1.4 Greetings and Polite Expressions

Overview

In this chapter you learn how to greet people politely in Urdu, how to start and end simple conversations, and how to sound respectful from the very beginning. You will meet the most common everyday expressions, and you will see short example dialogues that you can copy and adapt.

Urdu has a strong culture of respect and politeness. Even very short interactions, such as buying something or asking for directions, usually include polite greetings and thanks. Learning these early will make all your Urdu sound much better.

Throughout this chapter, Urdu examples are given in Nastaliq script plus Roman Urdu and English translation.

Example format:

السلام علیکم
assalāmu alaikum
“Peace be upon you / Hello”

Basic Greetings

Religious and general greetings

The most common greeting in Urdu speaking communities is Islamic and can be used any time of day.

These greetings are used among Muslims, but in many places non‑Muslims also understand and may use them as a normal social greeting.

Example exchanges

السلام علیکم
assalāmu alaikum
“Hello / Peace be upon you.”

وعلیکم السلام
wa alaikum assalām
“Hello / Peace be upon you too.”

2. With titles:

السلام علیکم، سر
assalāmu alaikum, sir
“Hello, sir.”

وعلیکم السلام
wa alaikum assalām
“Hello.”

Time‑of‑day greetings

Urdu also borrows time‑of‑day greetings from English. These are common in cities, in media, and in schools.

In everyday speech, many people simply say “گُڈ مارننگ” (good morning), “گُڈ نائٹ” (good night), etc., using English. However, it is very good to recognize and be able to use the Urdu versions.

Mini dialogues

1. Morning greeting:

صبح بخیر، آپ کیسے ہیں؟
subah bakhair, āp kaise hain?
“Good morning, how are you?”

میں ٹھیک ہوں، شکریہ
main ṭhīk hūn, shukriya
“I am fine, thank you.”

2. At night:

شب بخیر، امّی
shab bakhair, ammi
“Good night, Mom.”

شب بخیر
shab bakhair
“Good night.”

Informal “hi” and casual greetings

With friends and family, especially young people, you will also hear casual greetings.

Common friendly greeting pair:

ہیلو، کیا حال ہے؟
hello, kyā hāl hai?
“Hello, how are things?”

میں ٹھیک ہوں، تم سناؤ؟
main ṭhīk hūn, tum sunāo?
“I am fine, how are you?”

Asking and Answering “How Are You?”

Polite and formal “How are you?”

This is one of the first useful patterns you need.

In everyday speech, many speakers say آپ کیسے ہیں؟ to everyone, regardless of gender. For beginners, using آپ کیسے ہیں؟ is acceptable and polite for all.

Typical polite answers

Notice the polite way to ask back: آپ سنائیں؟ (āp sunāein?) literally “You, tell (about yourself)?”

Informal “How are you?”

With friends, siblings, or people younger than you, speakers often use تم (tum), the informal “you”.

Again, in practice تم کیسے ہو؟ is often used for everyone in casual talk.

Informal replies

Introducing Yourself Briefly in Greetings

Longer introductions are covered in a later chapter, but you can already combine a greeting with a very short self introduction.

Common pattern:

السلام علیکم، میرا نام … ہے۔
assalāmu alaikum, merā nām … hai.
“Hello, my name is … .”

Examples:

السلام علیکم، میرا نام علی ہے۔
assalāmu alaikum, merā nām Ali hai.
“Hello, my name is Ali.”

السلام علیکم، میرا نام سارہ ہے۔
assalāmu alaikum, merā nām Sāra hai.
“Hello, my name is Sarah.”

You can add a polite phrase:

السلام علیکم، میرا نام احمد ہے، آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی۔
assalāmu alaikum, merā nām Ahmad hai, āp se mil kar ḳhushī huī.
“Hello, my name is Ahmad, nice to meet you.”

The phrase آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی is explained more below under polite expressions.

Polite Expressions for Everyday Use

Politeness is not only greetings. It includes thanks, apologies, and soft ways to speak. Here are the most basic expressions.

Saying “thank you” and replying

Replying to “thank you”:

Mini dialogues

آپ کی مدد کا بہت شکریہ
āp kī madad kā bohat shukriya
“Thank you very much for your help.”

کوئی بات نہیں
koī bāt nahīñ
“You are welcome.”

پانی کے لیے شکریہ
pānī ke liye shukriya
“Thank you for the water.”

شکریہ کی کوئی بات نہیں
shukriya kī koī bāt nahīñ
“No need to thank me.”

Saying “please”

In Urdu, “please” is often understood from the polite tone and from using آپ, but there is also a word similar to English “please.”

As an absolute beginner, you will most often hear and use پلیز (plīz) in casual speech and مہربانی کر کے (mehrbānī kar ke) in polite speech.

Examples

مہربانی کر کے یہاں دستخط کریں
mehrbānī kar ke yahāñ dastḳhat karein
“Please sign here.”

پانی دینا پلیز
pānī denā plīz
“Give (me) water, please.”

براہِ کرم بیٹھ جائیں
barāhe karam baiṭh jāein
“Please sit down.” (formal)

Apologizing and saying “sorry”

Examples

1. Bumping into someone:

سوری، میں نے آپ کو ٹکر ماری
sorry, main ne āp ko ṭakkar mārī
“Sorry, I bumped into you.”

2. In formal context:

معاف کیجیے، مجھے دیر ہو گئی
maaf kijiye, mujhe der ho gaī
“Excuse me, I am late.” / “Sorry, I became late.”

