Everyday Hindi phrases: 23 phrases with pronunciation

“Thank you” in Hindi

“Thank you” in Hindi is धन्यवाद, pronounced Dhanyavaad. धन्यवाद is formal. Among friends the English "thanks" is far more common in everyday Indian speech, and शुक्रिया (shukriya) carries a warmer, Urdu-influenced tone.

Example sentences

• Thank you for your help.

  आपकी मदद के लिए धन्यवाद।

  Aapki madad ke liye dhanyavaad.

• Thanks yaar, you saved me.

  शुक्रिया यार, तुमने बचा लिया।

  Shukriya yaar, tumne bacha liya.

Formal, casual, and other variants

Common mistake

Saying धन्यवाद for every small favour sounds stiff. Indians often just say "thanks" in English.

“Please” in Hindi

“Please” in Hindi is कृपया, pronounced Kripya. कृपया is formal and appears mostly in writing and announcements. In speech, politeness comes from the verb ending — कीजिए (kijiye) rather than करो — not from adding कृपया.

Example sentences

• Please wait here.

  कृपया यहाँ प्रतीक्षा करें।

  Kripya yahan prateeksha karein.

• Please sit down.

  बैठिए।

  Baithiye.

Common mistake

Adding कृपया to every request the way English adds "please" sounds robotic. The polite verb form already carries it.

“I am sorry” in Hindi

“I am sorry” in Hindi is मुझे खेद है, pronounced Mujhe khed hai. मुझे खेद है is formal and written. A spoken apology is माफ़ कीजिए (maaf kijiye), or simply the English "sorry", which is used constantly.

Example sentences

• I am sorry for the delay.

  देरी के लिए मुझे खेद है।

  Deri ke liye mujhe khed hai.

• Sorry, I forgot.

  माफ़ करना, मैं भूल गया।

  Maaf karna, main bhool gaya.

Formal, casual, and other variants

“Excuse me” in Hindi

“Excuse me” in Hindi is सुनिए, pronounced Suniye. सुनिए literally means "listen" and is how you get a stranger's attention. To squeeze past someone, say ज़रा हटिए (zara hatiye — please move aside).

Example sentences

• Excuse me, where is the station?

  सुनिए, स्टेशन कहाँ है?

  Suniye, station kahan hai?

• Excuse me, may I pass?

  ज़रा हटिए, निकलना है।

  Zara hatiye, nikalna hai.

Common mistake

There is no single word for "excuse me" — which one you use depends entirely on whether you want attention or want to pass.

“Yes” in Hindi

“Yes” in Hindi is हाँ, pronounced Haan. हाँ is the plain yes. जी हाँ (ji haan) adds respect and is what you say to an elder, a customer, or on the phone to someone you don't know.

Example sentences

• Yes, I understood.

  हाँ, मैं समझ गया।

  Haan, main samajh gaya.

• Yes sir, absolutely.

  जी हाँ, बिल्कुल।

  Ji haan, bilkul.

Formal, casual, and other variants

“No” in Hindi

“No” in Hindi is नहीं, pronounced Nahi. नहीं is the plain no. जी नहीं (ji nahi) softens it politely. A blunt नहीं to someone senior can sound curt.

Example sentences

• No, that is not correct.

  नहीं, यह सही नहीं है।

  Nahi, yeh sahi nahi hai.

• No sir, I did not see it.

  जी नहीं, मैंने नहीं देखा।

  Ji nahi, maine nahi dekha.

“Please help me” in Hindi

“Please help me” in Hindi is कृपया मेरी मदद कीजिए, pronounced Kripya meri madad kijiye. Drop कृपया and say मेरी मदद करो with friends. In an actual emergency people shout बचाओ (bachao) — save me.

Example sentences

• Please help me, I am lost.

  कृपया मेरी मदद कीजिए, मैं रास्ता भटक गया हूँ।

  Kripya meri madad kijiye, main raasta bhatak gaya hoon.

• Help! Somebody help!

  बचाओ! कोई बचाओ!

  Bachao! Koi bachao!

