Hello/Goodbye

English Greeting Expressions

There are many ways of greeting people, both formal and informal. The speaker’s task is to choose the appropriate one for the situation. It is also useful to know lots of different ones so as to not repeat yourself when you meet a number of people at the same time. As with any other aspect, you need to be careful about using informal expressions with people who you do not know well or whose rank or status is higher than yours.

General greetings (Formal)
Hello!
How are you?
How are you doing?
How is everything?
How’s everything going?
How have you been keeping?
I trust that everything is well.

General greetings (Informal)
Hi.
What’s up?
Good to see you.
How are things (with you)?
How’s it going?
How’s life been treating you?

Greeting a person you haven’t seen for a long time (Formal)
It has been a long time.
It’s been too long.
What have you been up to all these years?
It’s always a pleasure to see you.
How long has it been?
I’m so happy to see you again.

Greeting a person you haven’t seen for a long time (Informal)
How come I never see you?
It’s been such a long time.
Long time no see.
Where have you been hiding?
It’s been ages since we last met.

Expressing Goodbyes and Farewells in English

There are many ways of saying good-bye, just as there are many of saying hello, and it is important to use an expression of the appropriate tone and register. In the end, it’s all up to your judgement but remember that using a very formal expression with someone who is your friend, as it may sound sarcastic.

Good bye

Meaning:

A concluding remark at parting. 

Example:

Good bye until we meet again!

Origin: 

Good bye came from God bye which came from God be with you.

So Long 

Meaning: 

A concluding remark at parting.

Example: 

So long, see you later.

Origin: 

So-long came from the Arabic salaam and the Hebrew shalom.

Simple good-byes (Formal)
Good-bye
Stay in touch.
It was nice meeting you.
I hope to see you soon.

Simple good-byes (Informal)
Bye.
See you.
Talk to you later.
Catch up with you later.
Nice seeing you.

Leaving a place (Formal)
I have to leave here by noon.
Is it okay if we leave your home at 9pm?
What do you say we leave work a little earlier today?
Would you mind if I leave the dinner before it ends?
I need to depart for the airport in one hour.

Leaving a place (Informal)
I got to go now.
I’ll be leaving from the office in 20 minutes.
How about we jet off to the shops now?
I’m afraid I have to head off now.
Let’s get off work early.