Kashi Assa? (Kuh-shee ah-suh)

Although you can use “Namaskaru” to greet somebody, the most common way of greeting someone in Konkani is by asking them Kashi Assa?.

In Konkani, Kashi means how and Assa means to be / is. We will learn more about these words individually in future lessons, but together, Kashi Assa? is asking the simple question: How are you? or How is it to be? or How is existence?

Kashi assa? = How is it to be?

Notice that when somebody is asking this question directly to you, “Kashi assa?” is not qualified with “you” or your name. However, there might be certain situations where might want to qualify your “Kashi assa?”. Some of those situations are:

  • You are in a group, and you want to specifically ask a person how they are doing. You can do so by adding their name at the end of your question to get their attention. Example: Kashi assa, Anup?

  • Somebody has already asked you “Kashi assa?” and you want to ask them back how they are doing. In this situation, when first person asks “Kashi assa?”, by replying to the question, you bring the focus to yourself. To shift the focus back to the person who asked the original question, you qualify your “Kashi assa?” question with Tuv (thoov) = you Example: Tuv kashi assa?

Haav Saukya Assa (Hahv sow-kyah ah-suh)

When somebody asks you “How are you?”, many people often respond with a simple "Good, thanks" or "I'm fine," even if they might not feel that way. It’s often just a polite formality rather than a genuine inquiry. Some might dive into more detail, but many stick to the basics.

Following the social norm, you can answer to a Kashi Assa? question with a simple: Haav Saukya Assa

Haav = I, Saukya = fine, Assa = to be/is, which combines to say:

Haav saukya assa = I am fine

You might also hear people say Haav Aaram Assa. Aaram (ah-rahm) and Saukya can be used interchangebly in this context but Aaram means rested or relaxed.

Sample Conversation:

Here is a sample conversation demonstrating how two people might greet one another in Konkani.

Ahaan: Namaskaru! Kashi Assa?
Hello! How are you?

Balu: Haav Saukya assa. Tuv Kashi Assa?
I am fine. How are you?

Ahaan: Aaram, Aaram.
Fine, Fine.