EngToHindi

How are you in Hindi

The polite phrase is आप कैसे हैं? — but it shifts with how well you know someone and whether you're asking a man or a woman.

आप कैसे हैं?
aap kaise hain?
“How are you?” · formal, to a man or mixed group

“How are you?” in Hindi has two moving parts that English doesn't: the level of respect and the gender of the person you're asking. The polite, all-round version is आप कैसे हैं? (aap kaise hain?) when speaking to a man or a mixed group, and आप कैसी हैं? (aap kaisi hain?) when speaking to a woman.

The gender split. The question word कैसे / कैसी (“how”) is an adjective, so it agrees with the gender of the listener: कैसे (kaise) for males and mixed groups, कैसी (kaisi) for females. The verb हैं (hain) stays the same because the respectful pronoun आप always takes a plural verb — even for one person.

The आप / तुम split. आप (aap) is the respectful “you” for elders, strangers, and formal settings. With a friend or peer you switch to तुम (tum) and the verb changes to हो: तुम कैसे हो? (tum kaise ho?). There's also a third, very intimate “you”, तू (tu), used with the closest friends, children, or in anger — best left to advanced learners. And for a breezy, gender-free greeting among friends, nothing beats क्या हाल है? (kya haal hai?), “what's up?”.

Formal vs informal — and by gender

Choose the register, then match कैसे/कैसी to the listener.
SituationHindiPronunciation
Formal, to a man / mixedआप कैसे हैं?aap kaise hain?
Formal, to a womanआप कैसी हैं?aap kaisi hain?
Informal, to a manतुम कैसे हो?tum kaise ho?
Informal, to a womanतुम कैसी हो?tum kaisi ho?
Casual catch-allक्या हाल है?kya haal hai?
Casual, friendlyकैसे हो?kaise ho?

How to reply

Answering — note the speaker's own gender in हूँ phrases.
EnglishHindi
I'm fine. (any speaker)मैं ठीक हूँ।
I'm fine, thank you.मैं ठीक हूँ, धन्यवाद।
All is well.सब ठीक है।
I'm fine — and you?मैं ठीक हूँ — और आप?
Very well, by your grace.बहुत बढ़िया, आपकी कृपा है।
Usage note. When in doubt, use आप — over-politeness is never offensive in Hindi, while using तुम too soon can seem familiar. The handy reply मैं ठीक हूँ (main theek hoon) does not change for gender, since ठीक (fine) is gender-neutral — a relief after all the कैसे/कैसी juggling. Returning the question with a simple और आप? (and you?) keeps the conversation flowing.

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Frequently asked

How do you say how are you in Hindi?
Formally, how are you is आप कैसे हैं? (aap kaise hain?) to a man or mixed group, and आप कैसी हैं? (aap kaisi hain?) to a woman. Informally it is तुम कैसे हो? (tum kaise ho?), and a casual catch-all is क्या हाल है? (kya haal hai?).
Why does कैसे change to कैसी?
कैसे/कैसी (how) agrees with the gender of the person you are asking about. Use कैसे (kaise) for a man or a mixed group and कैसी (kaisi) for a woman. The respectful pronoun आप always takes the plural verb हैं.
What is the difference between आप and तुम?
आप (aap) is the respectful you, used for elders, strangers, and in formal settings, and it takes plural verbs (हैं). तुम (tum) is the informal you, for friends and peers, and takes हो. There is also तू (tu), very intimate or familiar.
How do you reply to how are you in Hindi?
The standard reply is मैं ठीक हूँ (main theek hoon), I am fine. You can add धन्यवाद (thank you) or सब ठीक है (all is well), and return the question with आप? or और आप?, and you?
What does क्या हाल है mean?
क्या हाल है? (kya haal hai?) literally means what is the condition? — a relaxed how's it going? It works for friends and casual settings and does not change for gender.