lexico
Chukchi Salmon
Mongolian Greetings
1. How are you ?
Q: saim bainuu ? (well-are-question marker uu==How are you ?)
A: saing, ta saim bainuu ? (fine-you-well-are-question marker uu==Fine, How are you ?)
vocabulary:
saing, saim (well, fine, good)
bain (is, am, are)
uu (question particle)
ta (you, singular)
tanai (your, singular)
2. How is your health ?
Q: tanai biye saim bainuu ? (your-body-good-is-question marker==Is your health good ?)
A: bayarllaa, bi saim bain. (Thank you-I-well-am.==Thanks, I'm fine.)
vocabulary:
biye (body)
bayarllaa (thank you)
bi (I)
*A Mongolian greeting takes several stages;
1) General well being of the person
2) Health of the person
3) Well-being of the family
4) Well being of the cattle
This is the standard greeting when visiting a herdsman at his yurt.
After that one should ask "What's new ?"
*The Mongolian expressions for "thank you" vary according to the situation. One should naturally use "bayarllaa" sparingly as it does not have the same usage as in many European languages.
[adapted from John G. Hangin, Basic Course in Mongolian, Indiana Univ. Press, 1987]
1. How are you ?
Q: saim bainuu ? (well-are-question marker uu==How are you ?)
A: saing, ta saim bainuu ? (fine-you-well-are-question marker uu==Fine, How are you ?)
vocabulary:
saing, saim (well, fine, good)
bain (is, am, are)
uu (question particle)
ta (you, singular)
tanai (your, singular)
2. How is your health ?
Q: tanai biye saim bainuu ? (your-body-good-is-question marker==Is your health good ?)
A: bayarllaa, bi saim bain. (Thank you-I-well-am.==Thanks, I'm fine.)
vocabulary:
biye (body)
bayarllaa (thank you)
bi (I)
*A Mongolian greeting takes several stages;
1) General well being of the person
2) Health of the person
3) Well-being of the family
4) Well being of the cattle
This is the standard greeting when visiting a herdsman at his yurt.
After that one should ask "What's new ?"
*The Mongolian expressions for "thank you" vary according to the situation. One should naturally use "bayarllaa" sparingly as it does not have the same usage as in many European languages.
[adapted from John G. Hangin, Basic Course in Mongolian, Indiana Univ. Press, 1987]
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