How to Say Good Morning in 100 Different Languages

Do you want to learn how to say good morning in different languages? If so, you have come to the right spot! 

In terms of words that you should learn when preparing to visit a new country, good morning is one of the most important. Most often, when saying good morning we mean to convey an expression of good wishes to the other party, which is why this greeting is so important to know when traveling. 

I have learned to speak three languages, and studied many others for my travels, and always try to learn this common phrase before traveling to a new country or when experiencing a new culture. I consider myself a forever student of linguistics as well. To help you in your language studies and future travels, you will find a list of the 101 ways to say good morning in this post. 

This post begins with the top 25 most spoken languages and then breaks up each of the remaining languages by continent of origin.

Saying Good Morning

“Good morning” is more than just a common greeting; it can set a positive tone for the entire day. This simple phrase constitutes a heartfelt expression of goodwill, wishing the recipient a day full of possibilities, joy, and accomplishment. Used universally, it transcends cultural and linguistic barriers, fostering warmth and camaraderie.

Whether used in personal contexts or professional settings, “good morning” underpins human interactions with an undercurrent of positivity and respect. In various languages across the globe, the sentiment of “good morning” carries a similar connotation of warmth and positivity as well. 

Good Morning in Different Languages: The Top 25 Most Spoken Languages

I’m starting off this post with the languages that are most spoken around the globe, and therefore the most useful languages to know if you are studying a foreign language. Also, known that there are often many different ways to say goodbye in any language, but I’ve listed the most common options here. 

Note: This “top 25” list, is based on speakers’ mother tongue vs. languages studied. 

1. Mandarin: 早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo)

Zǎoshang hǎo is a formal way to say good morning in Mandarin. The literal translation is “early good morning”. A more informal morning greeting would be 早 (zǎo), which literally means “first sun”. You would use the latter with family members or a close friend. 

Note: Mandarin Chinese is primarily spoken in China and Taiwan.

2. Spanish:¡Buenos días! 

This Spanish phrase is literally translated to “good days”. In the past, this phrase was “buenos dios os dé Dios”, which meant “may God bless you with good days”. But this phrase shortened over time to the phrase that we know today. For a more casual morning greeting, you can simply say “¡Buenos!

Note: The Spanish language is a romance language, and is the second most spoken language in the world. It is spoken in over 18 countries and territories, including Spain, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. 

3. English: Good Morning

This phrase has been in common use since the 1100s. You can simply shorten to just “Morning!” as well. 

Note: English is a major language in the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. As as a second language, there are more English speakers than any other language in this earth. 

4. Arabic:صباح الخير (Sabah el kheir)  

Sabah el kheir is a formal and informal way to say “good morning”. If someone says this to you, you would respond with صباح النور (Sabah el noor), which means “Morning of bright light.” 

Note: Arabic is spoken in 25 countries, but the language does differ greatly from African countries (e.g., Morocco, Algiria) to the Gulf / Middle East countries (e.g., Kuwait, the UAE). Egyptian Arabic is most commonly taught as a “neutral” version that can be understood by the majority of speakers. 

5. Hindi:शुभ प्रभात (shubh prabhaat)

Shubh prabhaat is the more formal way to say goodbye, but Namaste is by far the most common way to greet to someone. 
Note: Hindi is one of the official languages of India (alongside English).

6. Portuguese: Bom dia

Bom dia literally means “Good day” and is the common morning greeting in both Brazil and Portugal. Note that in Brazil “dia” is pronounced “gee-ah” and in Portugal it is pronounced “dee-ah”. 

Note: Portuguese is the official language of Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor. 

7. Bengali: সুপ্রভাত (Suprabhāta)

Note: Begali is spoken in Northeastern India and Bangladesh. 

8. Russian: доброе утро (Dobroye utro)

This phrase translates literally to “good morning” and can be used in both formal and informal situations. For greetings in messages or when addressing an audience, you can use this greeting: С добрым утром (s DOBrym OOTram). 

Note: Russia is a slavic language and the official language of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgystan, and Kazakhstan, and spoken in several former Soviet countries. 

9. Japanese: おはよう (Ohayō)

Ohayō is the informal way to greet someone in the morning. For a more formal greeting, use the phrase おはようございます (Ohayō Gozaimasu). For reference, gozaimasu is a common suffix to indicate greater politeness and respect. 

Note: Japan is the official language of Japan and spoken widely in Hawaii too. 

10. Landha (Western Punjabi): ਸ਼ੁਭ ਸਵੇਰ (Śubha savēra)

Note: Landha is spoken in parts of Pakistan and India. 