3. Very casual:

یار، معاف کرنا!
yār, maaf karnā!
“Friend, sorry!”

Getting Someone’s Attention Politely

To ask for help or to start talking to someone, you often need a polite “excuse me”.

Useful expressions:

Examples

1. In a shop:

سنिए، پانی کہاں ہے؟
suniye, pānī kahāñ hai?
“Excuse me, where is the water?”

2. On the street:

ذرا سنिए، آپ اردو بولتے ہیں؟
zara suniye, āp Urdu bolte hain?
“Excuse me, do you speak Urdu?”

3. Before asking a question to a teacher:

معاف کیجیے، ایک سوال ہے
maaf kijiye, ek sawāl hai
“Excuse me, I have a question.”

Polite Agreement and Disagreement (Very Basic)

More detailed expressions of opinion come later, but you can already learn very simple polite yes and no.

Examples

آپ احمد ہیں؟
āp Ahmad hain?
“Are you Ahmad?”

جی ہاں
jī hāñ
“Yes.”

آپ پاکستانی ہیں؟
āp Pākistānī hain?
“Are you Pakistani?”

جی نہیں
jī nahīñ
“No.”

3. When your name is called:

علی؟
Ali?

جی؟
jī?
“Yes?” (politely)

Meeting and Parting Phrases

“Nice to meet you”

A very useful sentence when you meet someone for the first time:

You can add it after saying your name:

میرا نام علی ہے، آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی
merā nām Ali hai, āp se mil kar ḳhushī huī
“My name is Ali, nice to meet you.”

Reply is often the same sentence back, or simply:

مجھے بھی
mujhe bhī
“Me too.”

Full exchange:

آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی
āp se mil kar ḳhushī huī
“Nice to meet you.”

مجھے بھی
mujhe bhī
“Me too.”

Saying goodbye

There are several ways to say goodbye in Urdu. Some are religious, some general.

Typical exchanges

اچھا، اب میں چلتا ہوں، خدا حافظ
achchā, ab main chaltā hūn, ḳhudā hāfiz
“Okay, I will go now, goodbye.”

خدا حافظ
ḳhudā hāfiz
“Goodbye.”

چلیں، پھر ملیں گے
chaleñ, phir mileñ ge
“Alright, see you again.”

جی، ان شاء اللہ، خدا حافظ
jī, inshā Allāh, ḳhudā hāfiz
“Yes, God willing, goodbye.”

3. Very casual:

میں جا رہی ہوں، بائے
main jā rahī hūn, bāy
“I am going, bye.”

Short Example Dialogues

Dialogue 1: Very polite first meeting

شخص 1: السلام علیکم
shakhs 1: assalāmu alaikum
Person 1: “Hello.”

شخص 2: وعلیکم السلام
shakhs 2: wa alaikum assalām
Person 2: “Hello.”

شخص 1: میرا نام علی ہے، آپ کا نام کیا ہے؟
shakhs 1: merā nām Ali hai, āp kā nām kyā hai?
Person 1: “My name is Ali, what is your name?”

شخص 2: میرا نام سارہ ہے، آپ سے مل کر خوشی ہوئی
shakhs 2: merā nām Sāra hai, āp se mil kar ḳhushī huī
Person 2: “My name is Sarah, nice to meet you.”

شخص 1: مجھے بھی، آپ کیسے ہیں؟
shakhs 1: mujhe bhī, āp kaise hain?
Person 1: “Me too, how are you?”

شخص 2: میں ٹھیک ہوں، شکریہ
shakhs 2: main ṭhīk hūn, shukriya
Person 2: “I am fine, thank you.”

شخص 1: خدا حافظ
shakhs 1: ḳhudā hāfiz
Person 1: “Goodbye.”

شخص 2: خدا حافظ
shakhs 2: ḳhudā hāfiz
Person 2: “Goodbye.”

Dialogue 2: In a shop

گاہک: سنिए، پانی کہاں ہے؟
gāhak: suniye, pānī kahāñ hai?
Customer: “Excuse me, where is the water?”

دکاندار: ادھر ہے، آئیے
dukāndār: idhar hai, āiye
Shopkeeper: “It is here, please come.”

گاہک: بہت شکریہ
gāhak: bohat shukriya
Customer: “Thank you very much.”

دکاندار: کوئی بات نہیں
dukāndār: koī bāt nahīñ
Shopkeeper: “You are welcome.”

گاہک: خدا حافظ
gāhak: ḳhudā hāfiz
Customer: “Goodbye.”

دکاندار: خدا حافظ
dukāndār: ḳhudā hāfiz
Shopkeeper: “Goodbye.”

Dialogue 3: Friends on the phone

علی: ہیلو، یار، کیا حال ہے؟
Ali: hello, yār, kyā hāl hai?
Ali: “Hello, friend, how are things?”

بلال: میں ٹھیک ہوں، تم سناؤ؟
Bilāl: main ṭhīk hūn, tum sunāo?
Bilal: “I am fine, how are you?”

علی: بس ٹھیک ہوں
Ali: bas ṭhīk hūn
Ali: “I am just okay.”

بلال: اچھا، پھر ملیں گے، بائے
Bilāl: achchā, phir mileñ ge, bāy
Bilal: “Alright, see you later, bye.”

علی: بائے
Ali: bāy
Ali: “Bye.”

Essential Vocabulary from this Chapter

The following table collects the main new words and expressions. This is not a full dictionary entry, just a quick reminder.

With these greetings and polite expressions, you can already begin simple, friendly conversations in Urdu and leave a good first impression.