“kindly (in every request)”
Use “please”, or ask a question: “Could you reply by Thursday?”. “Kindly” is correct English, but in every request it can sound formal, and abroad it sometimes reads as impatient.
Updated · Loista team
Understood across India
Kindly revert at the earliest.
Travels further
- Could you reply by Thursday?
- Could you reply when you get a chance?
Why it lands differently
In Indian English, “kindly” is simply polite. Elsewhere it appears mostly in formal notices (“Kindly keep off the grass”), so in a message to a colleague it can feel like an instruction. A question with “could you” sounds warm, and giving a date is clearer than “at the earliest”.
When it's fine
In Indian workplaces and formal letters, where kindly is the standard polite word.
Try it out loud
Read each line, say a version that travels out loud, then open it to compare. Any version that's clear to a listener abroad counts.
Kindly share the file.
Could you share the file, please?
Kindly confirm your availability.
Could you let me know if you're free?
Kindly adjust, the AC is not working.
Sorry, please bear with us. The AC isn't working.
Practise saying it, not just reading it
Loista gives you a realistic speaking prompt and specific feedback on your answer, then a retry focused on one thing, so you can hear whether it landed.
In the App Store and Google Play as Brinlet until our next update.
For adults aged 18 and over.