11. Vietnamese: Chào buổi sáng

Chào buổi sáng literally translates to “hello morning period”. This greeting works in informal and formal situations. 

Note: Vietnamese is the official language of Vietnam. 

12. Turkish: Günaydın

This phrase literally translats to “bright morning”, and very pleasant way to start the morning. 

Note: Turkish is the official language of Turkey and also spoken in nearby countries such as Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, and more. 

13. Marathi: शुभ प्रभात (Śubha prabhāta)

Note: Marathi is spoken in western and central India (including Mumbai).

14. Telugu: శుభోదయం(Śubhōdayaṁ)

Note: Telugu is spoken in Southern India.

15. Malay: selamat Pagi

This phrase literally translates to “safe morning”, and can be used in any setting. 

Note: Malay is spoken primarily in Malaysia, and some neighboring countries. 

16. Korean: 좋은 아침이에요 (jal joh-eun achim-ieyo)

This is the formal phrase to use in the morning, and translates to “Did you sleep well?” To respond to this phrase, you’d say 네, 잘 잤어요” (ne, jal jasseoyo), meaning “Yes, I slept well.”  

​Note: Korean is spoken in both North Korea and South Korea. 

17. French: Bonjour 

This phrase means “good day”. You can also say “Salut” to say Morning!

Note: French is the official language of 28 countries, including France, Benin, Congo, Monaco, Senegal, and more. 

18. Tamil: காலை வணக்கம் (Kālai vaṇakkam)

Note: Tamil is the official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 

19. German: Guten Morgen

This phrase translates directly to “Good Morning”, and can be used in informal and formal situations.

Note: The German langauge is official in German, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It also is widely spoken in the Italian province of South Tyrol, Luxembourg, and Belgium. 

20. Urdu:صبح بخیر (Subah bakhair)

Note, this greeting is not often used. Instead, it is more common to say السلام علیکم (Assalamu Alaykum). 

Note: Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, and it has strong lexical similarity to Hindi (both derived from ancient Sanskrit). 

21. Javanese: sugeng enjang

Note: Javanese is the official language of Indonesia. 

22. Italian: Buongiorno

This phrase means “good day”, and can be used in both informal situations.

Note: Italian is the official language of Italy, as well as San Marino, and certain provinces in Switzerland. It is the closest language to ancient Latin. 

23. Farsi: سلام, صبح بخیر (Salām, sobh bekheir)

This phrase means “Wishing you a good morning”. The most common greeting in the morning is simply Salām.

Note: Farsi is also known as Persian, and is the official language of Iran. 

24. Gujarati:સુપ્રભાત(Suprabhāta)

While this is the official way to say good morning, the typical AM greeting is કેમ છો (kem chho), which is closer to saying “hi” or “hello”. 

Note: Gujarati is primarily spoken in the Indian state of Gujarat. 

25. Pashto: سحر په خير (sahar pakhair)

This is the official way to say good morning, but simply saying Salam is the best greeting in this language. 

Note: Pashto is spoken in Afganistan, Pakistan, and Iran.

