Hindi

Personal notes from learning Hindi. Grouped by concept instead of lesson order.

Resources:

• Learn Hindi series (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHFBK0YDk3s&list=PLdb6KKzTz-by4IuO4qsG8JZokr4ouvFH4

Related:

• India
• Linguistics

Writing System

Hindi uses Devanagari (देवनागरी), an abugida — each consonant carries an inherent a vowel unless modified. The script is written left-to-right, with a horizontal line (शिरोरेखा / shirorekha) running across the top of letters.

Feature	Notes
Consonants	33 base consonants, organized by place of articulation
Vowels	11 vowels with two forms — independent (अ) and dependent / matra (ा)
Inherent vowel	Every consonant ⇒ consonant + a unless a matra or halant changes it
Halant / virama	् removes the inherent a: क + ् = क् (“k” with no vowel)
Conjuncts	When two consonants combine without a vowel between them, they form a ligature (e.g., क्ष, ज्ञ, त्र)

Vowels (स्वर / svar)

Independent	Matra (with क)	Romanization	Notes
अ	क	a	short, like “u” in “but”
आ	का	aa / ā	long, like “a” in “father”
इ	कि	i	short, like “i” in “bit”
ई	की	ii / ī	long, like “ee” in “see”
उ	कु	u	short, like “u” in “put”
ऊ	कू	uu / ū	long, like “oo” in “boot”
ऋ	कृ	ṛ / ri	rare, used in Sanskrit-origin words
ए	के	e	like “ay” in “say” (no glide)
ऐ	कै	ai	between “a” in “cat” and “ai” in “air”
ओ	को	o	like “o” in “go” (no glide)
औ	कौ	au	like “ow” in “cow” (or “aw” in some words)

Consonants (व्यंजन / vyanjan)

Organized in a 5×5 grid by place of articulation, plus extras.

Group	Unvoiced	Unvoiced aspirated	Voiced	Voiced aspirated	Nasal
Velar (throat)	क ka	ख kha	ग ga	घ gha	ङ ṅa
Palatal (palate)	च cha	छ chha	ज ja	झ jha	ञ ña
Retroflex (tongue curled back)	ट ṭa	ठ ṭha	ड ḍa	ढ ḍha	ण ṇa
Dental (teeth)	त ta	थ tha	द da	ध dha	न na
Labial (lips)	प pa	फ pha	ब ba	भ bha	म ma

Other consonants:

Letter	Romanization	Sound
य	ya	“y” in “yes”
र	ra	flapped “r”
ल	la	“l” in “love”
व	va / wa	between “v” and “w”
श	sha	“sh” in “ship”
ष	ṣa	similar sh, more retroflex
स	sa	“s” in “sun”
ह	ha	“h” in “hat”

Borrowed/modified consonants (with a dot — nukta — below):

Letter	Romanization	Sound	Used in
क़	qa	deep “q” from throat	Arabic/Persian loanwords
ख़	kha (guttural)	“kh” as in German “Bach”	Persian loanwords
ग़	gha (guttural)	French “r”	Persian loanwords
ज़	za	“z” in “zoo”	English/Persian loanwords (zindagi)
फ़	fa	“f” in “fan”	English/Persian loanwords (film)
ड़	ṛa	flapped retroflex d	Hindi-internal sound
ढ़	ṛha	aspirated flapped retroflex	Hindi-internal sound

Aspiration matters

Hindi distinguishes aspirated (extra puff of air) vs unaspirated consonants. This changes meaning!

• कान (kān) - ear vs खान (khān) - mine/quarry
• पल (pal) - moment vs फल (phal) - fruit Practice by holding a piece of paper in front of your mouth — aspirated sounds should make it move.

Retroflex vs dental

Retroflex consonants (ट ठ ड ढ ण) curl the tongue tip back to touch the roof of the mouth. Dental consonants (त थ द ध न) touch the back of the upper teeth. English “t” and “d” sit somewhere between — to a Hindi ear, they sound closer to retroflex.

