Common Telugu Greetings: How to Say Hello and Goodbye

Walk into a relative's house in Vijayawada and the first thing anyone says is not "hi." It is usually a question: బాగున్నారా? (baagunnaraa?, "are you well?"), sometimes before the door is even fully open. Telugu greetings are less about a fixed word for "hello" and more about checking in on a person, which is why the same handful of phrases stretch to cover meeting a stranger, walking into a shop, and hugging a cousin you have not seen in a year. Once you know which greeting fits which relationship, you stop sounding like you are reading off a card.

This post builds directly on the core phrases every traveler should know, narrowing in on greetings specifically: which one to use with whom, how the formal and informal forms split apart, and what actually happens when you leave a conversation instead of just walking away.

Namaskaram and other all-purpose greetings

నమస్కారం (namaskaram) is the greeting that works almost everywhere. It means something closer to "I offer my respects" than a plain "hello," and it does double duty as both hello and goodbye, so you never have to remember a separate word for leaving. Say it to a shopkeeper, an auto driver, a teacher, or an elder relative and you are on safe ground. It is often paired with a slight nod or palms brought together at chest height, a gesture borrowed from the wider Indian namaste but said with the Telugu word.

There is a more formal cousin of it, నమస్తే (namaste), which Telugu speakers also use and understand, largely because of how common it is across Indian languages. In everyday Telugu contexts, though, namaskaram is the one that feels native rather than borrowed. If you only learn one greeting before a trip to Hyderabad or Vijayawada, make it this one.

Part of why namaskaram travels so well is the same reason so many Telugu words end the way they do. The word closes on an open vowel, am trailing off rather than clipping shut, which is the pattern behind Telugu's old nickname as "the Italian of the East." The mechanics of that vowel-final rhythm are worth understanding on their own, but for greetings the practical result is simple: namaskaram should sound rounded and unhurried, not clipped like an English "hi."

Casual greetings among friends and family

Among people who already know each other, a straight "hello" often gets replaced by a question instead. బాగున్నావా? (baagunnaavaa?, "are you well?") is the informal version, used with friends, siblings, and anyone close in age. The formal version, బాగున్నారా? (baagunnaaraa?), adds a plural-respectful ending and is what you would use with an elder or someone you are meeting for the first time.

There is no real Telugu equivalent of the English habit of saying "hi" and moving on without expecting an answer. The question format expects a response, so when someone greets you with బాగున్నావా?, answering బాగున్నాను (baagunnaanu, "I'm well") is not optional small talk, it is the second half of the greeting. Skipping it can read as abrupt, even if you did not mean it that way.

Family greetings add another layer on top of this. A younger person greeting an elder relative often does so with a small gesture, touching the elder's feet briefly, called పాదాభివందనం (paadaabhivandanam), especially during festivals or after a long absence. It is not required at every hello, but showing up for Sankranti after a year abroad and skipping it in front of grandparents would be noticed. Between people the same age, a handshake, a hug, or just the spoken greeting is normal, with no gesture expected at all.

How to ask how someone is and respond

The core exchange is short. One person asks ఎలా ఉన్నారు? (ela unnaaru?, "how are you?"), and the other answers బాగున్నాను (baagunnaanu, "I'm fine") or నేను బాగున్నాను (nenu baagunnaanu, "I am fine"), often followed by మీరు ఎలా ఉన్నారు? (meeru ela unnaaru?, "and how are you?") to return the question. Telugu speakers almost always return the question rather than letting the exchange end after their own answer.

Telugu	Romanization	English
ఎలా ఉన్నారు?	Ela unnaaru?	How are you? (formal/plural)
ఎలా ఉన్నావు?	Ela unnaavu?	How are you? (informal)
బాగున్నాను	Baagunnaanu	I'm well / I'm fine
బాగా లేదు	Baagaa ledu	Not so well
సరే	Sare	Okay / fine

If things are not actually fine, బాగా లేదు (baagaa ledu, "not so well") is the honest answer, though in practice most people default to బాగున్నాను the same way English speakers default to "good" regardless of how their day is going. A slightly more detailed complaint sounds like ఒంట్లో బాగా లేదు (ontlo baagaa ledu, "not feeling well physically"), which is specific enough that people will actually ask what is wrong instead of moving on.

