You ask how someone is in Hindi with a word that changes for the person you ask: कैसे for a man and कैसी for a woman. The Hindi on this page is in Devanagari with a plain Latin reading under it. Long vowels are written double (aa, ee, oo), and the reading does not mark the hard, tongue-curled sounds of ट and ठ or the nasal marks, so ठीक is theek and मैं is main. Every phrase was checked against Wiktionary and the Wikivoyage Hindi phrasebook on 9 November 2026.
| Hindi | English | Who you ask | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| aap kaise hain? | How are you? | A man | Polite |
| आप कैसी हैं?aap kaisee hain? | How are you? | A woman | Polite |
| तुम कैसे हो?tum kaise ho? | How are you? | A man you know well, or someone younger | Friendly |
| तुम कैसी हो?tum kaisee ho? | How are you? | A woman you know well, or someone younger | Friendly |
| तू कैसा है?too kaisaa hai? | How are you? | A man who is very close to you | Intimate |
| तू कैसी है?too kaisee hai? | How are you? | A woman who is very close to you | Intimate |
| क्या हाल है?kyaa haal hai? | How is it going? | Anyone you know | Casual |
The question changes with the person you ask. The speaker's own gender does not matter. A woman asking a man says आप कैसे हैं (aap kaise hain), and a man asking a woman says आप कैसी हैं (aap kaisee hain).
कैसा (kaisaa) means "what kind of". Wiktionary lists three forms: कैसा for one man, कैसे for several men, and कैसी for women. Because आप and तुम take plural verbs, a man you address with them gets कैसे, and a woman gets कैसी.
The word आप (aap) is the polite "you". Wiktionary says it is for elders and people of higher status, and the verb after it is plural, so a single person gets हैं (hain) and not है (hai). That is why the polite question to one man still ends in कैसे हैं.
With तुम (tum) the verb is हो (ho), and with तू (too) it is है. Wiktionary calls the तू forms informal. Use them only with someone very close to you, because they can sound rude to a stranger.
| Hindi | English | Said by |
|---|---|---|
| main theek hoon. | I am fine. | Anyone |
| मैं ठीक हूँ, आप सुनाइए।main theek hoon, aap sunaaiye. | I am fine, and you? | Anyone, politely |
| मैं अच्छा हूँ।main achhaa hoon. | I am good. | A man |
| मैं अच्छी हूँ।main achhee hoon. | I am good. | A woman |
| सब ठीक है।sab theek hai. | Everything is fine. | Anyone |
ठीक (theek) does not change for gender, so मैं ठीक हूँ (main theek hoon) is the same for a man and a woman. अच्छा (achhaa) does change, so a man says अच्छा and a woman says अच्छी (achhee). आप सुनाइए (aap sunaaiye) is the polite way to give the question back: it means "you tell me". Wikivoyage spells it आप सुनाइये; both spellings are in use, and this page uses the standard one.
Two people meet for the first time, and the first speaker is polite:
| Hindi | English |
|---|---|
| नमस्ते! आप कैसी हैं?namaste! aap kaisee hain? | Hello! How are you? |
| नमस्ते! मैं ठीक हूँ। आप सुनाइए।namaste! main theek hoon. aap sunaaiye. | Hello! I am fine. And you? |
| मैं भी ठीक हूँ, धन्यवाद।main bhee theek hoon, dhanyavaad. | I am fine too, thank you. |
Two friends in a hurry:
| Hindi | English |
|---|---|
| क्या हाल है?kyaa haal hai? | How is it going? |
| सब ठीक है। तुम कैसे हो?sab theek hai. tum kaise ho? | Everything is fine. How are you? |
Wikivoyage gives नमस्ते (namaste) as the hello, and धन्यवाद (dhanyavaad), शुक्रिया (shukriyaa) and थैंक्यू (thainkyoo) as thank you.
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Asking a woman आप कैसे हैं because the speaker is a man. | The ending follows the person you ask. A woman gets आप कैसी हैं. |
| Saying आप कैसा हैं. | कैसा goes with है, as in तू कैसा है. After आप the verb is हैं, so use कैसे हैं or कैसी हैं. |
| A woman saying मैं अच्छा हूँ. | Use अच्छी for yourself. Or say मैं ठीक हूँ, which is the same for everyone. |
| Using तू with a person you have just met. | Start with आप. Move to तुम only when the other person does. |
Almost word for word. Hindi and Urdu share the same everyday grammar and basic vocabulary, and Urdu writes the same question as آپ کیسے ہیں in the Nastaliq script. Our page how are you in Urdu shows the Urdu spelling and the replies people use there.
To read the phrases yourself, start with the Devanagari course, or read do you need to know Devanagari to learn Hindi. For a plan, read the best way to learn Hindi.
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Which Hindi Phrase Is Safest for a Stranger?
Use आप कैसे हैं (aap kaise hain) for a man and आप कैसी हैं (aap kaisee hain) for a woman. If you are not sure how to say it to the person in front of you, क्या हाल है (kyaa haal hai) does not change for gender.
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Sources
- Wiktionary: आप कैसे हैं (Hindi phrase, with the informal तू कैसा है, तू कैसी है and तुम कैसे हो)
- Wiktionary: कैसा (Hindi forms कैसा, कैसे and कैसी)
- Wiktionary: क्या हाल है (Hindi)
- Wiktionary: ठीक (Hindi, an adjective that does not change form)
- Wikivoyage: Hindi phrasebook (आप कैसे हैं, आप कैसी हैं, मैं ठीक हूँ, आप सुनाइये, धन्यवाद, नमस्ते)
- Wiktionary: आप (the polite you, used for elders and people of higher status, with plural agreement)
