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It is a simple yet powerful phrase - namaste is the Hindi equivalent of 'hello.' We usually say 'namaste' with our hands folded because it also means, "I bow to the divine in you."
A few years ago, we had an incredible blog post by Anisha Haria about getting her kids to say 'Namaste' to their grandparents whenever they would visit them them in the USA. She wrote, "As someone who was born and brought up in India, teaching the values and culture of our motherland to our US-born children, has always been a priority for my husband and I. We try to teach them our native language so they can speak fluently; the cuisine we give them includes Indian food so that they enjoy it and we hope that they learn to respect our elders and greet them.
Another simple yet meaningful phrase that expresses gratitude, 'dhanyavad' is more formal while 'shukriya' is more informally used. 'Dhanyavad' is similar to thank you in other languages - for example, in Kannada, it is 'dhan-ya-vaadagalu' and in Telugu it is 'dhanya-vaadalu.' Isn't it exciting that many Indian languages bear so many similar sounds and words?
All it takes is a simple phrase like this to break barriers and get kids to make friends.
One of the first phrases we learn in Hindi, this is a great way to introduce yourself to other kids.
Come here is a good way to draw other people's attention or as they say, to get the party to come to you : )
A great way to get people to name objects in Hindi. Kids can pick up the names of objects but in specific contexts.
Do your kids want something from the grocery shop? Mine always goes berserk at the checkout counter retail display. Get the kids to ask in Hindi and to use 'mujhe ---- chahiye.' Tell them that you can get them one item of what they want, for example, but they need to ask for it in Hindi.
One of the best US-based Hindi teachers we know, Wasfee Vazir, told us that 'phir milenge' is her favorite phrase and rightly so! It's nice to sign off on a see you instead of a goodbye, isn't it?
Toka Box is working with Wasfee on a fabulous online summer camp. More details here!
This is a nice way for kids to talk about what they like and their interests.
Watch out that the kids don't use it all the time though, because my daughter uses this a lot to get her hands on her favorite snacks during the day!