The Nasal Mark — Anusvara (ं) and Chandrabindu (ँ)

Mark	Name	Effect	Example
ं	anusvara (बिंदु / bindu)	nasalizes the syllable, often as “n” or “m” before a consonant	हिंदी (Hindī)
ँ	chandrabindu	nasalizes the vowel itself (a softer, nose-only sound)	हाँ (hān) - yes
ः	visarga	breathy “h” sound at end of syllable (rare in everyday Hindi)	दुःख (duḥkh) - sadness

Nasal pronunciation tip

Many words use ँ to add a nasal quality through the nose. मैं (main, “I”) is pronounced like English “main” but with the vowel coming partly through the nose — the user note describes this as “use the nose too, so it sounds a bit nasally.”

Pronunciation

• Hindi is largely phonetic — words are pronounced as written. Almost no silent letters.
• Stress is fairly even across syllables (no strong stressed/unstressed contrast like English).
• The inherent a at the end of words is often dropped in modern Hindi (a process called schwa deletion): नमस्ते is written namaste but pronounced more like namasté (last a kept) — but कमल is written kamala yet pronounced kamal.
• व is somewhere between English “v” and “w” — e.g., वकील (vakīl, “lawyer”). The same letter is fine for both depending on dialect.
• र is a flapped/tapped r, like Spanish pero, not the English r.

Sentence Structure

Hindi Word Order: SOV

Hindi follows Subject-Object-Verb order, like Japanese. The verb (and any auxiliaries like हूँ / है / हैं) always comes at the end.

• English: I drink water. (SVO)
• Hindi: मैं पानी पीता हूँ। / Main paani peetaa hoon. (literally: “I water drink-am”)

Basic Pattern

[Subject] [Object] [Verb] [Auxiliary]।

Sentences end with । (a vertical bar called danda) instead of a period.

Hindi	Romanization	English
मैं छात्र हूँ।	Main chhātra hoon.	I am a student.
वह डॉक्टर है।	Vah doctor hai.	He/She is a doctor.
हम भारत से हैं।	Hum Bhārat se hain.	We are from India.
क्या आप ठीक हैं?	Kyā aap ṭhīk hain?	Are you okay?

Pronouns (सर्वनाम / sarvanaam)

Personal Pronouns

Hindi	Romanization	English	Formality
मैं	main	I	—
तू	tū	you	Very intimate / rude — used with God, lovers, very close friends, or as an insult
तुम	tum	you	Casual / friendly — peers, friends, younger people
आप	aap	you	Polite / formal — elders, strangers, professional contexts
यह / ये	yah / ye	he/she/it/this (near)	“ye” is more common in speech
वह / वो	vah / vo	he/she/it/that (far)	“vo” is more common in speech
हम	ham	we	also used for “I” formally/in literature
ये	ye	they (near) / these
वे / वो	ve / vo	they (far) / those

No grammatical "he/she" distinction

Hindi pronouns don’t distinguish gender — यह / वह work for he, she, and it. Gender is shown through the verb form, not the pronoun.

Choosing tū / tum / aap

This is the single biggest social-register decision in Hindi. Using तू with a stranger is rude; using आप with a close friend feels overly formal/distant. When in doubt, use आप. Match what the other person uses with you.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessives agree in gender and number with the thing being possessed (not the owner).

