"to greet, to say hello" in seven languages

Meaningto greet, to say hello

Spanish

saludar

/saluˈdaɾ/

inherited

Also 'to wave to someone'.

French

saluer

/salɥe/

inherited

Also 'to say goodbye to': saluer en partant.

Italian

salutare

/saluˈtare/

inherited

Both hello and goodbye: ci siamo salutati.

Portuguese

cumprimentar

/kũpɾimẽˈtah/

other source · cumprimento 'greeting, compliment', from cumprir (Latin COMPLĒRE 'to fulfil')

Saudar, the heir of SALŪTĀRE, is more formal.

Romanian

saluta

/saluˈta/

learned

Its inherited twin is săruta 'to kiss'.

Catalan

saludar

/səluˈda/

inherited

English

greet

/ɡɹit/

native English · Old English grētan

English → Italianto greet, to say hellosalutareNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: salute, salutation, salutary.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

SALŪTĀRE‘to wish health (SALŪS)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Romans greeted by wishing health (SALŪS): saludar, saluer, salutare. Romanian has the word twice — learned saluta 'to greet' and inherited săruta 'to kiss', with its l turned to r.

English relatives: salute, salutation, salutary

Sound laws at work

Voiceless stops between vowels soften Single L between vowels: lost in Portuguese, r in Romanian

Learn it

Practice the Core verbs deck Quiz a friend on it

In a sentence

esNos saludó con una sonrisa.
frIl nous a salués avec un sourire.
itCi ha salutato con un sorriso.
ptEle nos cumprimentou com um sorriso.
roNe-a salutat cu un zâmbet.
caEns va saludar amb un somriure.
enHe greeted us with a smile.

More in Core verbs

All Core verbs words