A0 Expressions & Patterns 1 min read سهل

Asking 'How are you?' (কেমন আছেন? - Kemon achen?)

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

Use 'Kemon achen?' to ask 'How are you?' politely in formal or semi-formal Bengali settings.

  • Use 'Kemon achen?' for formal/respectful address (e.g., elders, strangers).
  • Use 'Kemon acho?' for informal/friendly address (e.g., friends, younger siblings).
  • The word 'Kemon' means 'how' and 'achen/acho' is the verb 'to be' (you are).
Kemon (How) + achen (are you - formal) = কেমন আছেন?

Verb Conjugation for 'To Be' (Thaka)

Pronoun Bengali English Formality
Ami
Achi
I am
Neutral
Tumi
Acho
You are
Informal
Apni
Achen
You are
Formal
Se
Ache
He/She is
Neutral
Tini
Achen
He/She is
Formal
Amra
Achi
We are
Neutral

Meanings

A standard polite inquiry used to initiate conversation or check on someone's well-being.

1

Formal Greeting

Polite inquiry for elders or superiors.

“আপনি কেমন আছেন?”

“কেমন আছেন আপনি?”

Reference Table

Reference table for Asking 'How are you?' (কেমন আছেন? - Kemon achen?)
Form Structure Example
Formal
Apni + Kemon + Achen?
আপনি কেমন আছেন?
Informal
Tumi + Kemon + Acho?
তুমি কেমন আছো?
Intimate
Tui + Kemon + Achis?
তুই কেমন আছিস?
Plural
Apnara + Kemon + Achen?
আপনারা কেমন আছেন?
Short
Kemon + Achen?
কেমন আছেন?
Response
Ami + Bhalo + Achi
আমি ভালো আছি

طيف الرسمية

رسمي
আপনি কেমন আছেন?

আপনি কেমন আছেন? (General greeting)

محايد
কেমন আছেন?

কেমন আছেন? (General greeting)

غير رسمي
কেমন আছো?

কেমন আছো? (General greeting)

عامية
কী অবস্থা?

কী অবস্থা? (General greeting)

Greeting Hierarchy

Kemon...?

Formal

  • Achen Respectful

Informal

  • Acho Friendly

Intimate

  • Achis Close
سجّل مجاناً لقراءة الشرح الكامل

أمثلة حسب المستوى

1

আপনি কেমন আছেন?

How are you? (formal)

2

কেমন আছেন?

How are you?

3

আপনি কেমন আছেন, স্যার?

How are you, sir?

4

সবাই কেমন আছেন?

How is everyone?

1

কেমন আছেন আপনি?

How are you?

2

আপনি কি কেমন আছেন?

Are you doing well?

3

আজ কেমন আছেন?

How are you today?

4

আপনি কেমন আছেন, মা?

How are you, mother?

1

অনেকদিন পর দেখা, কেমন আছেন?

Long time no see, how are you?

2

আমি ভালো আছি, আপনি কেমন আছেন?

I am fine, how are you?

3

সবকিছু ঠিকঠাক, আপনি কেমন আছেন?

Everything is fine, how are you?

4

আপনার শরীর কেমন আছেন?

How is your health?

1

আপনি কি এখন কেমন আছেন?

Are you doing better now?

2

আপনার পরিবার কেমন আছেন?

How is your family?

3

এতদিন পর, কেমন আছেন আপনি?

After all this time, how are you?

4

আপনি কেমন আছেন, তা জানতে চাই।

I want to know how you are.

1

আপনার দিনকাল কেমন আছেন?

How are your days going?

2

সবাই কেমন আছেন, বিশেষ করে আপনার বাবা?

How is everyone, especially your father?

3

আপনি কেমন আছেন, তা কি বলা সম্ভব?

Is it possible to say how you are?

4

আপনার কাজের ব্যস্ততার মাঝে কেমন আছেন?

How are you amidst your busy work?