Person	Masculine singular	Masculine plural / formal	Feminine (sing/plur)
my	मेरा (merā)	मेरे (mere)	मेरी (merī)
your (तू)	तेरा (terā)	तेरे (tere)	तेरी (terī)
your (तुम)	तुम्हारा (tumhārā)	तुम्हारे (tumhāre)	तुम्हारी (tumhārī)
your (आप)	आपका (aapkā)	आपके (aapke)	आपकी (aapkī)
his/her	उसका (uskā)	उसके (uske)	उसकी (uskī)
our	हमारा (hamārā)	हमारे (hamāre)	हमारी (hamārī)
their	उनका (unkā)	उनके (unke)	उनकी (unkī)

Hindi	Romanization	English
मेरा नाम स्टीवन है।	Merā nām Steven hai.	My name is Steven. (नाम is masculine)
मेरी किताब	Merī kitāb	My book (किताब is feminine)
मेरे दोस्त	Mere dost	My friends (plural masculine)

Agreement is with the possessed, not the owner

A man saying “my book” still uses merī (feminine), because kitāb is feminine. A woman saying “my name” uses merā (masculine), because nām is masculine.

The Copula होना (honā) — “to be”

Conjugation of होना in present tense (हूँ / है / हैं / हो):

Subject	Form	Example
मैं (I)	हूँ (hoon)	मैं ठीक हूँ। (Main ṭhīk hoon.) - I am fine.
तू (you, intimate)	है (hai)	तू कहाँ है? (Tū kahān hai?) - Where are you?
तुम (you, casual)	हो (ho)	तुम कैसे हो? (Tum kaise ho?) - How are you?
आप (you, formal)	हैं (hain)	आप कौन हैं? (Aap kaun hain?) - Who are you?
यह / वह (he/she/it)	है (hai)	वह डॉक्टर है। (Vah doctor hai.) - He/She is a doctor.
हम (we)	हैं (hain)	हम छात्र हैं। (Ham chhātra hain.) - We are students.
ये / वे (they)	हैं (hain)	वे मेरे दोस्त हैं। (Ve mere dost hain.) - They are my friends.

Quick mnemonic

• hoon with मैं only
• ho with तुम only
• hai singular (तू, यह, वह)
• hain plural and respectful (आप, हम, ये, वे)

Past Tense of होना — was/were

Subject	Masculine	Feminine
मैं	था (thā)	थी (thī)
तू	था / थी	था / थी
तुम	थे (the)	थीं (thīn)
आप / हम / वे	थे (the)	थीं (thīn)
यह / वह	था / थी	था / थी

• मैं थका था। / Main thakā thā. / I was tired. (male speaker)
• मैं थकी थी। / Main thakī thī. / I was tired. (female speaker)

Gender (लिंग / liṅg)

Every Hindi noun is either masculine or feminine — there’s no neuter. Adjectives, possessives, and verbs all agree with the noun’s gender.

Common patterns

Pattern	Usually	Examples
Ends in आ (-ā)	masculine	लड़का (laṛkā - boy), कमरा (kamrā - room)
Ends in ई (-ī)	feminine	लड़की (laṛkī - girl), रोटी (roṭī - bread)
Ends in consonant	varies — memorize	किताब (kitāb, fem - book), घर (ghar, masc - house)

Exceptions exist

पानी (pānī, water) ends in -ī but is masculine. आदमी (ādmī, man) ends in -ī but is masculine. Don’t assume — learn the gender with the noun.

Masculine vs Feminine endings

Many adjectives and possessives shift between three endings:

Form	Ending	Used for
Masculine singular	-आ (-ā)	one masc. noun: अच्छा लड़का (acchā laṛkā) - good boy
Masculine plural / oblique	-ए (-e)	multiple masc. nouns OR before postpositions: अच्छे लड़के (acche laṛke)
Feminine (singular & plural)	-ई (-ī)	feminine nouns: अच्छी लड़की (acchī laṛkī)

Hindi	Romanization	English
बड़ा घर	baṛā ghar	big house (masc. sing.)
बड़े घर	baṛe ghar	big houses (masc. plur.)
बड़ी किताब	baṛī kitāb	big book (fem.)
बड़ी किताबें	baṛī kitāben	big books (fem. plur.)

Postpositions (कारक / kārak)

Where English uses prepositions before nouns, Hindi uses postpositions after nouns. They mark grammatical role, just like Japanese particles.

