12 ways to say goodbye in other languages

Despite their different constructions and etymologies, expressions of parting across languages tend to communicate similar things, many of them outlining the hope of meeting again. English has borrowed many of the following foreign expressions of parting, so you’ve probably encountered some of these ways to say goodbye in other languages.

1. adiós, adieu, addio, adeus

Besides adieu in French, there are also adiós in Spanish, addio in Italian, and adeus in Portuguese. Adieu comes from the combination of a + Dieu (‘to God’); adios, addio, and adeus have similar etymologies.

2. aloha

This Hawaiian word is used as both a welcome and farewell, but also for expressions of good wishes, love, and affection. Because of how often the term is used Hawaii has taken on the nickname of the Aloha State.

3. arrivederci

In Italian, arrivederci means ‘until we see each other again’. You might be tempted by the arrive- to think that the word has something to do with a greeting, but the word actually comes from a (‘until’) + rivederci (‘we see each other again’).

4. ciao

Ciao has an intriguing origin: in the 1920s, ciao arose as a dialectal alteration of schiavo, which translates as ‘(I am your) slave’. Like aloha, ciao does double duty as both a term of greeting and parting.

5. auf Wiedersehen

A common send off in Germany is auf Wiedersehen. This farewell directly translates into ‘until we see again’.

6. au revoir

Similar to auf Wiedersehen, au revoir directly translates as ‘to the seeing again’, anticipating a meeting in the future.

7. bon voyage

Another common French term with widespread usage is bon voyage, ‘good journey’, used to express good wishes to someone who is about to embark on a trip.

8. sayonara

Short for sayō naraba, which literally translates as ‘if it be thus’, sayonara is used, according to the OED, to ‘qualify desire to meet again so as not to tempt fate’. Additionally, sayonara is used in English to suggest that something has been finished with, abandoned, or consigned to the past in more general usage, as in ‘you can say sayonara to that those tasty plums’.

9. shalom

The Hebrew word can be used as both a welcome and farewell. Shalom is the widespread Hebrew goodbye that translates as ‘peace’, but a more formal parting would be to say shalom aleichem or ‘peace be with you’.

10. totsiens

South Africans might send each other off by saying totsiens, which means ‘until we meet again’. This word entered English from Afrikaans in the 1930s, originating from Dutch words tot ‘until’ and zien ‘see’.

11. vale

Another interesting valediction is the archaic farewell vale, meaning ‘goodbye’ in Latin. The word comes from the second person singular imperative of valēre, ‘to be well’.

12. zàijiàn

A common send-off in China is 再见(zàijiàn). The verb ‘to bid farewell’ is expressed with 辞行 (ɡàobié).

January 11, 2018.

Ah, my friend (who wishes I would talk about something, anything, everything) Vern, thank you :-) you are wonderful.

Well, it is a new year, and I thought I'd better write this new years letter early. :-)

I think more books of been rejected due to not being an authorized vendor. Did you order books from “Better World Books”?

– If not, hopefully the refund will let them know I can't get them.

– If so, please REFRAIN from trying to send the books: I have little time for reading and struggle to fit in a chapter of the book of Mormon each day.

With one exception, feel free to log onto the internet, type in: SIcovers.com, and order me the swimsuit issue. :-) A past issue, or the new one comes in February.

Maybe this is a test for you, since you teased me with the calendars I couldn't get, to see if he'll order me something I can get. ;-)

Well, keep up the marvelous work.

I am doing well, nothing to report.

Hold fast; for something shall be forthcoming worth mentioning. Hopefully.

– Brandon

Mark Clayton would have recognized my feelings as being very volatile this last month.

AdventureBill

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Goodbye Brandon, until we meet again.