Every guidebook tells you to say नमस्ते (namaste). That is not wrong, but it is incomplete, and using it in the wrong place marks you instantly as someone reading from a phrasebook.
नमस्ते comes from namah (I bow) and te (to you). It is respectful, it works at any hour of the day, and it is never rude. Press your palms together at chest height and dip your head slightly.
नमस्कार (namaskaar) is the same idea, slightly more formal. Use it with older people, in offices, or when you want to show extra respect.
| Situation | Say this instead |
|---|---|
| Greeting a Muslim friend or family | सलाम वालेकुम (salaam waalekum) |
| Greeting a Sikh | सत श्री अकाल (sat shri akaal) |
| Close friends, your own age | क्या हाल है? (kya haal hai?) — what's up |
| Answering the phone | हैलो (hello) — yes, really |
| Walking into a shop | often nothing at all; just state what you want |
That last row surprises people. Indian shops are not places for elaborate greeting rituals. A nod and "bhaiya, ye kitne ka hai?" is perfectly normal.
Greeting someone and then falling silent is awkward in any language. Learn one of these and you have an actual conversation:
Notice that the greeting changes depending on whether you are speaking to a man or a woman. Hindi verbs and adjectives agree with gender, and this catches out almost every English speaker. It is not optional politeness — it is grammar, and getting it wrong sounds as odd as "he are going" does in English.
मैं ठीक हूँ, धन्यवाद (main theek hoon, dhanyavaad) — I am fine, thank you.
In everyday speech most people say शुक्रिया (shukriya) rather than dhanyavaad, which can sound stiff or overly formal between friends. And often nobody says thank you at all for small things — among family it can even feel cold and distancing. This is the kind of thing no app tells you.
Hindi has सुप्रभात (suprabhaat, good morning) and शुभ रात्रि (shubh raatri, good night), but be aware: these are formal, literary words. You will hear them on television news, rarely between friends. In practice people say namaste at any hour, or simply "good morning" in English, which is completely normal in Indian cities.
Getting greetings right is the fastest way to be treated as someone making a genuine effort rather than a tourist. It takes one lesson.
Reading about pronunciation only takes you so far — the sounds English does not have need someone listening and correcting you. EkGuru tutors teach one to one, from $6 a lesson, and most offer a trial.
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Lessons run at times that suit you wherever you are — see the hours for your location.