Postposition	Romanization	Meaning	Example
का / की / के	kā / kī / ke	of (possessive)	राम का घर / Rām kā ghar / Ram’s house
को	ko	to / for / direct object marker	मुझको दो / mujhko do / give to me
से	se	from / by / with	मैं दिल्ली से हूँ। / Main Dillī se hoon. / I’m from Delhi.
में	mein	in / inside	घर में / ghar mein / in the house
पर	par	on / at	मेज़ पर / mez par / on the table
तक	tak	until / up to	कल तक / kal tak / until tomorrow
ने	ne	(subject marker, perfective transitive verbs)	राम ने खाया / Rām ne khāyā / Ram ate
के साथ	ke saath	with (accompaniment)	दोस्त के साथ / dost ke saath / with a friend
के लिए	ke liye	for (purpose)	तुम्हारे लिए / tumhāre liye / for you
के बारे में	ke bāre mein	about	इस के बारे में / is ke bāre mein / about this

का / की / के — Possession Agreement

Like adjectives, the kā family agrees with the possessed noun:

Form	Used when possessed is	Example
का (kā)	masculine singular	राम का बेटा (Rām kā beṭā) - Ram’s son
के (ke)	masculine plural / oblique	राम के बेटे (Rām ke beṭe) - Ram’s sons
की (kī)	feminine (any number)	राम की बेटी (Rām kī beṭī) - Ram’s daughter

Oblique case

When a noun is followed by a postposition (में, पर, से, etc.), it shifts to its oblique form — most visibly, masculine -ā becomes -e. Compare:

• लड़का (laṛkā - boy) → लड़के को (laṛke ko - to the boy)
• कमरा (kamrā - room) → कमरे में (kamre mein - in the room)
• लड़के (laṛke - boys) → लड़कों को (laṛkon ko - to the boys, with -on plural oblique)

Negation

Hindi has three main negation words. They go before the verb.

Word	Use	Example
नहीं (nahīn)	general “not” / “no”	मैं नहीं जाऊँगा। / Main nahīn jāūngā. / I will not go.
न (na)	softer “not”, or “don’t” in commands	मत जाओ → न जाओ / na jāo / don’t go (softer)
मत (mat)	“don’t” — for negative commands only	मत जाओ! / Mat jāo! / Don’t go!

Hindi	Romanization	English
यह मेरा नहीं है।	Yah merā nahīn hai.	This is not mine.
मुझे नहीं पता।	Mujhe nahīn patā.	I don’t know.
चिंता मत करो।	Chintā mat karo.	Don’t worry.

Conjunctions

Hindi	Romanization	English
और	aur	and
या	yā	or
लेकिन / पर	lekin / par	but
क्योंकि	kyonki	because
इसलिए	isliye	so / therefore
अगर … तो	agar … to	if … then
जब	jab	when
कि	ki	that (subordinating, as in “I think that…“)

• मुझे चाय और कॉफ़ी पसंद है। / Mujhe chāy aur coffee pasand hai. / I like tea and coffee.
• तुम चाय पीओगे या कॉफ़ी? / Tum chāy peeoge yā coffee? / Will you drink tea or coffee?

Question Words (क-words)

Most Hindi question words start with क (k-).

Hindi	Romanization	English	Example
क्या	kyā	what / (yes-no question marker)	क्या आप हिंदी जानते हैं? (Kyā aap Hindī jānte hain?) - Do you know Hindi?
कौन	kaun	who	वह कौन है? (Vah kaun hai?) - Who is that?
कहाँ	kahān	where	तुम कहाँ हो? (Tum kahān ho?) - Where are you?
कब	kab	when	तुम कब आओगे? (Tum kab āoge?) - When will you come?
क्यों	kyon	why	तुम क्यों रो रहे हो? (Tum kyon ro rahe ho?) - Why are you crying?
कैसे	kaise	how	यह कैसे हुआ? (Yah kaise huā?) - How did this happen?
कैसा / कैसी	kaisā / kaisī	how is / what kind	खाना कैसा है? (Khānā kaisā hai?) - How’s the food?
कितना / कितनी	kitnā / kitnī	how much / how many	कितना पैसा? (Kitnā paisā?) - How much money?
कौन-सा / कौन-सी	kaun-sā / kaun-sī	which	कौन-सी किताब? (Kaun-sī kitāb?) - Which book?

