Contents

The following Help Topics are available:

Overview of Hindi

Transliterated Alphabet and Pronunciation

Nouns

Gender and Agreement

Number and Agreement

Pronouns

Articles

Adjectives

Adverbs

Verb Conjugations

Postpositions

Conjunctions

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 Overview of Hindi

In the Republic of India, Hindi is the most widely spoken language with a concentration of speakers in the north central region of the country.  Hindi is spoken by 275 million people, however less than a third of India's population speaks the language.  In India, Hindi shares the title of national language with English.  It is also spoke in Mauritius, Fiji, Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname.

Hindi is descendant from Sanskrit and it is written in the Devanagari script.  Hindustani, the colloquial version of Hindi, is closely related to the language of Pakistan, Urdu.  The main difference is that the former is written in Sanskrit characters and the latter in Perso-Arabic script.  Bear in mind while you are learning Hindi, that this has been transliterated into roman characters and does not reflect the original Hindi script. There are several words in English that are of Hindi origin: cot, thug, bandanna, dungaree, tom-tom, and juggernaut.


Alphabet
 Transliterated Alphabet and Pronunciation

Letter       Explanations/Examples in English

A	a as in mat
a	a as in about
b	b as in boy in the group bh it has a breathy sound
c	c as in cat in the group ch it has a breathy sound
D	d as in done in the group dh it has a breathy sound
d	th as in the
e	a as in cable (a sound in between air and may)
ee	ey as in they
f	f as in fog
g	g as in girl
h	a breathy sound, except when part of the groups ch or sh
i	i as in bit
j	j as in joy
k	k as in skin in the group kh it has a breathy sound
l	l as in low
m	m as in made
n	n as in noodle
o	o as in moan
p	p as in pig
q	q as in quick
r	r as in Spanish perro, a rolled sound in the group rh it has a breathy sound
s	s as in sweet
t	t as in toot  pronounced with the tongue against the teeth in the group th it is pronounced "tuh"
T	pronounced with the tongue against the back of the roof of the mouth
u	u as in put
uu	oo as in fool
v	v as in vat
w	w as in water
x	x as in axe
y	y as in yes
z	z as in zoo


Nouns

A noun is a word that names a person, place or thing. A more in-depth explanation of nouns and how they function in Hindi can be found in "Gender and Agreement" and "Number and Agreement."

dost 	(noun- friend)

gusalkhAna 	(noun- bathroom)

nAm 	(noun- name)

dukAndAr 	(noun- shopkeeper)

angreyzee 	(proper noun- English)

rAjan 	(proper noun- Rajan, last name)

neena 	(proper noun- Nina, female first name)

See Also:

Gender and Agreement

Number and Agreement

Articles


Gender and Agreement

All nouns in Hindi are masculine or feminine.  Masculine and feminine nouns each have two types:

Masculine.

type 1: nouns that end in short a.

beta

son

type 2: nouns that end in anything else.

bhai

brother

Feminine.

type 1: nouns that end in short e.

bete

daughter

type 2: nouns that end in anything else.

bahan

sister

There is no distinction of gender in Hindi pronouns.  The only exception to this is the possessive pronouns in the first and third person forms:

first person

mera	my (masc.)

meri	my (fem.)

third person

uska	his

uski	her

Adjectives change according to the gender of the noun they modify.  However, be aware that there is a category of adjectives that do not change at all, regardless of gender, number or case.

Examples of adjectives that change:

acchha (good)

Masculine:

acchha kamrA  (good room)

Feminine:

acchhi gADi (good train)

Verbs also change according to gender.

Examples:

uthnA  (to get up)

Masculine (first person, present tense):

mein uthta hoon

Feminine (first person, present tense):

mein uthti hoon

See also:

Adjectives

Articles

Pronouns


Number
Number and Agreement

Most nouns in Hindi have singular and plural forms.

