Wondering how to say hello in Inuktitut?
This post covers how to greet people in Inuktitut and teaches you some essential phrases including ‘hello’, ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’.
It also covers some other ways of greeting including the Inuit kiss.
Hopefully you’ll leave this page knowing some essential Inuktitut greetings.
Table of Contents
How Do You Say Hello In Inuktitut?
If you want to say hello in Inuktitut then you can do so with the following words:
- Hello – Aingai (Ayn-gai)
- Hello – Atelihai (Ahh-tee-lee-hi)
The word ‘aingai’ is usually only used with close friends and family as it expresses affection. It means both ‘hi’ and ‘bye’.
This is often just shortened to the following:
- Hi – Ai (Ey)
An alternative greeting you could use is:
- Welcome – Tunngasugit (Toong-a-su-git)
This version of welcome can be used to say ‘welcome’ to one person.
- Welcome (to 2 people) – Tunngasugittik (Toong-a-su-git-ik)
This version can be used if you’re speaking to 2 people.
- Welcome (to 3 or more people) – Tunngasugitti (Toong-a-su-git-ee)
This version can be used if you’re speaking to 3 or more people.
How To Say Other Greetings In Inuktitut e.g. ‘Good Morning’
You may want to use some other greetings in Inuktitut such as ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’. Check out these other Inuktitut greetings below:
How To Say Good Morning In Inuktitut
To say good morning in Inuktitut, you can say:
- Good morning – Ullaakkut (Oo-lah-coot)
This phrase literally means ‘in the morning’ but is used to say ‘good morning’.
How To Say Good Afternoon In Inuktitut
To say good afternoon in Inuktitut, you can say:
- Good afternoon – Unnusakkut (Oo-nu-sa-coot)
This phrase literally means ‘in the afternoon’ but is used to say ‘good afternoon’.
How To Say Good Evening In Inuktitut
To say good evening in Inuktitut, you can say:
- Good evening – Unnukkut (Oo-nuh-coot)
This phrase literally means ‘in the evening’ but is used to say ‘good evening’.
The word ‘unnukkut’ is also used to say good night in Inuktitut.
Check out the videos below to hear the pronunciation of these words and phrases in Inuktitut by a native speaker:
Inuit Greetings
Inuit people have many unique customs. One famous greeting custom is the Inuit kiss, also commonly referred to as the Eskimo kiss (however this term is now considered to be offensive).
This greeting is performed by pressing your nose against someone’s cheek or forehead and breathing in.
In Inuit culture, this form of greeting is known as ‘kunik’. It is a way of expressing affection and is usually used between family members and loved ones.
You can check out the Inuit kiss in action in the video below:
This type of greeting is commonly used in Inuit culture due to the cold temperatures of their environment.
Many Inuit people live in arctic temperatures and so when they meet outside, they often have little exposed apart from their faces so it’s an ideal way to greet each other.
Thanks for reading this post on how to greet someone in Inuktitut.
Hopefully you now know how to say ‘hello’ in Inuktitut and also how to say ‘good morning’, ‘good afternoon’ and ‘good night’ in Inuktitut.
You can find out more about the Inuktitut language here.
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