Yes/no questions with क्या

To turn a statement into a yes/no question, simply put क्या at the start (and use rising intonation). The word order doesn’t change.

• तुम हिंदी बोलते हो। / Tum Hindī bolte ho. / You speak Hindi.
• क्या तुम हिंदी बोलते हो? / Kyā tum Hindī bolte ho? / Do you speak Hindi?

Yes/No answers:

• Yes → हाँ (hān) / जी हाँ (jī hān, more polite) / जी (jī, polite agreement)
• No → नहीं (nahīn) / जी नहीं (jī nahīn, more polite)

Numbers (संख्या / sankhyā)

Hindi numbers are notoriously irregular

Unlike most languages where 21–99 follow a clean pattern, almost every Hindi number 1–100 has its own form. Native speakers memorize them. Don’t try to derive them — just learn them.

0-20

Number	Hindi	Romanization
0	शून्य	shoonya
1	एक	ek
2	दो	do
3	तीन	teen
4	चार	chār
5	पाँच	pānch
6	छह / छः	chhah
7	सात	sāt
8	आठ	āṭh
9	नौ	nau
10	दस	das
11	ग्यारह	gyārah
12	बारह	bārah
13	तेरह	terah
14	चौदह	chaudah
15	पंद्रह	pandrah
16	सोलह	solah
17	सत्रह	satrah
18	अठारह	aṭhārah
19	उन्नीस	unnīs
20	बीस	bīs

Tens

Number	Hindi	Romanization
10	दस	das
20	बीस	bīs
30	तीस	tīs
40	चालीस	chālīs
50	पचास	pachās
60	साठ	sāṭh
70	सत्तर	sattar
80	अस्सी	assī
90	नब्बे	nabbe
100	सौ	sau

Bigger numbers

Hindi uses an Indian numbering system with लाख (lākh) and करोड़ (karoṛ) instead of Western “million” and “billion.”

Number	Hindi	Romanization	English
1,000	हज़ार	hazār	thousand
100,000	लाख	lākh	one hundred thousand (1 lakh)
10,000,000	करोड़	karoṛ	ten million (1 crore)

• Indian-style: 12,34,567 = बारह लाख चौंतीस हज़ार पाँच सौ सरसठ (twelve lakh thirty-four thousand five hundred sixty-seven)

Time & Dates

Days of the Week (दिन / din)

Hindi	Romanization	English
सोमवार	somvār	Monday
मंगलवार	mangalvār	Tuesday
बुधवार	budhvār	Wednesday
गुरुवार / बृहस्पतिवार	guruvār / bṛhaspativār	Thursday
शुक्रवार	shukravār	Friday
शनिवार	shanivār	Saturday
रविवार / इतवार	ravivār / itvār	Sunday

Day-of-week roots

Each day is named after a planet/celestial body — सोम (moon), मंगल (Mars), बुध (Mercury), गुरु (Jupiter), शुक्र (Venus), शनि (Saturn), रवि (sun) — same logic as Romance languages.

Relative Time

Hindi	Romanization	English	Notes
कल	kal	yesterday OR tomorrow	Context decides! Verb tense disambiguates.
आज	āj	today
परसों	parson	day before yesterday OR day after tomorrow	Same dual meaning as kal
अभी	abhī	right now
अब	ab	now
बाद में	bād mein	later
पहले	pahle	before / earlier

कल = yesterday OR tomorrow

Hindi uses the same word कल for both. The tense of the verb tells you which:

• कल मैं आया था। / Kal main āyā thā. / Yesterday I came. (past)
• कल मैं आऊँगा। / Kal main āūngā. / Tomorrow I will come. (future)

Months (महीना / mahīnā)

Hindi uses Anglicized names for the Gregorian calendar in everyday speech:

जनवरी (janvarī), फ़रवरी (farvarī), मार्च (mārch), अप्रैल (aprail), मई (maī), जून (jūn), जुलाई (julāī), अगस्त (agast), सितंबर (sitambar), अक्टूबर (akṭūbar), नवंबर (navambar), दिसंबर (disambar).

