ਕਿੱਦਾਂ

What does kiddan mean in Punjabi?

Kiddan (ਕਿੱਦਾਂ), pronounced kid-DAAN, is the informal Punjabi way of asking how are you, close to what's up in English. Friends, cousins and classmates open conversations with it, usually with a smile, and it expects the same warmth back: it is a greeting and a question in a single word.

When do you say kiddan, and when do you not?

Say kiddan to people you know well and speak with as equals: friends, cousins, teammates and the neighbour you joke with every day. Language guides list it as the informal how are you, set against the formal tusi kiven ho, and that contrast is the whole rule. It is friendly, never rude, but it is familiar.

With elders, teachers or someone you are meeting for the first time, choose the respectful forms instead: Sat Sri Akal to greet, then ki haal hai or tusi kiven ho to ask after them. Using kiddan there can sound too casual, the way calling a teacher by a nickname would in English. In songs and films, though, kiddan is everywhere, because singers sing to friends and sweethearts, not to committees.

How do you reply to kiddan?

The standard reply is main theek haan, I am fine, often lifted with vadhia or changa: vadhia, tusi sunao, all good, you tell me. Tusi sunao turns the question back, and Punjabi conversation flows from there into family news, work and the weather. A flat fine with no return question can end the exchange early, so the return question matters.

Is kiddan a morning greeting?

Not specifically. Kiddan works at any hour, morning, afternoon or evening, whenever you meet. Morning roundups of Punjabi greetings include it among the informal ways to open the day, alongside Sat Sri Akal, but unlike good morning it carries no time of day in it. If you hear it at nine at night, nothing is wrong.