Kilo Lingo
Latin grammar Part of Chapter 1

CEFR A1

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Test yourself (26 questions)

Latin Greetings and Survival Phrases: Say Something Today

By Michael McGettrickUpdated 11 October 2026

You can hold your first Latin conversation before you have met a single declension. These phrases are real: Plautus put them in his street characters' mouths, Cicero signed his letters with , and people say them today at spoken-Latin meetups and on living-Latin podcasts. Learn each one whole, the way you learned thank you.

to more than oneto me / to youWhat do the colours mean?
LatinEnglishSay it to
Helloone person
Hellotwo or more
Goodbyeone person
Goodbyetwo or more

Quick check

Now use it: three quick questions on the chart above. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

Pick the right phrase for each situation.

  1. You walk into a room of five Latin speakers. How do you greet them?

  2. Someone asks Quid agis? and you feel fine. What do you say?

  3. You want to ask someone their name.

Hello and goodbye

is the one to learn first: any time of day, friend or stranger. Literally it means be well, and means be strong, farewell. Add - and you are talking to a group:

Salvete - hello, everyone
  • , ! - Hello, friend!
  • , ! - Hello, friends!
  • , ! - Goodbye, everyone!
On a lawn, a woman with long hair and a bow, a speech bubble above her, gestures towards three others: a young man of her age waving (a friend); an elderly woman with a white bun, glasses and a walking stick (an older stranger); and a group of three: a man with a moustache, a woman and a little girl.
  1. , !
  2. !
  3. !

Latin has no polite you: the friend and the older stranger both get salve. Only the group changes it, to salvete.

That - is your first piece of Latin grammar, absorbed for free: the plural of a command. You will greet rooms as often as people, so the habit settles in long before you meet the word imperative.

Getting by

These carry the first minute of any conversation. Learn the question and its answer as a pair:

EnglishLatinLiterally
How are you? ?What are you doing?
I'm fine. .It is well with me.
Fine, thanks., .
My name is Marcus. Marcus.The name to me is...
What's your name? ?What is the name to you?
I don't understand. .

Do not analyse and yet. They are to me and to you, and one day that will delight you; today they are just the sounds the phrases start with. Here is the whole exchange:

  • ! ? - Hello! What's your name?
  • Marcus. ? - My name is Marcus. How are you?
  • , . - I'm fine, thanks.

? is for one person. Ask a group, and the verb takes the group ending: ? - How are you all?

is quietly the most useful sentence a beginner owns. It keeps a conversation alive when everything else has fallen apart, by asking the other person to slow down or try again.

Courtesies

LatinEnglishNote
Pleasethe plain one
Pleasethe charming one: I shall love you
Thank youI give thanks to you
!Thanks!the short form
You' welcomegladly
Sorry, excuse meforgive me
Yesso it is
Nonot in the least
Inside a bakery with a striped awning: a customer holding out a coin stands at the counter; behind it a smiling baker in a chef's hat; on the counter a big loaf of bread, a steaming cup of coffee and a till, with more bread on the shelves behind.
  1. , .
  2. !

At the baker’s: the customer asks for bread with quaeso (please), and the baker answers libenter (gladly).

is pure Plautus: his characters wheedle with it on every page. Either please softens a request:

  • , . - Give me some water, please.
  • , ! - Oh, do come, please!

Latin has no plain words for yes and no. Romans usually answered by echoing the verb: Venisne? . - Are you coming? I am coming. and are the conventional stand-ins, and what you will hear in spoken Latin today.

The grammar hiding in the phrases

The phrases you memorised today are made of grammar you will meet later, so it will not arrive as a stranger:

In the phraseWhat it isExplained in
the plural commandthe imperative
, the dative, to me, to yougenitive and dative
the -s ending for youverb endings

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
to a roommore than one person takes -
on arrival is goodbye
the name is to me, so
. . goes before the verb

What to do next

  1. Say and aloud with someone in mind for each.
  2. Run the drill below, then the meetup story.
  3. Then see why and look the way they do in the Latin cases.

Practise: test yourself

Matching

0/5

Match each Latin phrase to what it means. Notice the one-person and many-people pairs.

Matching

0/5

Match each courtesy to its meaning.

Sort into groups

0/6

One person, or more than one? Sort by who you are talking to.

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Complete the story

0/4

Choose the right phrase for each gap.

Marcus at a spoken-Latin meetup

! Quid agis? - Bene mihi est, . Quid est tibi nomen? - Mihi nomen est Marcus. - Gratias tibi ago, Marce! - . - , omnes!

Gap 1 of 4

Pick the right one

0/6

Pick the right phrase for each situation.

  1. You walk into a room of five Latin speakers. How do you greet them?

  2. Someone asks Quid agis? and you feel fine. What do you say?

  3. You want to ask someone their name.

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

  5. You bump into someone and want to apologise.

  6. You are leaving and saying goodbye to one friend.

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Latin · Free printables

Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. Table 1
  3. Getting by
  4. Courtesies
  5. The grammar hiding in the phrases
  6. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

How do you say hello in Latin?
to one person, to two or more. That singular and plural pair is the first piece of Latin grammar most learners absorb, and they absorb it for free just by greeting people. To say goodbye the pattern repeats: to one person, to a group. All four are completely ordinary spoken Latin: Plautus' characters toss them around constantly, and they are how people open and close conversations at spoken-Latin meetups today.
How do you say thank you in Latin?
, literally I give thanks to you, though you should learn it as one fixed thing to say rather than as three words to assemble. In a hurry, plain ! does the job, the way English clips thank you very much down to thanks. The natural reply is , gladly, which is the Latin you' welcome.
Did anyone actually say these phrases, or are they modern inventions?
Most are the real thing. , , ? and are all over Plautus' comedies, the closest thing we have to a recording of Latin street conversation, and Cicero signs off his letters with as routinely as we write best wishes. as a reply to thanks is a modern spoken-Latin convention built from a classical word. All of them are in daily use at spoken-Latin circles and on living-Latin podcasts.
How do you say yes and no in Latin?
Latin has no plain, dedicated words for yes and no. Romans usually answered by echoing the verb: Venisne? . (Are you coming? I am coming.) The conventional stand-ins, and what you will hear in spoken Latin today, are (so it is, yes) and (not in the least, no). Learn those two and you can answer any question you understand.
How do you say my name is in Latin?
, then your name: Marcus, my name is Marcus. Literally it says the name to me is Marcus. To ask someone else, turn it round: ? What is your name?