Kilo Lingo
Part of Chapter 1

3 min read

Test yourself (16 questions)

Esperanto Greetings and Survival Phrases: Say Something Today

Here is the good news nobody tells you at the start: you can hold your first Esperanto conversation before you have parsed a single grammatical ending.

Greetings and courtesies are fixed phrases in every language. Nobody assembles how do you do from parts, and you do not need to assemble the Esperanto either. Learn the dozen expressions below as whole things to say, the way you learned thank you as a small child, and you can walk into an Esperanto club, a video call or a congress this afternoon and take part. The grammar is what makes the rest of the language open up. It is not a toll you have to pay before you are allowed to say hello.

So today, these are just things to say.

Greetings

. Hello, or hi. This is the one to learn first, because it works everywhere: any time of day, one person or a crowd, a close friend or a total stranger. If you remember nothing else off this page, remember .

. Good day. A touch more specific, and useful in the daytime.

. Good evening. The same idea after dark.

o. Goodbye - literally until we see each other again, which is a warmer thing to say than the English lets on.

! Bye. The short, friendly clip of the phrase above, and what most people actually say.

Getting by

? How are you? The standard opener once you have said hello.

Bone, . Fine, thank you. The standard reply, and worth banking as a pair with the question so the two arrive together.

Courtesies

. Thank you. One word, said just as it looks. is thank you very much when you mean it.

e. You're welcome - roughly not worth thanking. The natural answer to .

or . Please. is I ask, and is be so good as to; either one softens a request, and both are correct.

. Sorry, or excuse me. It covers a genuine apology and a polite excuse me, could I get past alike.

. I don't understand. Quietly the most useful sentence a beginner owns, because it keeps a conversation alive when everything else has fallen apart: it asks the other person to slow down or try again, instead of leaving them guessing.

. I am a beginner. This is the first useful sentence to have ready, because it buys you patience from anyone you say it to. Say it early and people will meet you where you are.

/ . Yes and no. Two of the shortest words in the language and two of the most needed.

A quiet promise for later

Look again at e and . Once you have learned how Esperanto builds words - a handful of roots and endings clipping together like bricks - you will see straight through these phrases. e is thankable, so e is not thankable, a thing not worth thanks. is one who is beginning, built from komenc- the way beginner is built from begin. Nearly everything on this page comes apart into pieces you will recognise, and when it does, you will not so much have memorised these phrases as understood them.

But that is a treat for a later week. Today they are just things to say - so go and say one.

Practise: test yourself

Matching

0/5

Match each Esperanto phrase to what it means. These are the greetings and goodbyes.

Matching

0/5

Match each phrase to its meaning. These are the courtesies - the words that keep things friendly.

Pick the right one

0/6

Pick the right phrase for each situation. Read the meaning, then tap the Esperanto.

  1. How do you say 'thank you'?

  2. Someone asks how you are and you feel fine. What do you say?

  3. You want to say 'How are you?'

  4. You didn't catch what someone said. How do you tell them?

  5. You want to explain that you are just starting out.

  6. You bump into someone and want to apologise.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Esperanto?
Saluton. It works at any time of day, to one person or a room, to a friend or a stranger, and it is the single most useful word to learn first. If you want to be more specific, Bonan tagon is good day and Bonan vesperon is good evening, but Saluton never puts a foot wrong. To say bye, Ĝis! is the short, friendly version and Ĝis la revido is the fuller goodbye, literally until we see each other again.
How do you say thank you in Esperanto?
Dankon. That is the whole thing - one word, said exactly as it looks, DAHN-kon. The reply is Ne dankinde, roughly not worth thanking, which is the Esperanto you are welcome. If you want to thank somebody more warmly, Multan dankon is thank you very much.
What is the most useful Esperanto phrase for a beginner?
Mi ne komprenas - I do not understand. It is the sentence that keeps a conversation alive when everything else has fallen apart, because it tells the other person to slow down or try again rather than leaving them guessing. Close behind it is Mi estas komencanto, I am a beginner, which quietly asks for patience and almost always gets it.
Do I need to know grammar before I can speak Esperanto?
No. Every phrase on this page is something you can memorise as a single unit and use correctly today, before you have learned a single ending. Greetings, thanks and apologies are fixed expressions in every language, and Esperanto is no different. The grammar makes the rest of the language open up later; it is not a toll you have to pay before you are allowed to say hello.