नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं?
namaste, aap kaise hain?
The English phrase "hi, how are you?" is translated into Hindi as नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं? (namaste, aap kaise hain?)
This phrase is a common greeting used to say hello and ask about a person's well-being.
Which one should you use?
The form tum kaise ho? is an informal way to ask "how are you?" and is used with friends or younger people.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं? uses the polite second-person pronoun aap and the masculine plural verb form to show respect. However, when speaking to a woman using the polite aap, the phrase changes to aap kaisi hain? to match the feminine gender.
How do you pronounce it?
namaste, aap kaise hain?
When do people say it?
When using नमस्ते, it is important to join your palms together in front of your chest. A common response to this greeting is मैं ठीक हूँ, धन्यवाद।, which means "I am fine, thank you."
Did you know?
- While you might use 'how are you' to start a conversation, the greeting नमस्ते is also a way of acknowledging the divine light within another person.
- The respectful pronoun आप is a distant relative of the English word 'breath', via the German 'Atem' and Dutch 'adem'.
- While namaste is used as a greeting, it is also frequently used when saying goodbye to someone.
Examples in context
- नमस्ते! कैसे हैं आप?Hello! How are you?
- नमस्ते! कैसे हो?Hi! How are you?
- नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं? सब ठीक है?namaste, aap kaise hain? sab theek hai?Hi, how are you? Is everything okay?
- नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं? बहुत दिनों बाद मिले।namaste, aap kaise hain? bahut dinon baad mile.Hi, how are you? We met after a long time.
Example conversation
Two acquaintances meet by chance at a park.
- पूजा Poojaनमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं?Namaste, aap kaise hain?Hi, how are you?
- आदित्य Adityaमैं ठीक हूँ, धन्यवाद। और आप?Main theek hoon, dhanyavad. Aur aap?I am fine, thank you. And you?
- पूजा Poojaमैं भी अच्छी हूँ।Main bhi achhi hoon.I am also good.
- आदित्य Adityaयह जानकर खुशी हुई।Yeh jaankar khushi hui.I am happy to know that.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries आप, कैसे, नमस्ते, CC BY-SA 4.0.
