Namaste all of you! My name is Aditi (or Advaita or Addy, whichever you are comfortable with) and I am going to be teaching you, along with my co-teacher the-varnika, in this column every month. First of all, let me clear one thing, Devanagari script and Hindi are separable. Devanagari script may be a bit difficult even for those who have Hindi as their mother tongue (some examples are my younger brother and many of my classmates in school). That being the reason, we won't touch Devanagari right now. In a few lessons, I am pretty sure you will know Hindi so well, that learning Devanagari script will be a child's play to you.
This month, we shall be covering all the basic greetings in Hindi. So let's begin!
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1) Namaste
General usage and meaning: It is the most basic greeting of all. It is usually used to greet a person older than you or a respectable person in the society. You may have heard it in yoga classes, if you attend them. It is of Sanskrit origin and is made up of two words: Namah (नम:) meaning (this word has a lot of meanings but we will stick with) worship and te (ते) meaning you . It means I bow to the divinity inside you. In India (the place of origin of Hindi), we believe that a portion of the brahman (universe) is inside all of us in the form of atma (soul), so through a namaste we greet or show our respect to the universe inside the person we are talking to. Namaste is nowadays used as a sign of respect.
How to use it: It is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest.
Easy Pronunciation: Num(rhymes with bum)-Us-Tay or Naam-Us-Tay (first one is more accurate)
Fun fact: My English teacher doesn't use the standard 'good morning' to greet us. She goes with 'namste'
2) Suprabhat
General usage and meaning: It means good morning. It is made up of two words: Su (सु) meaning good and prabhat (प्रभात) meaning morning.
How to use it: No specific way. It is a substitute of good morning.
Easy Pronunciation: Su (rhymes with do)- pruh (rhymes with bruh)- bh-aa-t
Fun fact: I hear this word everyday in my morning assembly before the shlok (a two lined Sanskrit verse, usually with some moral behind it)
3) Shubh
General usage and meaning: It means auspicious/good. It is used in a couple of greetings.
How to use it: It is not used individually and is paired with word(s) to form a greeting or phrase.
Easy Pronunciation: Shoo-bh
Fun fact: A girl in my school is named Shubh.
4) Shubh Din
General usage and meaning: It means good day/good afternoon. It is rarely used as good afternoon as Shubh (शुभ) means good and Din (दिन) means day.
How to use it: Nothing specific. Just pass by someone and say Shubh din to you (good day to you). Lol you don't have to stick to that. Just use it as a substitute of good day.
Easy Pronunciation: Shoo-bh Din
Fun fact: Um... Can't think of any xD
5. Shubh Sandhya
General usage and meaning: It means good evening. Shubh (शुभ) means good and sandhya (संध्या) means evening.
How to use it: In place of good evening, this can be used.
Easy Pronunciation: Shoo-bh San-dhi-ya
Fun fact: Sandhya is a beautiful name and I have noticed MOST people with that name have dusky skin and are beautiful like the evening.
6. Shubh Ratri
General usage and meaning: It means good night. Shubh (शुभ) means good and ratri (रात्रि) means night.
How to use it: In place of good night.
Easy Pronunciation: Shoo-bh Raa-t-ree
Fan fact: Night has many synonyms like Ratri (रात्रि) and rajni (रजनी). Rajni is a beautiful name and is a name of a person I know.
These are the common greetings. Feel free to greet everyone using these! Also, do not hesitate to approach me ( AdventurousA ) or the-varnika if you guys have any doubts.