“I don't understand” in Hindi

“I don't understand” in Hindi is मुझे समझ नहीं आया, pronounced Mujhe samajh nahi aaya. Literally "understanding did not come to me". To ask for a repeat, say फिर से कहिए (phir se kahiye).

Example sentences

• Sorry, I don't understand.

  माफ़ कीजिए, मुझे समझ नहीं आया।

  Maaf kijiye, mujhe samajh nahi aaya.

• Please say that again slowly.

  ज़रा धीरे से फिर से कहिए।

  Zara dheere se phir se kahiye.

Common mistake

मैं नहीं समझता is grammatical but means "I habitually do not understand". Use मुझे समझ नहीं आया for a specific moment.

“I don't know” in Hindi

“I don't know” in Hindi is मुझे नहीं पता, pronounced Mujhe nahi pata. The everyday form. मुझे नहीं मालूम (mujhe nahi maloom) means the same thing and sounds slightly more formal.

Example sentences

• I don't know where he went.

  मुझे नहीं पता वह कहाँ गया।

  Mujhe nahi pata voh kahan gaya.

• I really don't know, sir.

  मुझे सच में नहीं मालूम, सर।

  Mujhe sach mein nahi maloom, sir.

“No problem” in Hindi

“No problem” in Hindi is कोई बात नहीं, pronounced Koi baat nahi. Does double duty: it waves off an apology and also serves as "you're welcome" after a thank you.

Example sentences

• Sorry I'm late. — No problem.

  माफ़ करना, देर हो गई। — कोई बात नहीं।

  Maaf karna, der ho gayi. — Koi baat nahi.

• Thanks a lot! — No problem at all.

  बहुत धन्यवाद! — कोई बात नहीं।

  Bahut dhanyavaad! — Koi baat nahi.

“Wait a minute” in Hindi

“Wait a minute” in Hindi is एक मिनट रुकिए, pronounced Ek minute rukiye. Note that मिनट is borrowed straight from English — that is the normal word. ज़रा रुको (zara ruko) is the casual version.

Example sentences

• Wait a minute, I'm coming.

  एक मिनट रुकिए, मैं आ रहा हूँ।

  Ek minute rukiye, main aa raha hoon.

• Hold on, let me check.

  ज़रा रुको, मैं देखता हूँ।

  Zara ruko, main dekhta hoon.

“Good luck” in Hindi

“Good luck” in Hindi is शुभकामनाएँ, pronounced Shubhkaamnaayein. शुभकामनाएँ means "good wishes" and covers exams, interviews, and new ventures. Everyday speech often just uses the English "all the best".

Example sentences

• Good luck for your exam.

  परीक्षा के लिए शुभकामनाएँ।

  Pareeksha ke liye shubhkaamnaayein.

• All the best for the interview!

  इंटरव्यू के लिए ऑल द बेस्ट!

  Interview ke liye all the best!

“Be careful” in Hindi

“Be careful” in Hindi is सावधान रहो, pronounced Saavdhaan raho. सावधान is a general warning. For "pay attention to yourself", ध्यान से (dhyaan se) is gentler and more common when someone is leaving.

Example sentences

• Be careful, the road is slippery.

  सावधान रहो, सड़क फिसलन भरी है।

  Saavdhaan raho, sadak phislan bhari hai.

• Drive carefully.

  ध्यान से गाड़ी चलाना।

  Dhyaan se gaadi chalana.

“Let's go” in Hindi

“Let's go” in Hindi is चलो चलते हैं, pronounced Chalo chalte hain. चलो on its own already means "let's go" and is what people actually say. The longer form adds a bit of gentle insistence.

Example sentences

• Let's go, we're getting late.

  चलो, देर हो रही है।

  Chalo, der ho rahi hai.

• Come on, let's go now.

  चलो चलते हैं अब।

  Chalo chalte hain ab.

“What happened?” in Hindi

“What happened?” in Hindi is क्या हुआ?, pronounced Kya hua?. Extremely common — asks both "what went wrong" and "what's up" depending on tone. क्या हो गया adds alarm.

Example sentences

• What happened? Why are you sad?

  क्या हुआ? तुम उदास क्यों हो?

