#6 English Greetings and Goodbyes

Good afternoon, Kate.

Good afternoon, Steve.

You know, I said, "Good afternoon." There are so many ways of saying, "Hello" to people, and nowadays some people say, "How's it going? ", or "How are you doing?" And it might be a little hard for some newcomers to know what is the most suitable greeting in different situations. Let me ask you, Kate, if you meet a friend, what do you normally say?

Well, as you say, there are a lot of variations. Certainly, for a friend, I would be more informal, more casual and perhaps might say, "How's it going?" "How's it going?" "What's up? ", something of that sort. Right.

Now, "What's up?" is perhaps less useful, but, "How's it going?" is used quite a bit.

Yes, I think so.

"How's it going?" But certainly, in a friendly situation.

Right.

Casual.

Casual.

Yes.

Otherwise, "Hello" is always safe. Yes, and "How are you?" And "How are you?" is always safe.

Absolutely.

When you meet someone for the first time, it used to be that people would say, "How do you do?" Yes.

That's not so common today. I would probably now use, "Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you", "It's a pleasure to meet you." Um hum.

But even more, you're right, "Nice to meet you." That's a very easy, standard greeting if you meet someone for the first time. Yes.

"Nice to meet you." Yes.

When someone says, "Kate, this is so-and-so." I say, "Oh, hello, nice to meet you." Right.

And while the formal, "How do you do?" is correct, it is really not used very often any more. I use it, because I am old.

I would say you might use it more because you would be in a more formal business situation.

Okay.

If I was wearing a suit and a tie, I might be more inclined to say, "How do you do?" Right.

Now, another thing is, if you want to make a good impression, rather than just say, "Nice to meet you." it's always nicer to say, "Very pleased to meet you." In my mind, I think that conveys a stronger sense of greeting.

Certainly that's a very welcoming phrase to say, "I'm very pleased to meet you". Now, if you really want to exaggerate, you can say, "I have heard a lot about you." Certainly. That's another phrase. But, that can imply good or bad! Well, maybe we should leave that one alone!

I think that's you need to have some stories to back that up. Right.

Exactly.

Or, perhaps, "I've heard so much about you." Or, if you want to flatter the person, "I have heard many good things about you." But you know, I think, Kate, we're getting too complicated. I agree. When you are introduced to someone, a simple, "Nice to meet you" is always appropriate. Right.

Now, if you see people that you know, again, the "Good morning" ,"Good afternoon" ,"Good evening" are always appropriate. Absolutely.

Now, when you're leaving someone, it's not that difficult. "Goodbye" is pretty easy. Um hum.

But it can be nice to say, "See you", "See you soon", "See you tomorrow". Ah, "Have a nice evening." if you're leaving, say the office. Absolutely.

I think we all say, "Have a good night" "Have a good evening." Something of that sort.

"Have a good weekend." Absolutely.

"Enjoy your weekend." Exactly.

Now, I think a straight, "Goodbye." is perhaps a little short, that a Um hum. and may give more of an impression - this is completely the end.

Um hum.

Right.

Whereas, "See you tomorrow." "Have a good night." Something like that Um hum. Or, in the case of meeting someone for the first time, "It was very nice to meet you." That's a good one. "It was a very" ,"It was very nice to meet you" ,"I enjoyed meeting you". Exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

"It was nice meeting you." Okay.

Well, you know, I think we'll stop it there. So, it's been very nice chatting with you Kate. Thank you, Steve. I enjoyed it as well.

Good.

See you later.

See you later.

Bye.

Bye.