The traditional Hindu calendar has its own month names (चैत्र, वैशाख, ज्येष्ठ, …) but those are mostly used for festivals.

Telling Time

Pattern: [number] बजे (baje) = “o’clock”

Hindi	Romanization	English
एक बजे	ek baje	1 o’clock
तीन बजे	teen baje	3 o’clock
साढ़े तीन बजे	sāṛhe teen baje	3:30 (lit. “three-and-a-half”)
सवा तीन बजे	savā teen baje	3:15 (lit. “three-and-a-quarter”)
पौने चार बजे	paune chār baje	3:45 (lit. “three-quarters-to-four”)
डेढ़ बजे	ḍeṛh baje	1:30 (special word for 1.5)
ढाई बजे	ḍhāī baje	2:30 (special word for 2.5)

Special "half" words

• डेढ़ (ḍeṛh) = 1.5 (one-and-a-half)
• ढाई (ḍhāī) = 2.5 (two-and-a-half) These are unique words, NOT सवा एक or साढ़े दो. From 3 onward, use साढ़े + number (साढ़े तीन = 3.5).

• कितने बजे हैं? / Kitne baje hain? / What time is it?

Common Verbs (क्रिया / kriyā)

Hindi infinitives end in -ना (-nā). To conjugate, drop the -ना and add the appropriate suffix.

Infinitive	Romanization	English
होना	honā	to be
करना	karnā	to do
जाना	jānā	to go
आना	ānā	to come
खाना	khānā	to eat
पीना	pīnā	to drink
सोना	sonā	to sleep
देखना	dekhnā	to see / watch
सुनना	sunnā	to listen / hear
बोलना	bolnā	to speak
कहना	kahnā	to say
पढ़ना	paṛhnā	to read / study
लिखना	likhnā	to write
समझना	samajhnā	to understand
जानना	jānnā	to know (a fact)
पहचानना	pahchānnā	to recognize / know (a person)
चाहना	chāhnā	to want
देना	denā	to give
लेना	lenā	to take
बैठना	baiṭhnā	to sit
उठना	uṭhnā	to get up / rise
रहना	rahnā	to stay / live
बनाना	banānā	to make
ख़रीदना	kharīdnā	to buy
बेचना	bechnā	to sell
मिलना	milnā	to meet / get

Habitual Present (Simple Present)

Pattern: stem + tā / tī / te + हूँ / है / हैं / हो (auxiliary)

Subject	Masculine form	Feminine form
मैं	-ता हूँ (-tā hoon)	-ती हूँ (-tī hoon)
तू	-ता है	-ती है
तुम	-ते हो	-ती हो
आप / हम / वे	-ते हैं	-ती हैं
यह / वह	-ता है	-ती है

Hindi	Romanization	English
मैं हिंदी बोलता हूँ।	Main Hindī boltā hoon.	I speak Hindi. (male speaker)
मैं हिंदी बोलती हूँ।	Main Hindī boltī hoon.	I speak Hindi. (female speaker)
वह चाय पीता है।	Vah chāy pītā hai.	He drinks tea.
हम भारत में रहते हैं।	Ham Bhārat mein rahte hain.	We live in India.

Present Continuous (-ing)

Pattern: stem + रहा / रही / रहे + auxiliary

Hindi	Romanization	English
मैं खा रहा हूँ।	Main khā rahā hoon.	I am eating. (male)
मैं खा रही हूँ।	Main khā rahī hoon.	I am eating. (female)
वे आ रहे हैं।	Ve ā rahe hain.	They are coming.