  Kya hua? Tum udaas kyon ho?

• What happened to your phone?

  तुम्हारे फ़ोन को क्या हो गया?

  Tumhare phone ko kya ho gaya?

“I want” in Hindi

“I want” in Hindi is मुझे चाहिए, pronounced Mujhe chahiye. चाहिए never changes form — not for gender, not for number. मैं चाहता हूँ also means I want, but implies wanting to do something rather than wanting an object.

Example sentences

• I want a cup of tea.

  मुझे एक कप चाय चाहिए।

  Mujhe ek cup chai chahiye.

• I want to go home.

  मैं घर जाना चाहता हूँ।

  Main ghar jaana chahta hoon.

Formal, casual, and other variants

“Give me” in Hindi

“Give me” in Hindi is मुझे दीजिए, pronounced Mujhe dijiye. दीजिए is polite, दो is casual, दे is blunt. In a shop, दीजिए is the right level with a stranger.

Example sentences

• Please give me two kilos.

  मुझे दो किलो दीजिए।

  Mujhe do kilo dijiye.

• Give me your phone for a second.

  ज़रा अपना फ़ोन दो।

  Zara apna phone do.

“Hurry up” in Hindi

“Hurry up” in Hindi is जल्दी करो, pronounced Jaldi karo. जल्दी means quickly or early depending on context. जल्दी करो is hurry; जल्दी आना means come early.

Example sentences

• Hurry up, we're getting late!

  जल्दी करो, देर हो रही है!

  Jaldi karo, der ho rahi hai!

• Please come early tomorrow.

  कल जल्दी आना।

  Kal jaldi aana.

“Slowly” in Hindi

“Slowly” in Hindi is धीरे धीरे, pronounced Dheere dheere. Doubling the word intensifies it — धीरे is slowly, धीरे धीरे is very slowly or gradually. Hindi does this with many adverbs.

Example sentences

• Speak slowly, please.

  ज़रा धीरे बोलिए।

  Zara dheere boliye.

• Things improved gradually.

  धीरे धीरे हालात सुधर गए।

  Dheere dheere haalaat sudhar gaye.

“Well done” in Hindi

“Well done” in Hindi is शाबाश, pronounced Shabash. शाबाश is warm praise, typically from someone older or senior. Between equals, बहुत बढ़िया (bahut badhiya — excellent) fits better.

Example sentences

• Well done, you did great!

  शाबाश, बहुत अच्छा किया!

  Shabash, bahut achha kiya!

• That's excellent work.

  बहुत बढ़िया काम है।

  Bahut badhiya kaam hai.

“I am coming” in Hindi

“I am coming” in Hindi is मैं आ रहा हूँ, pronounced Main aa raha hoon. A woman says आ रही हूँ. आता हूँ (present habitual) means I come regularly — for right now you need the रहा form.

Example sentences

• I'm coming, wait two minutes.

  मैं आ रहा हूँ, दो मिनट रुको।

  Main aa raha hoon, do minute ruko.

• I'm on my way. (woman speaking)

  मैं आ रही हूँ।

  Main aa rahi hoon.

“Don't do that” in Hindi

“Don't do that” in Hindi is ऐसा मत करो, pronounced Aisa mat karo. ऐसा means like this or such. Negative commands take मत — नहीं करो is not correct Hindi.

Example sentences

• Don't do that again.

  फिर से ऐसा मत करो।

  Phir se aisa mat karo.

• Please don't do this.

  ऐसा मत कीजिए।

  Aisa mat kijiye.

“Come with me” in Hindi

“Come with me” in Hindi is मेरे साथ चलो, pronounced Mere saath chalo. साथ means with, in the sense of accompanying. Note चलो, not आओ — चलना is used when you are both going somewhere together.

Example sentences

• Come with me to the market.

  मेरे साथ बाज़ार चलो।

  Mere saath bazaar chalo.

• Please come with us.

  हमारे साथ चलिए।

  Hamare saath chaliye.

Common mistake

आओ means come here to where I am. चलो means come along with me to somewhere else. Using आओ for an invitation to travel together sounds wrong.