How do you say hello in Gujarati?

કેમ છો? kem chho? It means how are you, and it works as hello. The fixed reply is મજામાં majama, meaning doing well.

What does Jai Shri Krishna mean?

જય શ્રી કૃષ્ણ Jai Shri Krishna means victory to Lord Krishna. In many Gujarati families it is the greeting used with elders, said with folded hands both arriving and leaving.

bolo!

Gujarati basics

How to say hello in Gujarati

Gujarati does not really have a word for hello. It has a question, કેમ છો, and a greeting reserved for elders. Getting the order right matters more than the pronunciation: with a grandmother you greet first and ask second.

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

The everyday hello

કેમ છો?

kem chho?

How are you? Used as hello. Already respectful, so it is safe with anyone.

મજામાં!

majama!

Doing great. The scripted reply. Say it cheerfully.

તમે કેમ છો?

tame kem chho?

And how are you? Always bounce the question back.

With elders, this comes first

In many Gujarati families, especially Vaishnav ones, elders are greeted with Jai Shri Krishna, hands folded, before anything else. Then kem chho. Mirror whatever the family says to you: it is the fastest way to get it right.

જય શ્રી કૃષ્ણ

jai shree krishna

Victory to Lord Krishna. Said arriving and leaving.

નમસ્તે

namaste

Understood everywhere, and a safe fallback if you are unsure.

Introducing yourself

One trap for Hindi speakers: Gujarati has a third gender, neuter, and નામ naam is neuter. So it is maaru~ naam, not maaro.

મારું નામ ___ છે

maaru~ naam ___ chhe

My name is ___.

તમને મળીને આનંદ થયો

tamne maleene aanand thayo

Pleased to meet you.

હું ગુજરાતી શીખું છું

hu~ gujaraatee sheekhu~ chhu~

I'm learning Gujarati. Say this early: it turns every mistake into something endearing.

The goodbye

આવજો literally means do come again, which tells you everything about how Gujarati families treat leaving. Both sides say it.

આવજો!

aavjo!

Goodbye, and come back.

મજા આવી!

majaa aavee!

That was fun. A good line on your way out.

One thing to know

You will hear છે written and said as both chhe and che. Same word. The h is a breath, and how much of it you hear depends on the speaker and the region. Nobody will correct you either way.

Try it now

free, no signup to start

Start learning