I am talking about situations when you want to greet someone, without stopping to talk to them. In Russian, people usually say "добрый день" which means "hello." This is a greeting, not a valediction.
In English, it seems to be opposite. Can I say "hi," or should I say something like "have a nice day" or "bye" when I am passing them?
Best Answer
Usually I wouldn't say anything and just nod my head or something if I was just passing by and I didn't know the person. If you were to say something though, "hi", "hey", "hello", etc. would be what someone would normally say. Depending on the time you also might say something like "good evening." Less formally, I would just say something like "What's up?", "'Sup?", or "How's it going?" These aren't really looking for an answer, but I'll say "good" back if they ask me one.
"Have a nice day" and "bye" would usually just be said after talking though or if you were leaving a place you had both been for a while, not as a greeting.