bye-bye

/baɪˈbaɪ//ˈbaɪbaɪ//bəˈbaɪ/

interjection

Goodbye.

“Brush your teeth, it's time to go bye-bye.”

Similar
beddy-byeadieuadiosarrivederciauf wiedersehenau revoirbyecheerio
OriginEnglish byeredup. ← Middle English yow ← Old English ēow →
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

interjection

alternative rare by-by · alternative bye bye · alternative byebye · alternative pronunciation spelling buh-bye

  1. childishinformaloftenGoodbye.

    Bye bye! Let's play again some time!

    1995, HAL Laboratory, EarthBound, Nintendo, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
nounbye-bye (plural bye-byes)

plural bye-byes · alternative rare by-by · alternative bye bye · alternative byebye · alternative pronunciation spelling buh-bye

  1. childishcolloquialoftenA goodbye.
  2. childishcolloquialBedtime for a toddler, going to sleep, going to bed.

    Brush your teeth, it's time to go bye-bye.

    1 more example

    "[H]e came to the gate of the city; and finding it shut lay him down and went to by-by!"

    1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XXII, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 224

    Synonyms: beddy-bye

Synonyms & antonyms

nounBedtime for a toddler, going to sleep, going to bed.

Similar
beddy-bye

More synonyms by meaning

nouna farewell remark

Similar
adieuadiosarrivederciauf wiedersehenau revoirbyecheeriogood-bygoodbygood-byegoodbyegood daysayonaraso long
Broader
farewellword of farewell
Also see
adieuadiosarrivederciauf wiedersehenau revoirbeddy-byebyecheeriociaogod be with yougoodbygoodbyegood daysayonarasmell you laterso long

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰew-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰutós?
  3. Proto-Germanic*gudą
  4. Proto-West Germanic*god
  5. Old Englishgod
  6. Middle Englishgod
  7. Middle EnglishGod
  8. EnglishGod
  9. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuHyétider.?
  11. Proto-Germanic*beuną
  12. Proto-West Germanic*beun
  13. Old Englishbēon
  14. Middle Englishbeen
  15. Englishbe
  16. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  17. Proto-Indo-European*dwi-
  18. Proto-Indo-European*wí
  19. Proto-Indo-European*wíteros
  20. Proto-Indo-European*wíterom
  21. Proto-Germanic*wiþrą
  22. Proto-West Germanic*wiþr
  23. Old Englishwiþerclip.
  24. Old Englishwiþ
  25. Middle Englishwiþ
  26. Englishwith
  27. Proto-Indo-European*yúHs
  28. Proto-Indo-European*uswé
  29. Proto-Indo-European*uswís
  30. Proto-Germanic*izwiz
  31. Proto-West Germanic*iwwiz
  32. Old Englishēow
  33. Middle Englishyow
  34. Englishyou
  35. Englishgoodinflu.
  36. Englishgoodbyeclip.
  37. Englishbyeredup.
  38. Englishbye-bye

Reduplication of bye.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic إِلَى اَللِّقَاء, بَاي بَاي
  • إِلَى اَللِّقَاء (ʔilā l-liqāʔ)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • بَاي بَايgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Chinese Cantonese 拜拜, 再見 /再见
  • 拜拜goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • 再見 /再见 (zoi³ gin³)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Chinese Mandarin 再見 /再见, 再會 /再会
  • 再見 /再见 (zàijiàn)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • 再會 /再会 (zàihuì)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • 拜拜 (bàibài, bāibái, báibái)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • 88 (bābā)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • 掰掰 (bāibāi)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Dutch doei doei, dag
  • doei doeigoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • daggoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Finnish hei hei, hei sitten
  • hei heigoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • hei sittengoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
French salut, tchao
  • salutgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • tchaogoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • à plusgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • dodobedtime for a toddler
German Heia
  • Heiabedtime for a toddler
Hindi अलविदा, बाई बाई
  • अलविदा (alvidā)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • बाई बाई (bāī bāī)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Hungarian pá-pá
  • pá-págoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Indonesian dadah
  • dadahgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Japanese では, またね
  • では (dewa)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • またね (mata ne)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • じゃ、また (ja, mata)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • バイバイ (bai-bai)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • バイ (bai)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • じゃあね (jā ne)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • おねんね (onenne)bedtime for a toddler
Korean 안녕, 바이바이
  • 안녕 (annyeong)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • 바이바이 (baibai)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • 빠이빠이 (ppaippai)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Latvian atā, sveiks
  • atāgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • sveiksgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Norwegian ha det, ha det bra
  • ha detgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • ha det bragoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Persian خداحافظ, بای بای
  • خداحافظ (xodâhâfez)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • بای بای (bây bây)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Polish pa pa, pożegnanie
  • pa pagoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • pożegnaniegoodbye
  • pora snubedtime for a toddler
  • czas lulubedtime for a toddler
Portuguese tchau tchau
  • tchau tchaugoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Romanian pa-pa, la revedere
  • pa-pagoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • la revederegoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Russian пока́, бай-ба́й
  • пока́ (poká)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • бай-ба́й (baj-báj)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • баю-бай (baju-baj)bedtime for a toddler
Scottish Gaelic bà bà
  • bà bàbedtime for a toddler
Spanish adiós, chau
  • adiósgoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • chaugoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Thai บ๊ายบาย, ลาก่อน
  • บ๊ายบาย (báai-baai)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • ลาก่อน (laa-gɔ̀ɔn)goodbye — see also bye, goodbye
Vietnamese bái bai, bai
  • bái baigoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • baigoodbye — see also bye, goodbye
  • chào nhagoodbye — see also bye, goodbye

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with bye-bye

byimybuyhighywhyreplyjJulytryapplysupplyhieyeguyfidiflyskynearbykyspysi
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

bye-bye. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bye-bye

MLA

“bye-bye.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bye-bye. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bye-bye,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bye-bye.

Source: bye-bye on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.