Greetings in Kannada: Hello, How Are You and Goodbye

Greetings in Kannada are short, warm and surprisingly easy to get right. With about a dozen spoken phrases you can greet a neighbour, ask how they are, swap names, say where you are from and leave politely. Everything below is everyday Bengaluru Kannada, written in English letters, with the Kannada script alongside.

Saying hello

You don't need a different greeting for each time of day. Namaskara works any time of day, with anyone: the security guard, your landlord, an elderly neighbour. Putting your hands together as you say it is optional, but never wrong. When someone greets you with Namaskara, the natural reply is simply Namaskara back.

How are you?

Polite and casual

The two versions of "how are you" look almost identical, and that is the point. Kannada does have a word for "please" (dayavittu), but you will rarely hear it said. Politeness lives in the verb ending instead.

• Hegiddira? is for everyone: colleagues, shopkeepers, older people, people you have just met.
• Hegiddiya? is only for close friends, children and anyone much younger than you.

Being too polite is never a mistake, so when in doubt, use Hegiddira?.

Yenu samachara? is the relaxed "what's up?". If someone throws it at you, turning the question back with Neevu? works nicely.

Answering "how are you"

Chennagiddini is built from chennagi (well) and iddini (am-I). The ending already says who is speaking, so there is no separate word for "I". "Am" and "I" travel together, glued to the end of the word.

Then bounce the question back with Neevu?. Just raise your tone at the end. Asking in return is expected, and skipping it can feel a little abrupt.

A common slip: answering with Sari (OK). Sari means "OK" as in agreed, not "I am fine". Give the full answer, Chennagiddini.

Asking someone's name

Two habits of Kannada show up clearly here.

The verb (or question word) goes last

Kannada saves the important bit for the end. "What is your name?" comes out as "your name what". It feels odd for about a day, then it starts to feel normal.

Questions keep the same word order

Kannada does not shuffle a sentence around to make a question. The question word just sits where the answer will go. "Nimma hesaru yenu?" is "your name what", and the reply slots straight into the same shape: "Nanna hesaru Asha". Swap in your own name; the rest of the sentence never changes.

Nanna and nimma

Nanna is "my" and nimma is "your". Change the first word and the sentence changes owner. That same pair works in front of almost anything, so it is worth learning well.

Where are you from?

In a city full of people who have moved in from elsewhere, this is the second question you will get after your name. Put your own city where "Dilli" is. Again, notice "from" comes after the place, not before it.

"Do you know Kannada?"

As soon as you use a greeting, expect Kannada gottha?. The answer is Swalpa swalpa gottu. Saying a word twice softens it: swalpa is "a little", swalpa swalpa is "just a little, bit by bit". "Swalpa gottu" is fine too, but the doubled version is what everyone says.

Chennagi kalithiri! is encouragement, not a question. Don't apologise or protest; just say Dhanyavada. If you want to sound a notch more formal, Dhanyavadagalu works too.

If you get lost mid-greeting

Say these without embarrassment. People tend to switch to slower Kannada rather than English, which is exactly what helps you learn.

Saying goodbye

Kannada has no flat "goodbye". You always promise to come back: "I'll go and come". When someone says Hogi barthini to you, say it back. Replying with Namaskara at this point would sound like you were starting the whole conversation again.

A quick conversation

You are unlocking your door when Gopal mama, the neighbour, folds his newspaper and heads straight for you.

• Gopal: Namaskara — Hello
• You: Namaskara — Hello
• Gopal: Hegiddira? — How are you?
• You: Chennagiddini. Neevu? — I am fine. And you?
• Gopal: Nimma hesaru yenu? — What is your name?
• You: Nanna hesaru Asha — My name is Asha
• Gopal: Neevu yellinda? — Where are you from?
• You: Nanu Dilli inda — I am from Delhi
• Gopal: Kannada gottha? — Do you know Kannada?
• You: Swalpa swalpa gottu — I know a little
• Gopal: Chennagi kalithiri! — You'll learn it well!
• You: Dhanyavada — Thank you
• Gopal: Hogi barthini — Goodbye
• You: Hogi barthini — Goodbye

Quick recap

• Use Namaskara for hello, any time, with anyone.
• Ask Hegiddira? with everyone except close friends and children.
• Answer Chennagiddini, then return the question with Neevu?.
• Names and places follow the same shape as the question: "your name what", "my name Asha".
• Leave with Hogi barthini, and say it back when others leave.

Practise the conversation above until it feels automatic. Greetings in Kannada are the first thing people hear from you, and getting them right sets a friendly tone for everything after.