Hello -Please- Excuse Me- Good-Bye - Thank You ???
 

I'd like to ask Europeans on this board to set me straight on what is the best way to say such pleasantries in the local language for:

1-Hello

2-Pardon Me

3-Please

4-Good-Bye

5-Thank You!

Here's what I say now - please correct me or suggest alternatives! As a veteran traveler I should know all of these but realize I do not. Help!

Hopefully anyone taking a trip who does not speak the local language may also benefit?

FRENCH
1- Bonjour
2-Excusez-moi or Pardon
3- S'il vous plait or Pour favour
4- Au revoir or A Bien Tot if you will see them soon?
5- Merci or merci beaucoup

anything that is also commonly used along with these or instead of these?Or like for thank you something like thank you very much?

GERMAN
1- Guten Tag
2- Pardon ???
3- Bitte
4- Auf viedersehn
5- Danke

ITALIAN- need big help here
1- bongiourno?
2- Pardon??
3. Graaze
4. caio caio (ciao ciao?)
5-Graaze

DUTCH
1- Daag!
2- Pardon
3- Please
4- Daag! Tot ziens
5- dank u (wel)

I am interested in the most common versions of these and some common alternatives?
Is pardon used everywhere?

Thanks a lot!

You French words are sometimes spelled wrong. "pour favor" is supposed to be "por favor", I suppose, but that is Spanish, not French. That is pretty basic info. The phrase "Je vous en prie" is sometimes used to mean please, but it can mean something else, no need to get fancy if you don't know French at all, stick to the basics, which is s'il vous plaît, at least sometimes. You wouldn't use that word for please to say "please call me", though, or a phrase like that.

See you soon, is à bientôt, that is one word.

These phrases are in any basic traveler's phrasebook or easily found online.

These phrases are in any basic traveler's phrasebook or easily found online.>

Yes but often things change with locals -like clerks in States now often say "have a good one" and rarely heard that not long ago IME.

Thanks for your edification, seriously.

Italian:

1. Buon giorno, or buona sera from late afternoon on. [Bwone JYORN oh] or [BWONE ah SAY rah]
2. Mi scusi. [Mee SCOO zee]. Pardon is French, but many Italians understand it.
3. Per favore [Pair fah VORE ay]
4. Ciao is very familiar. Best to say Buon giorno or buona sera, unless talking to a kid or anyone up to age 30. Or you can say Arrivederci, which implies you'll be seeing each other again. Shopkeepers usually say this, because they hope so. I assume English speakers know how to say this word.
5. Grazie [GRAH zee ay] Most English speakers seem to leave off the "ay"; in Italian there are no silent vowels.

Dutch do not use please.
They say graag or alstublieft or alsjeblieft depending on the situation. Since the latter words mean if it pleases you (just like síl vous plait) you will hear it said when giving something - a waiter giving you food, or you someone giving money to pay for something.
If you would like something you say might add graag, but mostly you just say Ik wil... and end with dank u/je.

Goedendag is the formal for hello, and the Dutch are very aware of the time of day, so will say goede morgen, middag of avond.
Daag can be hello or goodbye. You may also hear doe, or doei amongst other local variations.

Pardon is pronounced in the French way, not the English, but you can also use sorry, or more formally neem me niet kwalijk.

No doubt menachem, Mirjam or Tulips will come along and correct this - i am not a native speaker after all.

Mucho grazie ??? bvlenci!

The fact that you are asking is noteworthy with a lot of travelers not bothering to!

Pardon is pronounced in the French way, not the English, but you can also use sorry, or more formally neem me niet kwalijk.>

Ah yes now I recall Sorry pronounced kind of like So-ry?

I should have known, or did, alstublieft or alsjeblieft = don't they also say just "bleef"?

And please like in Pils Please I guess is a Belgian Dutch thing - and I remember folks there also saying Please like thank you -

like in when you pay for something I distinctly recall folks saying it and nodding their head like good-bye.

Anyway hetismij Dank u very wel for all that nice info - I got a lot to learn in Dutch.

(What are the nuances of saying Tot Ziens?)

Tot gauw - usually when you hope to see someone soon, but haven't arranged anything. Tot straks - when you have arranged to meet up later.

The Belgians tend to say bleef, the Dutch may shorten it to alstu or alsje.

You would say een pils graag, or ik wil een pils, dank je, and the waiter would say alstublieft when he brings it to you.

And now welterusten, slaap zacht, I'm off to bed.

A quick addition before I sleep.
You can also be very polite and say Mag ik een pilsje alstublieft.

Welterusten

Mag ik een pilsje alstublieft hetismij!