Phone calls follow the same script with one difference: the greeting question often comes before either person has said anything else at all. Picking up and immediately hearing ఎలా ఉన్నావు? is normal even if the caller has news to share; the well-being check happens first, the actual reason for the call comes after.

Greetings tied to time of day

Telugu has time-of-day greetings, and they borrow the English structure more directly than namaskaram does. శుభోదయం (shubhodayam) means "good morning," శుభ సాయంత్రం (shubha saayantram) means "good evening," and శుభ రాత్రి (shubha raatri) means "good night." These are used the way English speakers use them: shubhodayam works as a text message first thing in the morning, and shubha raatri closes out a phone call before bed, far more than it gets said face to face during a casual daytime encounter.

Namaskaram still covers all of these situations too. The time-of-day greetings are an added layer, common in messages and more formal settings like the start of a meeting or a broadcast, rather than a replacement for the all-purpose greeting.

Telugu	Romanization	English	When to use it
నమస్కారం	Namaskaram	Hello / Goodbye	Any time, any formality
శుభోదయం	Shubhodayam	Good morning	Messages, early meetings
శుభ సాయంత్రం	Shubha saayantram	Good evening	Messages, evening events
శుభ రాత్రి	Shubha raatri	Good night	Ending calls, before bed

Notice the pattern: శుభ (shubha) means "auspicious" or "good," and it attaches to whatever time word follows. That is a useful shortcut once it clicks, since you are not memorizing four unrelated words, you are memorizing one prefix and three time-of-day nouns.

Polite ways to say goodbye

Because namaskaram covers both directions, it is the simplest goodbye you can use with anyone. For a more specific farewell among friends and family, వెళ్తాను (veltaanu, "I'll go now") signals that you are leaving without being abrupt about it, and the person staying often responds with మళ్ళీ కలుద్దాం (mallee kaluddaam, "let's meet again").

"వెళ్తాను, మళ్ళీ కలుద్దాం." ("I'll go now. Let's meet again.")

That short back-and-forth is closer to how Telugu speakers actually part ways than a single word for "bye." Leaving without saying anything, even a quick namaskaram, tends to feel unfinished in a way it might not in English.

Leaving a house after a meal or a visit has its own small ritual attached. Guests are often told జాగ్రత్త (jaagratta, "take care") or మళ్ళీ రండి (mallee randi, "come again"), and it is common for the host to walk a guest to the gate or the car rather than saying goodbye at the couch. None of that is required from a learner, but expect it, and do not read the extra few minutes at the door as anyone being slow to let you leave.

Formal vs informal greeting choices

The line between formal and informal in Telugu greetings mostly comes down to two things: who you are talking to, and which verb ending they get. Elders, strangers, teachers, and anyone in a position of authority get the respectful plural forms, unnaaru instead of unnaavu, aaru instead of aavu. Friends, siblings, and people younger than or the same age as you get the informal singular forms.

Namaskaram sidesteps the whole question, since it works at any formality level, which is exactly why it is the greeting taught first. The moment you add a question like "how are you," though, you have to pick a register. When in doubt, start formal. Telugu speakers rarely take offense at being addressed too respectfully, but dropping into casual forms with an elder on your first meeting can land wrong.

If you are also working through the Telugu script itself, these endings are worth watching for as you read: ఆరు (-aaru) and ఆవు (-aavu) show up constantly once you start noticing them, not just in greetings but across the whole formal/informal split in Telugu verbs.

Getting the rhythm right

None of this works as a list to memorize in isolation. Namaskaram for the general case, a well-being question for people you know, time-of-day phrases for messages and formal settings, and a real goodbye exchange instead of a single word: put those four pieces together and you have covered the greetings that come up in an ordinary day in Hyderabad or Vijayawada, not just the ones that show up on a phrasebook page. If you want the native audio to go with each of these, so you can hear exactly how baagunnaraa and veltaanu are actually pronounced, the Learn Telugu app builds its opening lessons around this same set of everyday greetings.