Good Morning in Different Languages: African Languages

26. Afrikaans: goeie more

27. Amharic: ምልካም እድል(milikami idili)

28. Bambara: a’ ni sɔgɔma

28. Fulani: Jam waali 

29. Hausa: barka da safiya

30.Igbo: ụtụtụ ọma

31. Malagasy: salama

32. Oromo: akkam bulte

33. Shona: Mangwanani akanaka

34. Somali: subax wanaagsan

35. Sudanese: Wilujeng énjing

36. Swahili: Habari za asubuhi

37. Tigrinya: ከመይ ሓዲርኩም

38. Twi: mema wo akye

39. Xhosa: Mholo ngalentsasa

40.Yoruba: e kaaro

41. Zulu: Sawubona

Good Morning in Different Languages: Asian Languages

42. Armenian:Բարի առավոտ (Bari arravot)

43. Assamese: সুপ্ৰভাত

44. Azerbaijani: Sabahınız xeyir

45. Burmese: မင်္ဂလာနံနက်ခင်းပါ (main g lar nannaathkainnpar)

46. Cantonese: 早晨 (Zou san)

47. Cebuano: maayong buntag

48. Dzonghka: ངྲོ་པདེ་ལེགས། (Dobro delek)

49. Filipino: magandang umaga

50. Georgian: დილა მშვიდობისა (dila mshvidobisa)

51. Hebrew: בוֹקֶר טוֹב (Boker tov)

52. Indonesian: Selamat pagi

53. Kannada: ಶುಭೋದಯ (Śubhōdaya)

54. Kazakh: қайырлы таң (qayırlı tañ)

55. Khmer: អរុណសួស្តី (aroun suostei)

56. Kurdish: Beyanî baş

57. Kyrgyz: Куттуу таң (Kuttuu taŋ)

58. Laotian: ສະບາຍດີຕອນເຊົ້າ (sa bai di ton sao)

59. Mongolian: өглөөний мэнд (öglöönii mend)

60. Nepali: शुभ – प्रभात (Śubha – prabhāta)

61. Sinhala: සුභ උදෑසනක් (subha udǣsanak)

62. Thai: สวัสดีตอนเช้า (S̄wạs̄dī txn chêā)

63. Turkmen: ertiriň haýyrly bolsun!

64. Uzbek: xayrli tong

Good Morning in Different Languages: European Languages

65. Albanian: Miremengjes

66. Basque: egun on

67. Bosnian: dobro jutro

68. Bulgarian: добро утро (dobro utro)

69. Catalan: Bon dia

70. Corsican: Bonghjornu

71. Croatian: dobro jutro

72. Czech: dobro jutro

73. Danish: god morgen

74. Dutch: Goedemorgen

75. Estonian: Tere hommikust

76. Finnish: Hyvää huomenta

77. Galician: Bos días

78. Greek: Καλημέρα (Kaliméra)

79. Hungarian: jó reggelt kívánok

80. Icelandic: Góðan daginn

81. Irish: maidin mhaith

82. Latin: bonum mane

83. Lithuanian: Labas rytas

84. Luxembourgish: Gudde Moien

85. Macedonian: добро утро (dobro utro)

86. Maltese: Bongu

87. Norwegian: god morgen

88. Polish: Dzień dobry

89. Scottish Gaelic: Madainn mhath

90. Swedish: god morgon

91. Ukranian: добрий ранок (dobryy ranok)

92. Western Frisian: Goeiemoarn

93. Welsh: bore da

Good Morning in Different Languages: North American Languages

94. Hatian Creole: Bonjou

95. Nahuatl: Cualli tlanecic

Good Morning in Different Languages: Oceanic Languages

96. Hawaiian: Aloha kakahiaka

Fun fact: Aloha means both hello and goodbye in the Hawaiian language. This is why Hawaii is known as the “Aloha state”. 

97. Maori: ata pai

98. Samoan: manuia le taeao

Good Morning in Different Languages: South American Languages

99. Aymara: aski alwakipana

100. Guarani: mba’éichapa ndepyhare

101. Southern Quechua: rimaykullayki

The Best Apps and Resources for Language Learning

If you are interested in learning a new language, here are a few apps and resources I think may be the most helpful to you:

iTalki

As I mentioned in my post on Spanish phrases, practicing is really key to feeling comfortable using a new language. You can practice with native speakers by using my favorite language resource, iTalki. On this site you can practice with a tutor, formal teacher, or others just seeking to do a language exchange (for free!). It is hands down the best way to expand your language skills. 

Lingopie

This app is best for improving your reading comprehension. And believe it or not, improving your reading comprehension is maybe the best way to consistently expand your vocabulary. (Consider how babies learn languages). On this app, you are provided with videos that come with captions to help you pick up on the vocabulary that you hear. Try Lingopie today!

Duolingo

While I can’t recommend Duolingo alone for learning a langauge, I recommend using this free app to expand and practice your vocabulary in a new language. Note, there is a paid option, but I think the free version is all that you need with this one. 

Drops

Even better for building vocabulary is Drops, in my opinion. It has a variety of more real-life categories that you can opt for yourself to learn from. You do have to pay an annual fee, but it is absolutely worth it. 

Google Translate

If you don’t have time to learn a language before you travel. I recommend using one of the best translation apps out there – Google Translate. This app does wanders for picking up live conversations so you can chat with people like taxi drivers or other new friends in the local language. Even if it is a little indirect. 

FAQs on Good Morning in Different Languages

In Summary | Good Morning in Different Languages

I hope that this post has inspired you to explore languages more, or at the very least, inspired you to experience a bit of wanderlust. Learning how to say words like good morning in different languages is the start to breaking down language barriers and is a great way to get to know new people in any new place.

More Words in Different Languages

• Travel in Different Languages
• I Love You in Different Languages
• Goodbye in Different Languages

Interested in Learning More? Check Out these Travel Language Guides:

• Spanish for travel
• Portuguese for travel
• Japanese for travel
• Greek for travel
• French for travel
• Thai for travel
• Languages and travel