Future Tense

Pattern: stem + ūngā / egā / oge / enge (varies by person and gender)

Subject	Masculine	Feminine
मैं	-ūngā (-ऊँगा)	-ūngī (-ऊँगी)
तू	-egā (-एगा)	-egī (-एगी)
तुम	-oge (-ओगे)	-ogī (-ओगी)
आप / हम / वे	-enge (-एँगे)	-engī (-एँगी)
यह / वह	-egā	-egī

Hindi	Romanization	English
मैं जाऊँगा।	Main jāūngā.	I will go. (male)
मैं जाऊँगी।	Main jāūngī.	I will go. (female)
आप क्या करेंगे?	Aap kyā karenge?	What will you do?

Adjectives (विशेषण / visheshan)

Two types:

Variable Adjectives (end in -आ)

Change form to match the noun’s gender and number — like the possessive system.

Adjective	Masc. sing.	Masc. plur.	Feminine
big	बड़ा (baṛā)	बड़े (baṛe)	बड़ी (baṛī)
small	छोटा (chhoṭā)	छोटे (chhoṭe)	छोटी (chhoṭī)
good	अच्छा (acchā)	अच्छे (acche)	अच्छी (acchī)
bad	बुरा (burā)	बुरे (bure)	बुरी (burī)
new	नया (nayā)	नए (naye)	नई (naī)
old (things)	पुराना (purānā)	पुराने (purāne)	पुरानी (purānī)
black	काला (kālā)	काले (kāle)	काली (kālī)
white	सफ़ेद (saphed)	— invariable	— invariable

Invariable Adjectives (everything else)

Don’t change with gender or number.

Hindi	Romanization	English
ख़ूबसूरत	khoobsoorat	beautiful
सुंदर	sundar	beautiful
ख़ुश	khush	happy
दुखी	dukhī	sad
ठीक	ṭhīk	fine / okay
ज़रूरी	zarūrī	important / necessary
मुश्किल	mushkil	difficult
आसान	āsān	easy
महँगा	mahangā	expensive (variable: -ā/-e/-ī)
सस्ता	sastā	cheap (variable)

Hindi	Romanization	English
बड़ा घर	baṛā ghar	big house
बड़ी गाड़ी	baṛī gāṛī	big car
ख़ुश लड़का	khush laṛkā	happy boy
ख़ुश लड़की	khush laṛkī	happy girl (no change — invariable)

Common Phrases (दैनिक वाक्य / dainik vākya)

Greetings & Politeness

Hindi	Romanization	English	Notes
नमस्ते	namaste	hello / goodbye	Universal, polite. Hands together.
नमस्कार	namaskār	hello (more formal)
आदाब	ādāb	hello	Used in Muslim/Urdu-speaking contexts
सलाम	salām	hello	Muslim greeting
शुभ प्रभात	shubh prabhāt	good morning	Formal/literary
शुभ रात्रि	shubh rātri	good night	Formal/literary
धन्यवाद	dhanyavād	thank you
शुक्रिया	shukriyā	thanks	More casual / Urdu-origin
माफ़ कीजिए	māf kījiye	excuse me / I’m sorry (formal)
माफ़ करना	māf karnā	sorry (casual)
कोई बात नहीं	koī bāt nahīn	no problem / it’s nothing
स्वागत है	svāgat hai	welcome

Self-Introduction

Hindi	Romanization	English
मेरा नाम ___ है।	Merā nām ___ hai.	My name is ___.
आपका नाम क्या है?	Aapkā nām kyā hai?	What is your name?
आपसे मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई।	Aapse milkar khushī huī.	Pleased to meet you.
मैं ___ से हूँ।	Main ___ se hoon.	I am from ___.
आप कहाँ से हैं?	Aap kahān se hain?	Where are you from?
मेरी उम्र ___ साल है।	Merī umr ___ sāl hai.	I am ___ years old.