1

আপনার বর্তমান অবস্থা কেমন আছেন?

How is your current state?

2

আপনি কেমন আছেন, তা জেনে ভালো লাগলো।

It was good to know how you are.

3

আপনার স্বাস্থ্যের উন্নতি কেমন আছেন?

How is your health improving?

4

আপনি কেমন আছেন, তা কি আমাকে জানাবেন?

Will you let me know how you are?

سهل الخلط

Asking 'How are you?' (কেমন আছেন? - Kemon achen?) مقابل Kemon achen vs Ki khobor

Both are greetings, but one is formal/polite and the other is casual.

Asking 'How are you?' (কেমন আছেন? - Kemon achen?) مقابل Achen vs Acho

Both mean 'are you', but for different social levels.

Asking 'How are you?' (কেমন আছেন? - Kemon achen?) مقابل Ami bhalo achi vs Kemon achen

One is a statement, one is a question.

أخطاء شائعة

✗

Tumi kemon achen?

✓

Tumi kemon acho?

Mismatch of pronoun and verb.
✗

Apni kemon acho?

✓

Apni kemon achen?

Mismatch of pronoun and verb.
✗

Kemon achi?

✓

Kemon achen?

Asking yourself how you are.
✗

Kemon acheno?

✓

Kemon achen?

Spelling error.
✗

Apni kemon?

✓

Apni kemon achen?

Incomplete sentence.
✗

Kemon achen, bhai?

✓

Kemon acho, bhai?

Using formal with a friend.
✗

Tumi kemon achen?

✓

Tumi kemon acho?

Register error.
✗

Apni kemon achen, tui?

✓

Apni kemon achen?

Mixing registers in one sentence.
✗

Kemon achen, baba?

✓

Kemon acho, baba?

Using formal with a child.
✗

Kemon achen, tumi?

✓

Kemon acho, tumi?

Register error.
✗

Apni kemon achen, ki khobor?

✓

Apni kemon achen?

Redundant greeting.

أنماط الجُمل

Apni ___ achen?

___ kemon achen?

Apni kemon ___?

___ kemon ___?

Real World Usage

Social Media very common

Kemon achen?

Job Interview very common

Apni kemon achen?

Travel common

Kemon achen, bhai?

Food Delivery occasional

Kemon achen?

Texting constant

Kemon acho?

Formal Dinner common

Apni kemon achen?

سجّل مجاناً لرؤية جميع الأمثلة
💡

Smile

Bengali speakers appreciate a warm smile with greetings.
⚠️

Don't mix

Never use 'Tumi' with 'Achen'.
🎯

Use 'Apni'

When in doubt, use 'Apni' to be safe.
💬

Eye contact

Maintain soft eye contact.

Smart Tips

Always use 'Apni' and 'Achen'.

Tumi kemon achen? → Apni kemon achen?

Switch to 'Tumi' and 'Acho'.

Apni kemon achen? → Tumi kemon acho?

Start with a polite greeting.

Kemon achen? → Apni kemon achen? Asha kori bhalo achen.

Be empathetic.

Kemon achen? → Apni kemon achen? Apnar shorir kemon?

النطق

ah-chen

Nasalization

The 'n' in 'achen' should be soft and nasal.

KE-mon

Stress

Stress the first syllable 'Ke'.

Rising

Kemon achen? ↑

Standard question.

احفظها

وسيلة تذكّر

Think of 'Achen' as 'A-Chain' of respect—the longer the word, the more respect you chain to the person.

ربط بصري

Imagine bowing slightly when saying 'Achen' and giving a high-five when saying 'Acho'.

Rhyme

Use 'Achen' for the boss or the queen, use 'Acho' for the friend you've seen.

Story

Rahul meets his professor. He remembers to use 'Achen' to show respect. The professor smiles. Later, Rahul meets his friend and uses 'Acho'. Both interactions go perfectly.

