10 languages to say goodbye in

We all have our personal lists – of the zaniest/quirkiest/
funniest/ craziest/smartest ... We devote this page to them.
This week, Heidi Fulford lists ...

Adieu [ad yer], French: A plain English "goodbye" is so last year! Start 2009 by impressing your international friends with your multilingual talents and bid them a fond 'Adieu'. Ah, fondue…. also a quirky '70s trend that has regained recent popularity at designer dinner parties.

Dovi a dopo [dovi a dopo], Slovak: Best pronounced by those with a cold! Perfect to use after any flight back from Britain.

Narka [nar-rkah], Polish: The English urban dictionary defines the word 'nark' as "someone who pokes his nose into your business", and it derives from the Romany word 'naak' (nose). An ideal salutation for all 'nosey parkers' in our lives… and we all 'nose' a few
of those!

Ciao [chaow], Italian: Born in Venice, the city of bridges. Build your own bridges and adopt this word for all flirty liaisons.

Hasta la vista [asta la vista], Spanish: Need to 'terminator' a conversation? Put on your best baritone, adopt an Austrian accent and attitude, and be sure to add 'baby' at the end for maximum effect. Go ahead, make Arnie proud!

Xau [tShau], Portuguese: Shout "Xau" long and loud as you push off from the top of the Jumeirah Sceirah slide at Wild Wadi. It will give you that extra 'whoosh.'

Hej hej [hi hi], Danish: Feeling playful? Cause some chaos. You're saying goodbye but you're saying 'hi hi'. In Danish, just one 'hej' means hello.

Mach's gut [maxs' gu:t], German: Ya, 'Maxs' gu:t', it's true. We all want to wave goodbye to those extra kilos we gained over the holidays.

Chalo ferithi melishun, Gujarati: My favourite. Based on an ancient Indian philosophy: two logs of wood, drifting side by side in a stream's current, will go their separate ways, but will one day meet again. Mystery surrounds their reunion, which can happen at any time, as mist and fog give way to sunlight. This goodbye should be saved for that special someone.

Ila allikaa, Arabic: To me, the UAE is a special place for many reasons, but mostly for its multicultural society. It is a true 'United Colors of the World'.

As told to Hina Navin, a Dubai-based freelancer