Hindi Lesson 5: Thank You, Goodbye and Farewell

Namaste! 

By now, if you’ve been following these lessons from the start, you should be able to have the necessary tools to participate in a brief conversation in Hindi. If you missed a lesson, or if you feel you would benefit from brushing up on previous material, then please don’t hesitate to go back and have a quick skim over lesson one, lesson two, lesson three and/or lesson four. Don’t worry, a quick skim should be all that’s necessary, and I promise I’ll be here waiting for you when you’re ready!

Now for our final conversational component. Lesson 5: Goodbyes. 

Every meeting must bring a parting, and whether it’s with a stranger, a friend or a potential business partner, if we learn manners and how to say a goodbye in Hindi, then it will finish off your interaction nicely; It will both impress them and show a level of cultural sensitivity for the Hindi-speakers culture.

But first, a thankyou:

धन्यवाद dhanyavaad/dhan-ya-vaad – Thank you

To this you can add the word ‘bahut’ to emphasise your gratitude, ‘bahut‘ meaning many/very much.

बहुत धन्यवाद bahut dhanyavaad/ba-hutt dhan-ya-vaad – Thank you very much

This is not the only way to express your gratitude, Hindi often borrows Urdu expressions to give a more informal, colloquial feel. This is seen with:

शुक्रिया shukriyaa/shu-kri-yaa – Thanks (Informal/Colloquial)

बहुत शुक्रिया bahut shukriyaa – Thanks a lot (Informal/Colloquial) 

We’ve had the thankyous, now for the goodbyes.

Goodbyes and Farewells

Some of you may remember that we already know one way to say goodbye, and it’s already been said in this lesson, and every other lesson. Remember?

नमस्ते namaste/na-ma-ste - Goodbye

That’s right, namaste means ‘goodbye’ as well as meaning ‘hello’! Literally Namaste means “I bow to (your) form”, so its natural that it could be used when parting. Can you remember the more formal, more plural way of saying hello and goodbye? 

In India, rather than shaking hands, it is customary to perform a special gesture when meeting or leaving somebody. This is performed by placing your palms together in front of your chest, fingers pointing up as if praying, and bowing slightly. You can see a Mohiniattam dancer making this Namaste gesture below.

Like in English, there is more than one way to say ‘goodbye’ in Hindi. An alternative expression would be to “See you again”:

फिर मिलेंगे phir milenge/phir mee-len-gay - Goodbye/See You again

 Phir means ‘again’ and milenge means ‘we will meet’ literally meaning “We will meet again”. A variation of phir milenge is:

फिर मिलते है phir milte hai/phir mil-tay hai - See you later 

A less common way of saying goodbye, is again, borrowing an expression from Urdu.

अलविदा alvidaa/al-vi-daa – Bye/Farewell

This word, alvidaa, literally means farewell.

And with alvidaa it is phir milenge - we have completed our first five lessons of forays into the world of the Hindi language. But this is not goodbye forever; there is a whole realm of beauty and expression to explore. Make sure you leave a comment with any questions, feedback or general desires for this series, all will be appreciated.

Until next time, phir milenge!

Learn More Hindi:
Lesson 1: Greetings
Lesson 2: Introducing Yourself
Lesson 3: Talking Nationality
Lesson 4: Now You Can Always Get What You Want