“Namaste” & More Greetings in Hindi

Confession: I am very particular about greetings. I mean, I remember whether or not you say a “hello” or a “good morning” or a “goodbye” and I also remember whether or not how you react to any greetings. I just remember. That’s all. Perhaps it’s probably because I like greetings so I pay extra attention to them. And I find greetings to be excellent conversation starters; I think they make the flow of the talk a bit easy and nice and swell. How do you feel about greetings? Do you like them? Does a greeting make or break a conversation or an interaction for you?

• good morning: सुप्रभात (suprabhaat)
• good afternoon: शुभ दिन (śubha dina)
• good evening: शुभ सन्ध्या (śubha sandhyā)
• good night: शुभ रात्रि (śubha rātri)
• hello: नमस्ते (namaste)
• hi: हे (he)
• how are you: क्या हाल है (kyaa haal hai?)
• (asked to elders) how are you: आप कैसे हैं (aap kaise hain?)
• how are you: तुम कैसे हो (tum kaise ho?)
• how have you been: क्या हाल हैं (kya haal hain?)
• bye: नमस्ते (namaste)