British Slang For Goodbye (16 Examples!)

A friendly farewell is just as important to a pleasant interaction as a greeting.

We can sometimes struggle with how to say goodbye in a way that feels natural and unforced.

In Britain, slang has adapted to meet this need, coming up with many friendly and casual ways in which friends can say goodbye to one another.

There are plenty of them, so today we’re going to look at some British slang for goodbye.

Let’s get started.

In This Article

Cheerio

Perhaps the most widely used slang term meaning goodbye, “cheerio” is something you could say for goodbye in just about any situation.

“I’ve got to go now, cheerio!” for example.

You could use this for a shopkeeper, a good friend, an acquaintance, just about anyone! It’s universally understood and though it can be more regional than some terms, any British person is likely to know what you mean by cheerio.

The origin of this term is found in the late 19^th Century, where it was essentially an alteration of “cheer”.

Cheer itself was a salutation for many situations, probably originating from “cheers” as used for a toast.

But more on that later.

In 1896 it is first recorded as just “cheero”, and then by 1918 at least it has become “cheerio”. It was no doubt popularized by the advent of the Cheerios cereal, which debuted in 1941.

The term became more widely known and thus more widely used to say goodbye.

Tata

“Tata” may be rather regional and archaic today, but nonetheless it is still used and understood.

A very common use of this term is in the phrase “ta-ta for now!” which was often abbreviated to “TTFN”, especially in things like greetings cards and even on the radio.

Again, this one can be used in just about any situation, no matter how formal or informal, though it admittedly could come off as overly friendly with the wrong person.

Our first recorded use of the term is cited by the OED in 1823, where it was used as a nursery expression for goodbye.

It caught on very quickly and eventually came to be an all-round term for goodbye, not just used in nursery settings.

It was popularized even further during the Second World War thanks, as I mentioned, to radio abbreviations of the term used commonly in plays and dramas.

Tarra

Following on from that, “tarra” is a regional corruption of “ta-ta”.

It’s a much more northern phrase, particularly used in Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire.

It has precisely the same meaning and is as I say simply another form of “ta-ta”.

It’s thought that this one may even originate in the Welsh language, where it eventually seeped into neighboring areas of the north of England.

It’s certainly less common today than it once was, but nonetheless, it is still widely used by the older generations.

It was in widespread regional use by the middle of the 1960s, and so has slowly fallen out of usage since then.

Take care

Though the words that make up this phrase aren’t, in themselves, slang, the phrase itself has come to be one of the most commonly used slang and informal expressions for saying goodbye.

The meaning is quite clear—the literal idea is that you take care, be safe, don’t get yourself into trouble!

Of course, the phrase itself is very much older than its present sense.

As far back as the 1580s, “take care” was a phrase indicating you should pay attention to something, and you should be way of it.

It came to be a secular equivalent to “god be with you”, which is of course the origin of the term “goodbye”.

It’s not clear when it came to take on its present sense, though it seems to have been sometime in the last century.

See you

A perfect all-rounder and one recognizable doubtless to many English speakers and not just the British, next we have “see you”.

It might be said or spelled as “see ya”, or even just “cya”.

This is universally used in pretty much every area of Britain to some degree, though certainly more in some places than others.

It could also be used in the specific sense of not knowing when you will next see someone: “See you when I see you!”

Its not clear where this phrase originated. It’s in such ubiquitous use that it’s really hard to trace, though it may originally have come from Americanisms.

“Be seeing you,” for instance, is more of an American slang term.

See you later

There are, of course, several variations of the above slang term.

“See you later” is perhaps the most common in British slang and is usually more reserved for situations where the two speakers will actually see each other again.

That said, you can also use it in situations where you will not, in fact, see them later.

Slang is strange like that!

See you around

This variation is much less personal, and the kind of thing you might say to an acquaintance you see in the street at the end of a polite chat.

“I’ve got to be going now, I’ll see you around!” for example.

A really common and catch-all slang term for goodbye.

Cheers

“Cheers” has several meanings in British slang, as I touched on earlier.

The most common usage is simply as a way of saying thanks. “Cheers for doing that!” for example.

The original term seems to have come into use during the First World War, particularly as a way of expressing enthusiasm.

By 1976, journalists agreed it was now the most common colloquialism for thanks.

Of course, before this, it meant (as it still does) simply a way of toasting:

“Cheers to that!” you might say before everyone sips their drinks.

