When I go on holiday I always make an effort to learn a few words of the local language, it shows some manners and respect for the country you are travelling in. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to learn a few of the basic words and the locals will appreciate your efforts.

Don’t be like your typical American or British tourist who expects the world to speak English and if they don’t that’s their problem! Show some class and make the effort.

To get the ball rolling I have put together a list of HELLO in 10 languages:

Arabic - Al Salaam a’ alaykum

Chinese- Ni hao

English - Hello

French - Bonjour

German - Guten Tag

Greek - YahSU

Japanese- Konichiwa

Italian - Ciao

Russian - Zdravstvuite

Spainish - Hola

Swahili - Jambo

Turkey - Merhaba

From a personal point of view learning a few basic words is part of the joys of travelling and it adds to the whole experience, if you are not sure how to pronounce a word all you have to do ask a friendly looking local, it isn’t hard to do, don’t be shy.