How do you say hello, thank you and I love you in Gujarati? 30 phrases that actually get used

Phrasebooks teach you how to ask directions to the railway station. What most people actually want is how to greet a grandparent, thank an aunt, and say something affectionate without getting it embarrassingly wrong. Here are the phrases that get used, with Gujarati script, a pronunciation guide, and the context that makes them land.

A note before we start: Gujarati varies by region and family — Kathiawadi, Surti and Kutchi households will each say some of this differently. What follows is standard Gujarati, understood everywhere.

How do you say hello in Gujarati?

The everyday greeting is કેમ છો? (kem cho?), which literally means "how are you?" but functions exactly like hello. For one person you know well, કેમ છે? (kem che?). There is no separate word used the way English uses "hi" — Gujaratis simply ask how you are.

The usual reply is મજામાં (majaa-maa), roughly "in good spirits", or સારું છે (saaru chhe), "it's good". Returning the question with તમે? (tame?) — "and you?" — is expected rather than optional.

The religious greetings

Among many Gujarati Hindu families, especially Vaishnav households, the greeting is જય શ્રી કૈ3ષ્ણ (Jai Shri Krishna). Gujarati Jain families commonly use જય જિનેન્દ્ર (Jai Jinendra). Using the right one with an elder is a small thing that is noticed and appreciated; if you are unsure which a household uses, kem cho is always safe.

What is "I love you" in Gujarati?

હું તને પ્રેમ કરું છું — hu tane prem karu chhu — is "I love you" to someone close. To an elder, or more formally, હું તમને પ્રેમ કરું છું (hu tamne prem karu chhu).

Worth knowing, though: most Gujarati families rarely say it out loud. Affection is conventionally expressed by feeding people, by asking whether you have eaten, by turning up. A grandmother who has never once said prem to you has said it several thousand times with a plate.

So if you want to express love to a Gujarati-speaking relative in a way that sounds natural rather than translated, the phrases that carry more weight are જમ્યા? (jamya?) — "have you eaten?" — and મને તમારી યાદ આવે છે (mane tamaari yaad aave chhe), "I miss you". Those two will do more than a literal translation of a Hallmark card.

How do you say thank you in Gujarati?

આભાર (aabhaar) and ધન્યવાદ (dhanyavaad) both mean thank you, and both are noticeably formal — you would use them in a speech, a letter, or to someone you do not know.

In ordinary family conversation most Gujarati speakers, in India and in the diaspora, simply say "thank you" in English. That is not laziness or lost language; it is how the language is actually spoken. Within a family, gratitude is more often shown than stated.

How do you say goodbye in Gujarati?

આવજો (aavjo) — which literally means "come again". There is no neutral "goodbye" in Gujarati; the standard farewell is an invitation to return, which tells you something about the culture. For "see you again", ફરી મળીશું (fari malishu).

Thirty phrases for everyday family life

Greetings and basics

• કેમ છો? — kem cho? — How are you? / Hello
• મજામાં — majaa-maa — I'm well
• આવજો — aavjo — Goodbye
• હા / ના — haa / naa — Yes / No
• મહેરબાની કરીને — meherbani karine — Please
• માફ કરજો — maaf karjo — Sorry / excuse me

Meeting people

• તમારું નામ શું છે? — tamaru naam shu chhe? — What is your name?
• મારું નામ ... છે — maru naam ... chhe — My name is ...
• મને સમજાતું નથી — mane samjaatu nathi — I don't understand
• મને ગુજરાતી બરાબર નથી આવડતું — mane gujarati baraabar nathi aavadtu — I don't speak Gujarati well
• ધીરે બોલો — dhire bolo — Please speak slowly

Around the house

• જમ્યા? — jamya? — Have you eaten?
• ચાલો જમવા — chaalo jamvaa — Come and eat
• આવો — aavo — Come in / welcome
• બેસો — beso — Sit down
• પાણી — paani — Water
• ચા — chaa — Tea
• હાથ ધુઓ — haath dhuo — Wash your hands
• ચાલો — chaalo — Let's go

Family words

Gujarati is far more precise about relationships than English. These are the ones children need first:

• બા — Ba — mother or grandmother, depending on the family
• મમ્મી / પપ્પા — mummy / pappa — mum / dad
• દાદા / દાદી — dada / dadi — father's father / father's mother
• નાના / નાની — nana / nani — mother's father / mother's mother
• કાકા — kaka — father's younger brother
• મામા — mama — mother's brother
• માસી — masi — mother's sister
• ફોઈ — foi — father's sister
• ભાઈ / બેન — bhai / ben — brother / sister (also added to names as a mark of respect)

That last one is worth explaining: adding -bhai or -ben to someone's name — Rajeshbhai, Meenaben — is standard Gujarati politeness, roughly like Mr or Ms but warmer. Using it with an older relative or a family friend will earn you a look of approval.

Numbers one to ten

એક ek, બે be, ત્રણ tran, ચાર chaar, પાંચ paanch, છ chha, સાત saat, આઠ aath, નવ nav, દસ das. The full pattern to a hundred is in Gujarati numbers 1 to 100.

The two sounds that give English speakers away

Transliteration hides two things. Gujarati distinguishes aspirated from unaspirated consonants — the difference between ક (ka) and ખ (kha) is a puff of air, and swapping them changes the word. It also has retroflex consonants, made with the tongue curled back against the roof of the mouth, which English simply does not have.

Neither can be learned from written transliteration; both are easy to pick up from audio. This is the single strongest argument for learning the script rather than staying in roman letters — roman spelling cannot represent distinctions the language depends on.

Common questions

What does "kem cho" mean?
Literally "how are you?", used as the standard Gujarati hello. The usual reply is majaa-maa, "I'm well".

Is Gujarati written in Devanagari like Hindi?
No. Gujarati has its own script, related to Devanagari but without the horizontal line across the top of the letters. That missing headline is the quickest way to tell the two apart at a glance.

How do I say good morning in Gujarati?
Suprabhat (સુપ્રભાત) exists but is literary and rarely said aloud. In practice, people say kem cho at any hour.

How do I greet my partner's Gujarati parents for the first time?
Kem cho, with their name and -bhai or -ben, or the family's religious greeting if you know it. Then accept the food. Both matter.

Where can I learn the rest?
Our adult course covers the script, the sounds and everyday conversation with audio; the 280-card flashcard pack covers the vocabulary above. If you are in New Zealand, there are also community classes.