INFORMAL GOODBYES
- Bye! => very common way to say goodbye.
- Bye bye! => it sounds very kiddish (more for kids).
- Later! => Very friendly and casual way, more for men. Ex. “Later bro!”, “Later man”.
- See you later / soon => Very casual and relaxed goodbye. It can be used to indicate that you want to or plan to meet with the person again soon. If you use “ya” instead of “you”, this become even more casual.
- Talk to you later
- I’ve got to get going / I must be going => This is used in casual situations when you want to escape the conversation quickly and you don’t want to go through a longer or more sentimental goodbye.
- Take it easy => It’s now less used than in the past. It is casual and it means “take care”.
- I’m off
- Have a good one => Similar to “have a nice / good day”, but it sounds really casual.
- So long! => It’s used in some news headlines, but not so common between people.
- Alright => Very casual way.
FORMAL AND BUSINESS GOODBYES
- Goodbye!
- Have a nice day / have a good day! => For example, you buy something in a shop after you have paid the cashier would tell you “Have a nice day”.
- I look forward to our next meeting
- Take care! => it is a little formal and you use it with your close relatives and other people you are close too. You might use this in an email or written letter.
- It was nice to see you again / It was nice seeing you.
- Good night! => Notice that “good afternoon”, “good morning” and “good evening” are greeting expressions and you can’t use them to say “goodbye”).
- Farewell => it is more like a final goodbye. For example, someone is moving abroad and you are not going to see this person again. In this situation, you can use “farewell”. It is the type of thing that two lovers in a movie might say if they’re never going to see each other again. So, you probably won’t use it often in daily life.
SLANG WAYS OF SAYING “GOODBYE”
- Later / laters / catch you later
- Peace / peace out => it comes from the hip-hop music culture. It’s more of a hand gesture. It is a very casual way and it means that you wish the other person well.
- I’m out / I’m out of here => You are really happy about going.
- I gotta jet / I gotta take off / I gotta hit the road / I gotta head out => these are slang versions of “I have got to get going”. “Gotta” is an abbreviation of “got to”.
- Catch ya later! => Variation for “See you later”. This is used very casually between friends or acquaintances.
- Smell you later! => This is something you’ll hear kids say far more than adults! But grown-ups might occasionally be overheard saying this to a friend as a joke too.
This is a video on this topic:
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