allillanchu
In Quechua, the way to say "hi" is allillanchu.
allillanchu is used as a friendly, informal greeting to ask how someone is doing.
Meaning: friendly, informal greeting (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is a combination of allin, meaning "well" or "good" and the interrogative suffix -chu, which turns the word into a question.
When do people say it?
When someone greets you with allillanchu, the standard response is allillanmi, which means "I am well".
Did you know?
- Because Quechua was suppressed for centuries in favor of Spanish, using allillanchu today is often seen as a proud act of cultural reclamation and identity.
- In some traditional Andean cultures, greetings like allillanchu are deeply tied to the concept of 'ayllu' or community, emphasizing the well-being of the group over the individual.
- Quechua is an agglutinative language, meaning it builds meaning by adding suffixes. The word allillanchu is not a phrase of separate words but a single root allin with multiple markers attached to it.
Examples in context
- Allillanchu, panillay!Hi, my sister!
Example conversation
Luis meets Maria on a street in the village.
- LuisAllillanchu, Maria!Hi, Maria!
- MariaAllillanchu, Luis!Hi, Luis!
- LuisAllillanchu kachkanki?Are you doing well?
- MariaAllillanmi, añay.Well, thanks.