Italian uses prego more than per favore for please. Prego is also used for grazie (These depend, of course, on the location)

"Mucho grazie ??? bvlenci!"

molto grazie (Mucho is Spanish) If really delighted you can throw in a moltissime for molto every now and then.

As said above, avoid ciao...too informal for a guest

Stupid question that had been bothering me...

I understand merci, bonjour, au revoir. Greetings/endings. But is it better to what little French I know or just stick to English for the rest- for example, "I'd like to buy that, please" or "I'd like to buy that, s'il vous plait"...

I understand that it is courteous to try to use the native language, but I butcher French and then I just feel rude/foolish for attempting it!

German is an extremely polite language. Pardon in German is a little more complicated and depends a great deal on regional usage. Better to listen to what others are saying.

Wie bitte? (informal response when you haven't heard or understood the person, sort of like comment?)

Entschuldingen Sie bitte (polite for excuse me)

My Oma used Verzeihung which is very proper and old fashioned I guess. "Ich bitte um verzeihung"

Es tut mir leid . . .for a sympathetic I'm sorry for you or what happened to you.

And when you run into someone with your bike or shopping cart you can use all of the above

German posters should tell you what's current now.

I don't think that "prego" is used more than "per favore" in Italian to mean, "Please". You might use "prego", but also "per favore", when asking something to stop doing something, like, "Prego, could you turn the music down?" For simple requests, "per favore" is the standard. I don't hear people saying, "Pass me the salt, prego."

I think that for travelers, "per favore" is the most useful all-purpose expression for "please".

When "prego" is used for "please", it often means something like, "Please do!", "Go right ahead!", or "Be my guest". For instance, in response to someone who asks, "May I sit here?" This is one situation where "prego" would be more appropriate than "per favore". Similarly, you could say "Prego, try some of these cookies." Only in these circumstances, I would definitely prefer "prego" to "per favore".

I can't imagine any situation when "prego" would means "thanks". "Prego" is most often used to mean, "You're welcome." You could also respond, if you're being thanked for a big favor, or for buying someone a drink,"Niente", meaning, "it's nothing", or "Don't mention it." "Piacere", or "piacere mio", meaning "my pleasure" can also mean, "You're welcome".

When someone is introduced to you, you should say "Piacere", meaning "pleased to meet you". The other person then responds, "piacere mio", meaning, "The pleasure is mine."

Some people say, "per piacere", which sort of means "to please me", or "as a pleasure to me", instead of "per favore".

People also say, "Mille grazie", or "a thousand thanks", instead of just, "grazie".

For "excuse me", "Mi scusi" is most often used to to apologize, for instance, if you accidentally jostle someone. If you really do some damage, such as spilling wine on their shirt, you could apologize more strongly, with "Mi dispiace [tanto]" (I'm [very] sorry.) When you're excusing yourself for trying to work your way through a crowd, or to get to your seat in the middle of the row at the theatre, you would more likely say, "Permesso", which means "permission". If you're stepping on toes, it's polite to add, "Mi scusi" and if you step on someone's bunion, "Mi dispiace tanto!"

You also say, "Mi dispiace [tanto]" to say you're sorry for someone's misfortune.

People often say "permesso" when they enter your home, even if you've invited them in.

Also in Italian, when "pardon" is used, it's pronounced as in French.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but you spelled "auf Wiedersehen" wrong above.

Just be aware that there are a lot of regional differences in each language. For instance Ausrian German is way different from Swiss german and the more general German and also Bavarian may vary. They say Gruss gott instead of guten tag for good morning.

bvlenci I don't think salve is used where you live but in Sicily and the south, it seems to be used as a greeting, but also you're welcome and maybe more. I can never figure out all the nuances of the word.
But I like it, it seems a little more informal.

blvenci

Interesting prego discussion. I misread her number system and didn't mean prego as a grazie substitute but as a response to grazie along with di niente, or the various piaceres. In Italy I do hear more "per piacere"s than "per favore"s. "Prego" is commonly used in Sicily in all sorts of situations.

The Italian usage I love is "pronto" for a telephone hello substitute.

As poster above said, there are lots of regional differences. The German ciao (Tschuess) used to be used mostly in N. Germany but the usage has spread to much of Germany.

I try to listen to what others are saying and certainly don't mind being corrected.

sundriedtopepo

Good point on the salve! I heard that a lot in Sicily used informally by my Sicilian friends.

On a trip to Italy this summer I was surprised by the Salves (the hey/hi kind) I received in Le Marche, Lazio and Abruzzo. I had thought they were almost entirely a Southern thing especially with strangers/tourists.

I use Salve as a greeting a lot, usually in that time between day and late afternoon when I can never get the timing of Buona Sera right. But I have never heard it used as anything other than a greeting.

rialtogrl I think you are right about salve being only a greeting. I could be getting it confused with "prego" which seems to have several uses as above.

