal farewell; "jaa ne" is more casual among friends
Goodbye
Goodbye
"Hasta luego" (see you later) is also very common
Thank you
Thank you
"Merci beaucoup" for a warmer thank you
Thank you very much
Thank you very much
The most important phrase you can learn. Use it often.
I'm well
I'm well
Please
Please
Excuse me
Excuse me
"Pardon" works for brief apologies
Excuse me / Sorry
Excuse me / Sorry
Use to get attention, apologize, or excuse yourself — extremely versatile
How's it going?
How's it going?
Thank you
Thank you
It's going well
It's going well
You're welcome
You're welcome
Excuse me
Excuse me
"Perdón" to apologize, "con permiso" to pass through a crowd
What's up?
What's up?
I'm relaxing at home
I'm relaxing at home
I'm working, what are you doing?
I'm working, what are you doing?
What's new?
What's new?
Good morning
Good morning
Good afternoon
Good afternoon
Goodnight
Goodnight
Sleep well
Sleep well
Sweet dreams
Sweet dreams
talk to you later
talk to you later
talk to you again soon
talk to you again soon
See you then!
See you then!
See you there!
See you there!
How's your family doing?
How's your family doing?
How're they doing?
How're they doing?
They're doing well
They're doing well
I've been well
I've been well