bolo!
your Hindi, out loud
bolo!
Gujarati for family

Gujarati phrases for meeting his parents

If his family speaks Gujarati at home, Hindi will be understood and Gujarati will be felt. You do not need much. A greeting, a line about the food, and an honest admission that you are learning will get you further than a memorised paragraph you cannot follow up.

Practice in Bolo →Opens the app. If you already have a session going, you pick up there.

Walking in

કેમ છો?
kem chho?
How are you? (polite)
જય શ્રી કૃષ્ણ
jay shree krishna
Traditional Gujarati greeting, hello and goodbye both
હું મજામાં છું
hu~ majaamaa~ chhu~
I'm doing well

જય શ્રી કૃષ્ણ is worth knowing even if you do not use it yourself, because it is likely the first thing said to you. Answering with the same words is completely normal.

Introducing yourself

મારું નામ ... છે
maaru~ naam ... chhe
My name is ...
તમને મળીને આનંદ થયો
tamne maleene aanand thayo
Glad to meet you
મને ગુજરાતી થોડું આવડે છે
mane gujaraatee thoDu~ aavaDe chhe
I know a little Gujarati

Notice મારું, not મારો. Gujarati has three genders where Hindi has two, and નામ is neuter, so the possessive takes the neuter -ું ending. This is the single most common place a Hindi learner slips in Gujarati.

At the table

જમવાનું બહુ સ્વાદિષ્ટ છે
jamvaanu~ bahu swaadishT chhe
The food is very tasty
ખૂબ સરસ
khoob saras
Really lovely
બસ, થોડું જ
bas, thoDu~ ja
That's enough, just a little
આભાર
aabhaar
Thank you

You will be fed more than you asked for. બસ, થોડું જ is the polite decline, and it is more useful than any compliment, because you will need it three times.

When you lose the thread

માફ કરશો
maaf karsho
Sorry / excuse me
ફરીથી કહેશો?
phareethee kahesho?
Could you say that again?
ધીમે બોલશો?
dheeme bolsho?
Could you speak slowly?

Leaving

આવજો
aavjo
Goodbye (literally: do come again)

One difference to hold onto

Gujarati looks close to Hindi and then swaps two endings on you. -ને is the object marker, doing the job of Hindi को, and -એ is the ergative, doing the job of Hindi ने. If you read તમને as an ergative because it looks like ने, every sentence comes out backwards. તમને મળીને means "having met you", not "you met".

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