German:

1-Hallo is frequently used - it is less formal than Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend, but widely common and can be used any time of day.

2-Entschuldigung - often people will just mutter something that just sounds like "'schulljung". Can be used both for "Excuse me" and "Sorry!"
"Verzeihung" is a stronger apology for more severe cases. "Sorry" is also often used.

3-Bitte - for all uses (see the discussion above concerning the Italian "prego" vs. "per favore": German has no such distinction.) "Bitte!" is als the appropriate answer to "Danke!", in the sense of "You're welcome". So this one is easy.

4-Auf Wiedersehen (formal) or Tschüss (informal). The Italian "ciao" ("tschau") is also in use. "Servus" can sometimes be heard in the south.

5-Danke - also universal.

1- Daag!
2- Pardon
3- Please
4- Daag! Tot ziens
5- dank u (wel)

Goedemorgen, goedemiddag, goedenavond depending on time of day, or simply: Hallo

Pardon, or "sorry", "Neem me niet kwalijk" is more formal. If you bump into someone, "sorry" is mostly used, if you want to pass someone who is blocking your path, "pardon". The Hague east of Venestraat is "pardon" territory (slightly posh)

Alstublieft (if you hand something to someone, or do something for someone)
Graag if you want something

Dag; Tot ziens (slightly more formal) Doei (very informal)

Dank u wel

Tssss.

Sorry is :
Wees zo goed mij te verontschuldigen.
In Flemish.
Or :
Auriez-vous l'obligeance de me pardonner.

One thing that amazes me in Germany is 'malzeit' (sp) which is used everywhere around noon but never at home I have been told.

Polish
Dzien dobry. Smatchnego (sp) dzien kuye bori dupa. Czech. Etc.

Never mind the Serbian: what's the English for "pardon me"?

Is this a phrase that means something in Detroit, or did PalQ invent it after overdosing on the paint again?

Or in Flemish 'wadde ?' sorry and astableef work wonders.

In French don't forget 'hein' that you can vary with ? = what ? With ! = n'est ce pas ? Or sure

What did Wo overdose on when he tried that Polish..?

So here is the proper Polish:

1. Dzień dobry (Good day), Dobre wieczór (Good evening) or cześć (informal)

2. Przepraszam (Excuse me) resp. Bardzo my przykro (I'm sorry). ("Smacznego" is what you say when starting a meal!)

3. Proszę

4. Do widzenia or Do zobaczenia

5. Dziękuję

(Forget it, as hardly any foreigner is capable of pronouncing these;-))

I can pronounce some but cannot write it. I am glad you got what I meant !
I have memorized 'happy new year'.
And have told how to say headache but glowa didn't enter my brains so I was taught via ... Dupa.
But my polish colleagues obviously have fun when they teach me a word.

Cziesc

prziatchuko !

what's the English for "pardon me"?>

Ask Hillary.

We always say Pardon Me just like Excuse Me like in the song

"Pardon me boys is that the Chattanooga Choo-Choo"

In British English, "pardon me" is either lower-middle-class "refained" for if you've just burped (or worse), or it's a sarcastic prelude to "for breathing" if someone thinks you've been unduly rude to them. Either way, you don't particularly want to be in a situation where you might hear it, and you'd have no particular occasion to use it.

In Bavaria, you might hear "Servus!" as a general greeting, and in Austria "Grüß Gott!"

what's the English for "pardon me"?>>

You mean British English - American English uses 'pardon' or 'pardon me' routinely -not as much as excuse me perhaps which I probably should have used in place of pardon me.

Since when if flanneruk an authority on American English - he is Fodor's foremost authority. Period. But in this case out of his knowledge base.

I want to point out to people wanting to use the Dutch (not flemish, pah!) greetings, that the cut-off for Goedemorgen is noon. Not a minute earlier, not a minute later. If you happen to say Goedemorgen and it's PM, it's very likely you'll be corrected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBwxRWa83_E

ah now for some nice swear words.......

Menachem
;-)

Just for you :
Waar komt u vandaan or waarvan bent u afkomstig ?
gives in Flemish
Va(n) waar zijde gij, makker ?

<<"Je vous en prie" is sometimes used to mean please>>

No. It means "you're welcome"

"Je vous prie" means, literally, "I beg you" or "please" (fancy)

Salve is less formal than buongiorno, but not as informal as ciao. You will hear it a lot in shops and supermarkets.

Bewuste Rotterdammer, Wo! Wij zijn het ergst :)

1 Alright? or alreet?

2 Scuse-me

3 Please

4 See you later

5 Ta or cheers