See You Again.

[troysantos]

Do any native English speakers anywhere say this, outside of Thailand?

I'm American. I don't think I've ever said this to another American. Maybe I have but I sure don't remember and it really seems foreign to me. I have been teaching people to say, "See you later." because that's what I'm used to. Of course, there could very well be tons of American who say this, and I just don't know. And, of course, native English speakers outside of the USA may say this all the time.

[bifftastic]

I'm English and we might say "See you again soon" but I've hardly heard it to be honest.

More often "See you later" or "...next time"

[Jingthing]

I think, yes, I have used that phrase in the U.S.

[monekyface]

Never.

[talk2sam]

I tell my co-teachers "see you later" and they just staring, but "see you again" and you see smiles on their face.

[Jingthing]

Not all the time! Maybe a dating situation, wink wink nod nod.

[sbk]

this doesn't appear to be Thai language related

[kandahar]

I always said "See you later" or "See ya", in the old country. I have had some people in the old country tell me "See you again". Women in the old country seem to say "See you again" more than men, in my experience. But in Thailand, when speaking to a Thai, I always say "See you again". I do that because I have been asked "What does 'see you later' mean", with the word "later" turning out to be the problem. I dropped that and went to "See you again". "See you again" seems to be understood a little better in my exchanges here.

[Murf]

When you wake up:

If she is nice, then "see you again"

If she is ugly then "see ya!"

[tgeezer]

I thought the question was do people say; outside of Thailand outside of the USA , because I couldn't see anything odd in 'See you again'; it is quite common in England.

[Jingthing]

Maybe it's a regional thing in the US. Like I said I am sure that sometimes in the US I have said see you again, and don't recall people saying HUH? to that. As I don't identify closely with any region in the US (lived all over the place) I can't point to any region where it is more common, but I'm pretty sure it's not unusual to say in the US in at least some regions.

[badmedicine]

Not in my experience. Sounds insincere to me (like seeing them again is the last thing on your mind).  

Of course, that's not the same as "I'd like to see you again", which is a staple of interested parties the (English-speaking) world over.

Where I come from, we just say 'Laters', with barely a nod.

Edited July 5, 2011 by badmedicine

[MAJIC]

"See you again" was quite a normal goodbye years ago,but now its not so popular as "see you later" Take care" "see you soon"

See you later is not very accurate,and used to get me annoyed,thinking my Daughters Boyfriend (who I didnt like ) was appearing at our house for the second time that day... Grr

Edited July 5, 2011 by MAJIC

[Jingthing]

Not in my experience. Sounds insincere to me (like seeing them again is the last thing on your mind).

That's often the meaning, yes! Depends on tone of voice/body language.

Also possible that it's dated, but I still think it might be a regional thing also.

Edited July 5, 2011 by Jingthing

[bobo42]

Also from the US, not normal where I come from. In a more formal speaking situation, I might use "I hope to see you again soon" or something similar, but to me it would sound weird to just say "see you again". Normally I would use, "see you later".

[Jingthing]

That makes sense. Could be a shorthand of "I hope to see you again" which would be used on a first meeting of a person.

[laowai1960]

Google ‘exact phrase’ searches:-

See you later = 7.6 million hits

See you again = 21.4 million hits

[bobo42]

Google 'exact phrase' searches:-

See you later = 7.6 million hits

See you again = 21.4 million hits

Well, that is really not indicative of the phrase's use in the context of a "goodbye", or conversation ending. My interpretation of the OP is the use of the specific phrase as a "goodbye" at the end of a conversation. It seems quite likely that the particular combination of words "see you again" may well appear more often in sentences with other meanings, so I don't think the Google ranking has much value here without being able to search for the phrase in context.

[JetsetBkk]

"See you again" was quite a normal goodbye years ago,but now its not so popular as "see you later" Take care" "see you soon"

<snip>

I must be old-fashioned because I say it all the time in Thailand and I'm pretty sure I used to say it in England.

To me it means the same as "see you sometime" or "see you whenever", i.e. no fixed time, just whenever we happen to meet again.

[Sattpalat]

Maybe you can use

"phop gan may" or "lauv phop gan may khap"

[soundman]

Google 'exact phrase' searches:-

See you later = 7.6 million hits

See you again = 21.4 million hits

See you soon = 282,000,000 hits.

.......................................

Most Thai's I know, who are basically beginners in English language, say "see you again".

So I would also like to know what curriculum this [not quite correct] saying has come from.

[JetsetBkk]

Google 'exact phrase' searches:-

See you later = 7.6 million hits

See you again = 21.4 million hits

See you soon = 282,000,000 hits.

.......................................

Most Thai's I know, who are basically beginners in English language, say "see you again".

So I would also like to know what curriculum this [not quite correct] saying has come from.

Who says it isn't correct? Perhaps your Thai friends have a good English teacher.

"see you later" means "see you some time later" - as if a meeting is bound to happen

"see you soon" means "I hope to see you soon" - as if you desire an early meeting

"see you again" means "see you sometime, maybe" - not a definite prospect, but likely

The large number of Google hits on "see you soon" is simply because that phrase is used to indicate a desire for a meeting, which is what many people will say to another person.

I can't believe I'm having to explain this. Doesn't anybody else here speak English?

[soundman]

No - English has morphed, I speak Australian. In fact I think English is a minority on this board.

.................................

On this subject, I don't know, to me "see you again" just doesn't feel right, in fact it sounds weird.

TBH, never really heard it until recently in Thailand.

Maybe it is an Australian thing, yeah we don't speak English down there - we speak Australian , however, I can't recall having heard another Australian person say "see you again".

[wolf5370]

I would say "See you soon" perhaps, but I doubt "See you again soon", it just does not sound right and needs a comma after "again", I think.

[onionluke]

In Scotland they say "See you" again and again .

"Have a nice day" is a common courtesy when parting company although I prefer "Have another tomorow"

[JetsetBkk]

No - English has morphed, I speak Australian. In fact I think English is a minority on this board.

.................................

On this subject, I don't know, to me "see you again" just doesn't feel right, in fact it sounds weird.

TBH, never really heard it until recently in Thailand.

Maybe it is an Australian thing, yeah we don't speak English down there - we speak Australian , however, I can't recall having heard another Australian person say "see you again".

Less than an hour ago, I left my favourite restaurant and the Thai waiter said: "See you again!"

I immediately thought of you. I hope that doesn't keep happening!

Anyway, I thought you Aussie guys spoke "Strine".