In Britain, saying variations of “thank you” as a goodbye is a very common way of doing it.

So, in an informal interaction, you might say “Cheers now!” as a way of saying goodbye.

It might most likely be used in a transactional interaction, such as in a shop, rather than between friends.

Toodle pip

There are a lot of stereotypes around parts of British slang, and while many of them are based largely in myth, a lot of them are entirely true.

While it is really not used any longer today, “toodle pip” certainly was a British expression which meant goodbye. “Thank you, toodle pip!” for example.

It’s often thought of as a 19^th Century piece of slang, but it seems as though our evidence points to it being more of an early 20^th Century expression.

There are a few theories about its origin. One is simply that it’s a variation of the phrase “toodling”, which was a slang term to mean wandering around.

It’s also thought it could be a variation of the French phrase ‘tout a l’heure’, which simply means I’ll see you soon.

As I said, it has become a stereotype and perhaps for that reason alone it really isn’t used in a serious way anymore.

Pip pip

Following on from that, we also have “pip-pip”.

There are a couple of ways this one might be used. You might simply say “I have to go now, pip-pip!” but you might also say the phrase “pip-pip, cheerio!”

Though it’s clearly related to the previous term, it is also slightly different in origin. Its first used to imitate the sound of a car horn, which was another way of saying goodbye to someone as you drove away.

However, again, this isn’t certain, and this is simply our best bet. Again, this one really is not used anymore.

It was popular in the early and mid-20^th Century, particularly when cars were first beginning to become widespread.

Eventually, it came to be seen as excessively quaint.

Toodles

Of course, you can also simply say “toodles” without any further additional slang terms.

This is another way of saying goodbye, and though it might be more likely to be used in a cartoon than anything else today, it was once a common expression just the same.

Toodle-oo

Our final variation of this slang term for goodbye is “toodle-oo”.

It seems as though this version and “toodle pip” arose virtually simultaneously, in different parts of the country as each borrowed from the other.

There is also the phrase “tootle-oo”, and it’s very hard to say if this one or that one came first.

Both have precisely the same meaning, and again it’s about the term “toddle” meaning to wander around.

It’s most likely simply a corruption of an older regional term that means “off I wander” or something similar.

Tatty bye

Related to the previous terms but not precisely the same, we also have “tatty bye”.

This one has a very clear origin, and was popularized by a comedian named Ken Dodd in the 1970s.

It simply means goodbye, with an extra bit of flair such as “toodle” or “pip pip”.

Again, it’s fallen mostly out of use now but is still found in some places

Peace/ peace out

Though this one has a very American origin, it’s come to be a reasonably widely used slang term in many parts of Britain today.

It’s particularly favored by the youth and younger generations. “I’m off now guys, peace out!” for example is what you might say when leaving a party.

Its thought to most likely originate from the hip-hop scene of the 1980s and 90s, and it first appears in writing in the Beastie Boys song 3-Minute Rule.

It’s also thought to have possibly originated in the hippie culture of the 1960s and 70s.

Certainly, the notion of peace was very important to them, and the scene came to adopt it eventually either way even if they didn’t coin it.

So long

“So long” is another one that might widely be assumed to be American in origin but is in fact thought to be an Irish Gaelic expression originally.

The precise origin isn’t completely clear, and there are a few potential avenues for an explanation.

It was widely used by British soldiers serving in Malayan-speaking countries, where “salaam” was a common farewell among the Malayan.

It could also be derived from a Norwegian expression, “saa laenge,” which means the same thing in translation.

Either way, it’s in reasonably widespread use today, something you might use informally in friendly situations.

It might seem a bit odd in the wrong situation and a bit of a quirk, but among friends, it’s perfectly normal.

Have a good one

A fantastic universal term for saying goodbye to someone and wishing them a good day, next we have “have a good one”.

This can be used for friends, total strangers, in just about any situation.

It’s likely to be the kind of thing you would say to someone in the morning or the early day.

It’s almost another way of saying “have a good day,” though in a more informal way.

“Have a good day” was ultimately a medieval expression, and “have a good one” merely became an alteration of that.

So, there are countless ways you can say goodbye in British slang.

From the strangest and most quirky British terms to the simplest farewells, there’s a way to say goodbye for any situation in British slang.

Of course, as with British slang in general, the international reputation tends to be of terms that aren’t really much used anymore—but it’s still worth knowing those terms and using them as a bit of a joke between friends, if nothing else!

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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