Indian

There is no single language called Indian, so this page gives Hindi. An elder brother is बड़ा भाई (bada bhai). People call him भैया (bhaiya) to his face.

The common casual way to ask is क्या हाल है? (kyā hāl hai?). Politely, say आप कैसे हैं? (āp kaise haiṃ?).

A common Hindi pet name for a sweetheart is जानू (jānū).

In Mumbai people greet each other with नमस्ते (namaste), the common Hindi greeting. Marathi, the language of the state, uses नमस्कार (namaskār).

There is no single language called Indian, so this page gives Hindi. The direct way to tell someone to be quiet is चुप रहो (chup raho).

In Hindi you can wish सुरक्षित यात्रा (surakshit yātrā) for safe travels. A warmer formal blessing is यात्रा मंगलमय हो (yātrā mangalmay ho).

“How much” is कितना (kitnā). To ask a price, say यह कितने का है? (yah kitne kā hai?) or कितने पैसे? (kitne paise?).

The most common greeting is नमस्ते (namaste), said with palms pressed together.

“Hello, how are you” is नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं? (namaste, āp kaise haiṃ?). With friends you can say हैलो, कैसे हो? (hailo, kaise ho?).

In Hindi a snail is घोंघा (ghonghā). You see snails in gardens after the monsoon rains. घोंघा is mainly the word for a snail with a shell.