Masculine.

type 1: the "short a" changes to an "e".

beta	(son)

bete	(sons)

type 2: remains the same in singular and plural forms.

bhai	(brother)

bhai	(brothers)

Feminine.

type 1: the "short i" changes to "iya".

beti	(daughter)

betiyan(daughters)

type 2: formed by adding an "e".

bahan	(sister)

bahane	(sisters)

Note: When the noun does not change form in singular or plural (Type 2, Masculine), the verb indicates number.

Possessive pronouns follow the same rules as adjectives ending in "short a" in terms of agreement with the noun it modifies.

Examples:

ye ApkA kamrA hA	this is your room	(ApkA, your  kamrA, room)

ye Apki chabi hA	this is your key	(Apki, your   chabi, key)

Apke kamre me	in your room	(Apke, your   kamre, room)

Verbs and different verbal forms agree with the subject of the sentence in number.

ve uthte hein	they(formal) get up

"uthte" denotes the use of "they, masculine" and "hA" denotes the use of "third person, plural".

See Also

Noun

Pronoun

Adjectives

Articles


Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that stands for a previously mentioned or understood noun.  That noun is called the antecedent of the pronoun.  The pronoun replaces the noun in a sentence.  In Hindi there is no gender distinction in the use of pronouns.

Subject pronouns:

mein	I

tum	you (familiar)

Ap	you (formal)

ye	he/she/it (near)

vo	he/she/it (far)

hum	we

Ap	you (plural)

ye	they (near)

ve, vo	they (far)

mein bas thoDee see hee hindi boltee hoon.

I only speak a little Hindi.

hamay alag-alag do palang chAhiyay.

We would like a double room.

Ap kitnay din Thaharayngi?

How many days will you stay?

The "ye" form of the third person pronoun is used when the person or object being referred to is physically near to the speaker.  The "vo/ve" form is used if the person or object is not physically near or present.

Object pronouns:

These forms are a shortened form of Hindi object pronouns.  They are the forms most commonly used in conversation.

mujhe	me

tumhe	you (familiar)

Apko	you (formal)

ise	him/her/it (near)

use	him/her/it (far)

hame	us

inhe	them (near)

unhe	them (far)

Examples:

mein Apko samajh saktA hoon.

I understand you.

kyA mujhay mayri chAbi mil sakti hai?

Can you give me my keys?

The following forms of object pronouns are used in combination with many postpositions.  These forms are used infrequently and cannot stand alone.

mujh	me

tum	you (familiar)

Ap	you (formal)

is	him/her/it (near)

us	him/her/it (far)

hum	us

in	them (near)

un	them (far)

Ap say mil kar bahut khushee hui.

I am very glad to meet you.

Note: "Ap" is combined with the postposition "say".


Articles

There are no articles in Hindi.

Example:

"hathi"  means "elephant," "an elephant," or "the elephant" depending on the context of the sentence.

See Also:

Nouns

Gender and Agreement

Number and Agreement


Adjectives

Adjectives in Hindi are divided into two categories: those that change form depending on the nouns they modify and those that never change form.

Examples:

Adjectives that change:

acchha (good)

	singular	plural
masculine	acchha kamrA	acchhe kamre
	good room	good rooms
feminine	acchhi gADi	acchhi gADian
	good train	good trains

Note: When adjectives change form the –a ending becomes an –i or –e depending on the number and gender of the noun it modifies.  Also, if an adjective that does change is modifying a feminine noun, the adjective remains the same in the singular and plural forms.

Adjectives that do not change:

mashhur (famous)

	singular	plural
masculine	mashhur hotal	mashhur hotal
	famous hotel	famous hotels
feminine	mashhur gADi	masshur gADian
	famous train	famous trains

Demonstrative adjectives in Hindi are the same as pronouns.

singular		plural
this	ye	these	ye
that	vo	those	ve

See Also:

Gender and Agreement

Number and Agreement

Articles


Adverbs

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb and often serves to answer the question "How?"  Adverbs can also modify adjectives giving more information about the adjective, or emphasizing the meaning of the adjective.  Adverbs can also indicate time or frequency.

