Greetings and politeness in Gujarati
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on. Play the ten Gujarati words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 Gujarati phrases in this lesson
- નમસ્તેna-ma-STAY
- Hello
- શુભ સવારSHUBH sa-VAAR
- Good morning
- શુભ સાંજSHUBH SAANJ
- Good evening
- આવજોAA-va-jo
- Goodbye
- પછી મળીએpa-CHHI ma-LEE-eh
- See you
- કૃપા કરીનેKRIP-aa ka-REE-ne
- Please
- આભારaa-BHAAR
- Thank you
- કંઈ વાંધો નહીંKAI VAAN-dho na-HEEN
- You're welcome
- દિલગીર છુંdil-GEER chhum
- Sorry
- માફ કરશોMAAF kar-SHO
- Excuse me
- તમને મળીને આનંદ થયોta-MA-ne MA-lee-ne aa-NAND tha-YO
- Nice to meet you
The standard respectful greeting, used with hands pressed together. Works for any time of day and any age group.
Literally "auspicious morning." More formal than everyday speech; you will often just hear "Kem cho?" instead.
The formal evening greeting. In daily life નમસ્તે (na-ma-STAY) or કેમ છો (KEM chho) covers it.
Literally "come again" or "do come back." It reflects Gujarati hospitality culture where parting always carries an invitation to return.
Literally "let's meet later". આવજો (AAV-jo) is the everyday goodbye.
Formal and polite. In casual conversation Gujaratis often soften a request with a rising tone rather than adding this phrase explicitly.
A quick, sincere thank you. In informal settings you may also hear the Hindi "shukriya" due to cross-cultural overlap.
Literally "no objection at all", the everyday reply to thanks.
Literally "I am heart-sorry", the real apology.
Used to get attention or to apologize for a minor inconvenience. "Maaf" comes from Arabic via Persian and is shared with Hindi and Urdu.
Literally "meeting you gave me joy".