Thank you in Hindi: धन्यवाद, शुक्रिया, and when to say neither

धन्यवाद (dhanyavaad) and शुक्रिया (shukriya) both mean thank you. धन्यवाद comes from Sanskrit and sounds formal, almost written. शुक्रिया comes from Urdu and is warmer and more conversational. In practice, urban speakers most often say 'thanks' in English — and within a close family, Hindi speakers frequently say nothing at all, because thanking a family member for an everyday favour can imply a distance that is not there.

That last point is the one no phrasebook mentions, and it is the reason a learner who thanks everyone profusely comes across as oddly formal rather than polite.

Which word, and when

शुक्रिया carries a slight Urdu and north-Indian Muslim association for some speakers, though it is used far beyond that. It is never wrong; it simply sounds a little more Delhi and a little less news broadcast than धन्यवाद.

Why thanking family sounds strange

In English, 'thanks' lubricates every small interaction, including with people you live with. In Hindi, thanking your mother for dinner or your brother for passing the salt can read as marking the act as a favour between separate parties — which is not how family obligations are framed.

Nobody will be offended if you say it. But watch a Hindi-speaking household and you will hear far fewer thank-yous than in an equivalent English one, and the absence is warmth rather than rudeness.

• A shopkeeper, a driver, a waiter: शुक्रिया or thanks is normal and appreciated.
• A colleague or a stranger who helped: शुक्रिया, or धन्यवाद if the setting is formal.
• A close friend doing you a small favour: often nothing, or a nod, or 'thanks yaar'.
• Your own family: usually nothing at all for everyday acts.
• Anything significant, from anyone: say it properly, in whichever word fits the relationship.

Replying to thanks

स्वागत है is what dictionaries give for 'you're welcome', and it is the least common of these in speech. It literally means 'there is welcome' and is more at home greeting a guest than answering a thank-you. कोई बात नहीं is what people actually say.

Sorry, which works the same way

माफ़ कीजिए also does the work of 'excuse me' when you need to get past someone or interrupt politely. The verb ending shifts with formality exactly as it does everywhere else in Hindi — कीजिए is the polite form, करो the casual one.

What translation tools get wrong here

Ask any engine for 'thank you' in Hindi and you will get धन्यवाद, every time. It is not incorrect, but it is the most formal option, and applying it to a friend is like ending a text to your flatmate with 'yours sincerely'.

The right-hand column is not slang. It is what fluent adults say to each other in ordinary situations, and the left-hand column is what you would find in a government circular.