Word Web

KemonAchenAchoApniTumiBhalo

تحدٍّ

Say 'Kemon achen?' to three different people today (or imagine doing so).

ملاحظات ثقافية

Very polite, often used with 'Assalamu Alaikum'.

Often used with 'Namaskar'.

Often simplified to just 'Kemon achen'.

Derived from the Sanskrit root 'stha' (to stay/be).

بدايات محادثة

“

Kemon achen?

“

Apni kemon achen?

“

Kemon achen, ki khobor?

“

Apni kemon achen, onekdin por!

مواضيع للكتابة اليومية

Write a dialogue where you greet a new neighbor.
Describe how you would greet your boss.
Write about the importance of formal greetings in Bengali culture.
Compare formal and informal greetings in your own language vs Bengali.

أخطاء شائعة

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

Incorrect

صحيح

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Test Yourself

Choose the formal greeting. اختيار متعدد

Which is formal?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Achen is the formal verb ending.
Fill in the blank.

Apni ___ achen?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Kemon means how.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Tumi kemon achen?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Tumi requires acho.
Rearrange the words. Sentence Building

achen / kemon / Apni / ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Standard word order.
Match the pronoun to the verb. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: c
Apni takes achen.
Translate to Bengali. الترجمة

How are you? (formal)

Answer starts with: b...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Achen is formal.
Which is informal? اختيار متعدد

Which is informal?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Acho is informal.
Fill in the blank.

Ami bhalo ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: c
Ami takes achi.

Score: /8

تمارين تطبيقية

8 exercises
Choose the formal greeting. اختيار متعدد

Which is formal?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Achen is the formal verb ending.
Fill in the blank.

Apni ___ achen?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Kemon means how.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Tumi kemon achen?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Tumi requires acho.
Rearrange the words. Sentence Building

achen / kemon / Apni / ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: a
Standard word order.
Match the pronoun to the verb. Match Pairs

Apni -> ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: c
Apni takes achen.
Translate to Bengali. الترجمة

How are you? (formal)

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Achen is formal.
Which is informal? اختيار متعدد

Which is informal?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: b
Acho is informal.
Fill in the blank.

Ami bhalo ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: c
Ami takes achi.

Score: /8

الأسئلة الشائعة (8)

No, use 'Kemon acho' for a child.

Use 'Apni kemon achen' to be safe.

Yes, it is the standard polite form.

It is the foundation of all Bengali social interaction.

Yes, it is a perfect opening for a professional email.

It's not rude, but it sounds distant.

Say 'Ami bhalo achi, dhonnobad'.

No, Bengali verbs are gender-neutral.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

سجّل مجاناً للتدريب

In Other Languages

Spanish high

¿Cómo está usted?

Bengali uses honorific verb endings more strictly.

French high

Comment allez-vous?

French uses 'vous' for plural and formal; Bengali has distinct honorifics.

German moderate

Wie geht es Ihnen?

German uses dative case; Bengali uses direct subject-verb agreement.

Japanese high

O-genki desu ka?

Japanese relies on particles; Bengali relies on verb conjugation.

Arabic moderate

Kayfa haluk?

Bengali is gender-neutral; Arabic is highly gendered.

Chinese low

Ni hao ma?

Chinese has no verb conjugation; Bengali is highly inflected.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Introducing Yourself (আমার নাম... - Amar nam...)
Next
Saying 'Thank You' (ধন্যবাদ - Dhonnobad)

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Giving Directions: Left, Right, Straight (বাম - bam, ডান - dan, সোজা - shoja)
A0

Formal & Informal Greetings (নমস্কার - Nomoshkar, সালাম - Salam)
A0

Introducing Yourself (আমার নাম... - Amar nam...)
A0

Saying 'Thank You' (ধন্যবাদ - Dhonnobad)
A0

Saying 'Goodbye' (বিদায় - Biday, আবার দেখা হবে - Abar dekha hobe)
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