langula
Spanish
adiós
ah-dee-OHSGoodbye
One word, 26 languages
Goodbye in 26 languages
English gets away with one “goodbye” for almost any exit. Several of the 26 languages below are pickier. Korean uses a different phrase depending on whether you're the one leaving or the one staying, Portuguese “até logo” really promises “see you later” rather than a final farewell, and Swedish simply bolts a small word onto “hello” to make “bye”. Below you can hear each version and check the pronunciation points that catch English speakers out.
One word, 26 languages
- إِلَى اللِّقَاءِee-lah lee-KAH/ʔilaː lliˈqaːʔi/Arabic
- Pfiat diPFEE-aht dee/ˈpfiat di/Austrian
- довижданеdoh-VEEZH-da-neh/doˈviʒdanɛ/Bulgarian
- 再见dzye jyen/tsaɪ̯˥˩ tɕjɛn˥˩/Chinese
- doviđenjadoh-vee-JEN-yah/doˈviđenja/Croatian
- farvelfah-VEL/fɑˈvɛl/Danish
- tot zienstot zeens/tɔt ˈsiːns/Dutch
- goodbye/ɡʊdˈbaɪ/English
- näkemiinNAH-keh-meen/ˈnækemiːn/Finnish
- au revoiroh ruh-VWAHR/o.ʁə.vwaʁ/French
- Auf Wiedersehenowf VEE-der-zayn/aʊ̯f ˈviːdɐˌzeːən/German
- αντίοah-DEE-oh/aˈdio/Greek
- arrivederciah-ree-veh-DAIR-chee/arriveˈdertʃi/Italian
- さようならsah-yoh-nah-rah/sajoːnaɾa/Japanese
- 안녕히 가세요ahn-nyawng-hee gah-seh-yoh/an.njʌŋ.hi ka.se.jo/Korean
- Tschüüschewss/tʃyːs/Low German
- ha dethah deh/ˈhɑ deː/Norwegian
- do widzeniadoh veed-ZEN-yah/dɔ viˈdzɛɲa/Polish
- até logoah-TEH LOH-goo/ɐˈtɛ ˈlɔɣu/Portuguese
- la revederelah reh-veh-DEH-reh/la reveˈdere/Romanian
- до свиданияdah svee-DAH-nyah/də svʲɪˈdanʲɪjə/Russian
- adiósah-dee-OHS/aˈðjos/Spanish
- hej dåhay doh/hɛj ˈdoː/Swedish
- مع السلامةmah sah-LAH-meh/maʕ salaːme/Syrian Arabic
- hoşça kalınHOHSH-chah kah-LUHN/hoʃˈtʃa kaˈlɯn/Turkish
- до побаченняdoh poh-BAH-chen-nyah/do poˈbatʃenʲːɐ/Ukrainian
Not every goodbye is final
Portuguese “até logo” is labelled “see you later”, not a plain goodbye – it fits casual exits better than a final farewell. Korean “안녕히 가세요” is specifically the version said to someone who is leaving; a person staying behind needs a different phrase.
Swedish shows the informal end of the scale: “hej då” is just “hej” (hello) with “då” tacked on, the same casual word used for greeting someone in the first place. German “Auf Wiedersehen” sits at the formal end – a full phrase rather than a quick add-on, closer to a carefully said “goodbye” than a breezy “bye”.
Sounds that need a second look
Arabic “إلى اللقاء” opens with a glottal stop (ʔ) – the catch in your throat before “uh-oh” – and its stressed syllable falls on “qa”, a sound made further back in the throat than any English “k”. Spanish “adiós” stresses the last syllable, ah-dee-OHS, with a soft “d”, closer to the “th” in “this” than an English “d”.
Mandarin “再见” carries a falling pitch on both syllables – say each one dropping from high to low, rather than flat or level. Turkish “hoşça kalın” has two separate stresses, hoş-ÇA and ka-LIN, one on each word, easy to miss if you treat the phrase as a single unit.
Habits that give English speakers away
The first mistake is treating every goodbye phrase as fully interchangeable, the way English does. Using Portuguese “até logo” when you'll never see someone again, or missing that Korean has a leaving-specific form, both sound slightly off to a native speaker even if they're understood.
The second is pronunciation: turning Spanish “adiós” into a hard “d”, or stressing only one word of Turkish “hoşça kalın” instead of both. Keep the Spanish “d” soft throughout, and give each Turkish word its own stress.
Short everyday dialogues
Leaving a café in Lyon
- WaiterMerci, bonne journée !Thanks, have a good day!
- YouAu revoir, merci beaucoup !Goodbye, thank you very much!
Ending a video call with a colleague in Warsaw
- ColleagueDo widzenia, do jutra!Goodbye, see you tomorrow!
- YouDo widzenia, miłego wieczoru!Goodbye, have a nice evening!
Leaving a guesthouse in Porto
- HostBoa viagem! Até logo.Safe travels! See you later.
- YouAté logo, obrigado por tudo.See you, thank you for everything.
Saying goodbye after dinner in Seoul
- Host오늘 정말 즐거웠어요.Today was really fun.
- You안녕히 가세요, 감사합니다.Goodbye, thank you.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say goodbye in French?
- “Au revoir” works in almost any situation, from shops to formal farewells.
- What does “até logo” mean in Portuguese?
- Literally “see you later” – it suggests you expect to meet again, not a final goodbye.
- How do you pronounce “adiós”?
- Say ah-dee-OHS, with the stress on the last syllable and a soft “th”-like “d”.