How to Say Thank You in Hindi

Three Methods: Formal Thank-yous Informal Thank-yous Responding to "Thank You"

Community Q&A

In Hindi (one of the official languages of India), there are many ways to thank someone.
Besides the common "ध वाद् " (dhanyavaad), there are a number of other thank-yous that can
be useful for English speakers traveling to India or meeting with Indian colleagues. Learn
these simple phrases today to wow Hindi speakers with your knowledge and tact. With
over half a billion Hindi speakers alive in the world, you'll be able to say thanks to a good
chunk of the world's population in just a few minutes![1]

Method
1 Formal Thank-yous

1
Use "dhanyavaad" (ध वाद् ) as a basic formal thank-you. This is a common but formal
way of saying "thank you." It's often used in situations where you really want to stress your
gratitude (like if you've been given a gift). You may also want to use it with important
business contacts, authority figures, and people who are older than you. This word is
pronounced in three parts:[2]
Lay your tongue against the top of your mouth to pronounce "dha" with a soft d
sound that's close to the English "dh" sound. Use the short u sound (as in "stuff").
It should sound close to the English word "the." This part is not said with an "ah"
sound.
Next, say "nyuh." Again, don't use the "ah" sound.
Now, say "vod." Here, you will use the "ah" sound.
All together, it should sound a little like "dhun-yuh-vaad."

2
Put "bahut" (ब त) before dhanyavaad for "thank you very much." If you're especially
grateful for something, you can use the superlative "bahut." This means essentially "very
much" or "a lot" and is used a lot the way English speakers might use "very." This word is
pronounced in two parts:
First, a short "buh" sound.
Next, a more forceful "hut" sound. Put the stress on this part — the whole thing
should sound like "buh-HUT."
Say "dhanyavaad" after this to complete the phrase. See above for pronunciation
help.

3 Alternatively, try "ābhārī hōṅ" (आभारी ँ ). This is another polite, formal way to say
"thank you." The actual meaning in English is a little closer to "I am grateful." This
word is pronounced in four parts:[3]
 Say "obb." (rhymes with "rob"). This part isn't pronounced like the English word
"ab."
Next, say "ha."
Then, say "ree." The r sound you want to use here is very similar to the Spanish r
— it should sound almost like "dee" in English.
Finish with "hoon" (rhymes with "toon").
All together, it should sound like "obb-ha-dee hoon."

Method 1 Quiz Score

Which formal “thank you” translates to “I am grateful”? 0/3

"Ābhārī hōṅ."

Yes! Remember that this phrase has 4 syllables. Spoken, it should sound like “obb-
ha-dee hoon.”
Read on for another quiz question.

"Dhanyavaad."

"Dhanyavaad bahut."

Report problem with this question

Method
2 Informal Thank-yous
1 Use "shukriyaa" (शुि या) as your standard informal thank-you. This is a very
common way of giving thanks in Hindi, but it's not very formal. This means you
should use it mainly for your friends and family. If you're talking to someone like a boss or
teacher, an authority figure, or an elder, you'll probably want to use one of the phrases
above. Pronounce this word in three parts:[4]
First, say "shook." Make this syllable a little shorter and tighter than you'd normally
say the English word.
Next, say "ree." Here, again, the Hindi r sound is a delicate flick of the tongue like
the Spanish r sound — this should should sound almost like "dee."
End with "ah." The sound you use here should be somewhere between "uh" and
"ah." It may take a little practice to get this right.
All together, this should sound like "shook-dee-ah." Nailing the r/d sound is
important here. You may want to try pronouncing it like "shook-uh-dee-ah", then
gradually working to shrink that "uh" sound until it's nothing more than a flick of the
tongue.
2 Put "bahut" (ब त) before shukriyaa for "thank you very much." You can use
"bahut" here the same way as you did above to change your basic "thank you" to
"thank you very much" or "thanks a lot." Though you're expressing more gratitude here,
this is still considered informal.
Bahut is pronounced the same way as in the section above: "buh-HUT."
 3 Use "thaiṅkyū" (थ ू) if you want to cheat. Hindi, like almost every language,
borrows words and phrases from other languages. This Hindi loan word is
pronounced exactly like "thank you" in English (because it obviously is English in origin).
Because this isn't really "pure" Hindi, it's considered less formal than the options in the
seconi above.
It's also worth noting that English is one of the official languages of India, so much
of the population will likely be familiar with this phrase even if they don't speak
English fluently.

Method 2 Quiz Score

Which is an English loan word? 0/3

"Shukriyaa"

"Bahut"

"Thaiṅkyū"

Report problem with this question

Method
3 Responding to "Thank You"
1 Use "svaagat haiṅ" ( ागत है ) for "you're welcome." When you use any of the
thank you phrases above, you may get this in return. This phrase means almost
exactly "you are welcome." In fact, you can even say "svaagat" on its own if you're greeting
someone who's just arrived — just like you'd use "welcome" in English.[5] To pronounce
this phrase:
First, say "swah." This sounds like the English word "swab" without the b.
Next, say "gut."
Finally, say "hey." Don't be confused by the n in the romanization — this sounds
almost exactly like the English word "hey."
All together, it should sound like "swah-gut hey."
2 Optionally, put "āpa kā" (आप का) before "svaagat haiṅ." The meaning here is not
very different from the phrase above. The difference is a little like saying "you are
welcome" versus "you're welcome" — people will react the same way no matter which one
you use. Pronounce this phrase in two parts:
First, say "op" (as in "post-op").
Then, say "kuh" (rhymes with "the").
All together, it should sound like "op-kuh." Follow this immediately with "svaagat
haiṅ" for "you are welcome."
3 Use "koii baat nahee" (कोई बात नही) for "it's nothing." This is another way to
express that you don't mind doing something for someone else. You would use this
phrase similarly to how you'd use "don't mention it" or "no problem" in English.[6] This
phrase is pronounced in four parts:
First, say "coy."
Then, say "bot" (as in robot).
Next, say a very short "nuh" (rhymes with "the").
End with a longer "hee" (sounds like the English word "he"). Put a little extra stress
on this syllable — the last part should sound like "nuh-HEE."
All together, it should sound like "coy bot nuh-HEE."