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Punjabi Small Talk: Catching Up After a Long Time ਗੱਲਾਂ-ਬਾਤਾਂ

Long-time-no-see conversations: how has everyone been, what's new, and the polite fishing for news that a Punjabi catch-up runs on.

What to know before you use these

  • "Bass challi jaandi hai" answers almost anything — Literally "it just keeps going" — closer to "can't complain" than to "fine", and the safe reply to any question about how things are.
  • The household comes before you do — A Punjabi catch-up runs through everyone at home and often the village before it gets round to asking about you personally.
  • Endings are invitations — "Kade ghar aao", "pher kade baithde haan". The conversation closes by proposing the next one, whether or not a date is ever set.

All 17 phrases

Cover:
We're meeting after such a long time!
ਬੜੇ ਦਿਨਾਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਮਿਲੇ!
Barhe dinaan baad mile!
They say
ਤੂੰ ਤਾਂ ਬਿਲਕੁਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਬਦਲਿਆ
Tu taan bilkul nahin badlia — You haven't changed at all
Where have you been all these days?
ਐਨੇ ਦਿਨ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਸੀ ਤੂੰ?
Aine din kithe si tu?
💡 ਤੂੰ is natural between friends
They say
ਬੱਸ ਚੱਲੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ
Bass challi jaandi hai — Same as always, it keeps going
"Bass challi jaandi hai" is the standard non-answer — literally "it just keeps going", closer to "can't complain" than to "fine".
Is everyone at home happy and well?
ਘਰ ਸਾਰੇ ਰਾਜ਼ੀ-ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਹਨ?
Ghar saare raazi-khushi han?
💡 ਰਾਜ਼ੀ-ਖੁਸ਼ੀ is the set phrase for 'safe and well'
So, what else — how are things?
ਹੋਰ ਸੁਣਾ, ਕੀ ਹਾਲ-ਚਾਲ?
Hor suna, ki haal-chaal?
💡 'hor suna' is THE Punjabi conversation starter
Same as always, it keeps going
ਬੱਸ ਚੱਲੀ ਜਾਂਦੀ ਹੈ
Bass challi jaandi hai
💡 the classic modest answer to 'how's life?'
How's work going?
ਕੰਮ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਚੱਲ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ?
Kamm kiven chall riha hai?
The kids have grown so big!
ਬੱਚੇ ਕਿੰਨੇ ਵੱਡੇ ਹੋ ਗਏ!
Bachche kinne vadde ho gaye!
They say
ਸਮਾਂ ਕਿੰਨੀ ਛੇਤੀ ਲੰਘ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ
Samaan kinni chheti langh jaanda hai — Time passes so quickly
You haven't changed at all
ਤੂੰ ਤਾਂ ਬਿਲਕੁਲ ਨਹੀਂ ਬਦਲਿਆ
Tu taan bilkul nahin badlia
💡 to a woman: ਬਦਲੀ (badli)
When did you come back from India?
ਇੰਡੀਆ ਤੋਂ ਕਦੋਂ ਆਏ?
India ton kadon aaye?
How is everyone back in the village?
ਪਿੰਡ ਸਾਰੇ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਹਨ?
Pind saare kiven han?
💡 ਪਿੰਡ — the ancestral village every diaspora family asks about
Let's sit together again sometime
ਫੇਰ ਕਦੇ ਬੈਠਦੇ ਹਾਂ
Pher kade baithde haan
💡 ਬੈਠਣਾ here = to sit and chat properly, hang out
They say
ਕਦੇ ਘਰ ਆਓ
Kade ghar aao — Come over to the house sometime
Come over to the house sometime
ਕਦੇ ਘਰ ਆਓ
Kade ghar aao
💡 warm standing invitation — often politeness, sometimes meant
Do you remember the old days?
ਪੁਰਾਣੇ ਦਿਨ ਯਾਦ ਹਨ?
Puraane din yaad han?
They say
ਸਮਾਂ ਕਿੰਨੀ ਛੇਤੀ ਲੰਘ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ
Samaan kinni chheti langh jaanda hai — Time passes so quickly
Time passes so quickly
ਸਮਾਂ ਕਿੰਨੀ ਛੇਤੀ ਲੰਘ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ
Samaan kinni chheti langh jaanda hai
Everything else fine and peaceful?
ਹੋਰ ਸਭ ਸੁੱਖ-ਸਾਂਦ ਹੈ?
Hor sabh sukh-saand hai?
💡 ਸੁੱਖ-ਸਾਂਦ = peace and wellbeing, a set phrase
It made me so happy to see you
ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਮਿਲ ਕੇ ਬਹੁਤ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਹੋਈ
Tuhanu mil ke bahut khushi hoyi
They say
ਕਦੇ ਫ਼ੋਨ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ ਕਰ
Kade phone kar lia kar — Phone me sometime
Phone me sometime
ਕਦੇ ਫ਼ੋਨ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ ਕਰ
Kade phone kar lia kar
💡 ਤੂੰ form; ਕਰ ਲਿਆ ਕਰ = 'make a habit of it', gently chiding

Other situations

Eating & Hospitality At Home Emotions & Expressions Travel & Directions At the Doctor Emergencies On the Phone At the Gurdwara Weddings & Parties Talking with Elders With Children Encouragement & Compliments Apologies & Making Up Daily Routine Asking for Help Airport & Journeys At School & With Teachers Renting & Household Problems At the Bank & Sending Money Taxis & Buses Cooking Together Festival Greetings Condolences & Comfort

Smaller topics — meeting someone new, the weather, shopping, work, family — live in the full phrasebook, alongside every phrase on this page. See the phrasebook index for the whole set, or the dialogues for these phrases inside whole conversations.