What does it mean word for word?
The word शुभ literally means 'auspicious' or 'lucky', which is the standard way to express 'happy' in formal greetings.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For instance, दीपावली की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ is a more formal and elaborate way to wish someone a happy Diwali, translating to 'Heartfelt best wishes for Diwali'. Additionally, दिवाली की बहुत बधाई हो is a way to wish someone a Happy Diwali formally and आपको दिवाली की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ is used to convey warm and sincere greetings formally.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some parts of India, people may say Diwali ki lakh lakh vadhaiyan to express heartfelt wishes.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is shubh deepawali. The IPA is /ʃʊbʱ d̪iː.pɑː.ʋə.liː/. The word has 4 syllables.
When do people say it?
People use various phrases to extend warm wishes, such as दीपावली की शुभकामनाएँ!, which is used to extend warm wishes for Diwali.
Did you know?
- The word दीपावली is a compound of the Sanskrit words for 'lamp' and 'row'. Therefore, when you wish someone a 'happy diwali', you are literally referring to a 'row of lights'.
- If you want to sound extra heartfelt, you can say लाख लाख बधाइयाँ (lakh lakh vadhaiyan), which literally invokes the number 'lakh' (one hundred thousand) multiple times to wish someone millions of congratulations.
- While 'happy' is usually translated as खुश (khush) in daily conversation, you should use शुभ (shubh) for festival greetings to convey a sense of 'auspiciousness' instead of just emotion.
Examples in context
- जया जी, दिवाली की बहुत बधाई हो।Jaya ji, Happy Diwali.
- शुभ दीपावली!shubh deepavali!Happy Diwali!
- आपको और आपके परिवार को शुभ दीपावली।aapko aur aapke parivaar ko shubh deepavali.Happy Diwali to you and your family.
- सबको शुभ दीपावली की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएँ।sabko shubh deepavali ki haardik shubhkamnaayein.Heartfelt wishes of Happy Diwali to everyone.
Example conversation
Two neighbors meeting during the festival celebrations.
- पूजा Poojaनमस्ते विकास, शुभ दीपावली!namaste vikaas, shubh deepavali!Hello Vikas, Happy Diwali!
- विकास Vikasनमस्ते पूजा, आपको भी शुभ दीपावली।namaste pooja, aapko bhi shubh deepavali.Hello Pooja, Happy Diwali to you too.
- पूजा Poojaक्या आपने दिए जलाए?kya aapne diye jalaaye?Did you light the lamps?
- विकास Vikasहाँ, हमने बहुत सारे दिए जलाए।haan, humne bahut saare diye jalaaye.Yes, we lit many lamps.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (शुभ, दीपावली) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries दीपावली, शुभ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
