November 21 is the World Hello Day. It started on November 21， 1973. It’s a day for peace（和平）. Taking part in this day couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is greet（問候） at least（至少） 10 people. Do you know how people in different countries greet each other？ How do you say hello in other languages（語言）？ Let’s read on and find out.

法國

French people usually do cheek（臉頰） kissing or handshaking（握手） to greet each other. If two friends meet， they kiss cheeks. But they’re actually（實際上） air kisses. They kiss each other on the cheek and make a kissing sound into the air. The number of kisses is different from place to place. Two is the most common（普遍的）. But it could be three or even four kisses. If two people don’t know each other well， they just shake hands.

泰 國

In Thailand， people greet each other with the word “sawadee”. It means “How are you？” Meanwhile（同時）， they put their palms（手掌） together and bow（鞠躬） slightly（輕輕地）. It seems like a praying gesture（祈禱姿勢）. That’s because most people in Thailand are Buddhists（佛教徒）. If someone greets you with this gesture， you should reply（答復(fù)） with the same one. The younger person often begins the greeting.

日本

Bowing（鞠躬） is the most common way to greet others in Japan. Bows in Japan can be different， from a small nod（點頭） to a long bend（彎腰）. A deeper， longer bow shows more respect（尊敬）. And a small head nod is more casual（隨意的）. Besides（除此之外）， Japanese people use a bow to say “thanks” “sorry”， or to ask for a favor（幫助）. Keep in mind that men and women bow differently. Men keep their hands at their sides. Women usually put their hands together on their thighs（大腿）.

英國

People in the UK often shake hands or hug（擁抱） as a greeting. Handshaking happens when people don’t know each other well， or the occasion（場合） is formal（正式的）. For example， when two strangers first meet. If two friends meet， they just say “hello”， or “How are you？” And if two close friends meet， a hug usually takes place.

七言八語說問侯

Chinese：你好

French：Bonjour

Spanish：Hola

German：Guten Tag

Italian：Ciao

Japanese：こんにちは

有趣的問侯方式

Australian Maoris（澳大利亞毛利人） greet people by touching（碰觸） each other’s noses.

People in Nepal（尼泊爾） stretch out（伸出） their tongues（舌頭） to welcome guests.

A tribe（部落） in Africa（非洲） spit（吐口水） toward（向） people they like.