Examples:

bilkul	(absolutely)

pehle	(earlier)

kabhi kabhi	(sometimes)

kabhi nahin	(never)

kal	(tomorrow/yesterday-depending on the context)

See Also:

Adjectives


Verb Conjugations:  Tense and Mood

Verbs in Hindi consist of two parts: the stem and the suffix.  For example the infinitive form of the verb "to get up" is "uthnA".  "uth" is the stem and "nA" is the suffix (equivalent to the "to" in English).

In the present tense, there are three parts to the verb conjugation.  Primarily, the verb stem (uth).  Second, the imperfect suffix (-ta, -ti, -te).  And finally, there is a the tense marker.   The verb "to be" ("honA") is used as a tense marker.  The imperfect suffix agrees in gender and number with the subject of the verb.  The tense marker agrees in person and number with the subject of the verb.

uthnA (to get up)

	Masculine	Feminine
I get up	mein uthta hoon	mein uthti hoon
you (sing.) get up	Ap uthte hein	Ap uthti hein
he, she, it gets up	ye/vo uthta hai	ye/vo uthti hai
we get up	hum uthte hein	hum uthte hein
you (pl.) get up	Ap uthte hein	Ap uthte hein
they get up	ye/ve uthte hein	ye/ve uthti hein

Examples:

mein gusalkhane sahit dabal chAhtA hoon.

I would like a double room.

mein angrayzee nahin bol saktA hoon.

I do not speak English.

mayray kapDay aur mayray pari kay sooT ko istri ki zaroorat hai.

My dress and my husband's suit (they) need to be ironed.

(Note: these are more or less literal translations, used to emphasize the conjugation of the verb).

The past imperfect tense in Hindi denotes the phrase "used to" in English.  It represents an action which was repeated in the past.  It is formed in the same way as the present tense, however the third part, "honA," is conjugated in the past tense.  The third part is changed according to gender and number.

bolnA (to speak)

	Masculine	Feminine
I spoke	mein bolta thA	mein boltee thi
You (sing.) spoke	Ap bolte the	Ap boltee thin
He/she/it spoke	ye/vo bolta the	ye/vo boltee thin
We spoke	hum bolte the	hum boltee thin
You (pl.) spoke	Ap bolte the	Ap boltee thin
They spoke	ye/ve bolte the	ye/ve boltee thin

Examples:

meinay rizarvayshan pichhlay haftay kiyA thA.

I made my reservation last week.

Apnay rizarvayshan kab kiyA thA?

When did you make your reservation?

mujhay lagtA hai ki Aj subeh jab mein bAzAr kar rahi thi tab meinay hee inhay kho diyay.

I think that I lost them while I was shopping this morning.

(Note: these are more or less literal translations, used to emphasize the conjugation of the verb).


Prepositions
Postpositions

Postpositions are connecting words that show the relationships between words in the sentence.  In Hindi, postpositions are the grammatical equivalent of prepositions in English.  They are positioned after the noun in the sentence.

ko	  	to

kA (kay)	of/for

ki	of

mayn	in

par	at/on

say	from/by

tak	until

Examples:

mayray kapDay aur mayray pati kay sooT ko istri ki zaroorat hai.

My dress and the suit of my husband which are in need of ironing.

mein apnay TikaT kay bAray mayn kuchh poochhnA chAhtA hoon.

I would like to ask something (in) about my ticket.

mein udAn sankhyA chAr sau bayAnvay par apni seeT kanfarm karnA chAhtA hoon.

I would like to confirm my seat on flight number four hundred and ninety-two.

iss satyshan say gADi Theek pAnch bajay ravAnA hogi.

The train will leave from this station at five o'clock.

kamrA kis samay tak chhoD daynA hogA?

Until what time do we have to leave the room?


Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words, phrases and clauses together.

Examples:

TikaT ayjanT: ikAnomi yA pratham shrayni?

Ticket agent: Economy or first class?

TikaT ayjanT: kursi yA sonay kA barth?

Ticket agent: Seat or sleeping car?

shreemati divyA: aur kamray kA rayT kya hai?

Mrs. Divya: And what is the rate for the room?