Useful Daily Stuff

Hindi	Romanization	English
क्या हाल है?	Kyā hāl hai?	How are you? (casual)
कैसे हो? / कैसी हो?	Kaise ho? / Kaisī ho?	How are you? (casual; m/f)
आप कैसे हैं?	Aap kaise hain?	How are you? (formal)
मैं ठीक हूँ।	Main ṭhīk hoon.	I’m fine.
बढ़िया!	baṛhiyā!	Excellent! / Great!
मुझे नहीं पता।	Mujhe nahīn patā.	I don’t know.
मुझे समझ नहीं आया।	Mujhe samajh nahīn āyā.	I didn’t understand.
धीरे बोलिए।	Dhīre boliye.	Please speak slowly.
फिर से कहिए।	Phir se kahiye.	Please say it again.
क्या आप अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं?	Kyā aap angrezī bolte hain?	Do you speak English?

Getting Around

Hindi	Romanization	English
यह कितने का है?	Yah kitne kā hai?	How much is this?
शौचालय कहाँ है?	Shauchālay kahān hai?	Where is the bathroom?
मदद करो / मदद कीजिए	madad karo / madad kījiye	Help me (casual / formal)
रुको! / रुकिए!	ruko! / rukiye!	Stop! (casual / formal)
जल्दी	jaldī	quickly / hurry
सीधे	seedhe	straight
बाएँ	bāen	left
दाएँ	dāen	right

Food & Ordering

Hindi	Romanization	English
मुझे भूख लगी है।	Mujhe bhookh lagī hai.	I’m hungry.
मुझे प्यास लगी है।	Mujhe pyās lagī hai.	I’m thirsty.
यह बहुत स्वादिष्ट है।	Yah bahut svādiṣṭ hai.	This is very delicious.
बिल लाइए।	Bil lāiye.	Bring the bill.
पानी देना।	Pānī denā.	Give (me) water.
मसालेदार	masāledār	spicy
शाकाहारी	shākāhārī	vegetarian
मांसाहारी	mānsāhārī	non-vegetarian

Expressions of Like / Want

Hindi expresses “like” and emotion in a structure where the person feels something — the experiencer takes को (ko), and the thing being liked is the grammatical subject.

Hindi	Romanization	English
मुझे चाय पसंद है।	Mujhe chāy pasand hai.	I like tea. (lit. “to-me tea is liked”)
मुझे हिंदी पसंद है।	Mujhe Hindī pasand hai.	I like Hindi.
मुझे यह चाहिए।	Mujhe yah chāhiye.	I want this. (lit. “to-me this is wanted”)
मुझे जाना है।	Mujhe jānā hai.	I have to go. (lit. “to-me to-go is”)

The "मुझे" pattern

A huge number of Hindi expressions use this dative subject structure:

• मुझे (mujhe) = “to me” — used for I feel/like/need/have-to/etc.
• तुम्हें (tumhen) = “to you” (तुम)
• आपको (aapko) = “to you” (आप)
• उसे (use) = “to him/her”
• हमें (hamen) = “to us”
• उन्हें (unhen) = “to them”

Used with: पसंद (pasand, like), चाहिए (chāhiye, want/need), लगना (lagnā, feel), मालूम / पता (māloom / patā, know), याद (yād, remember), …

Differences from English to Watch For

Common pitfalls

1. Verb at the end — always. Don’t drift into English SVO.
2. Postpositions, not prepositions — Delhi se (from Delhi), not se Delhi.
3. Gender of the noun matters — adjectives, possessives, and even verbs change form.
4. तू / तुम / आप — pick the right register; मatch what others use with you.
5. No articles — there’s no “a” or “the”. एक (ek) sometimes means “a/an” but isn’t always needed.
6. Word for “I have” is built with को, not the verb “have”: मेरे पास एक किताब है। / Mere pās ek kitāb hai. / “Near me one book is” = I have a book.
7. पता / मालूम for facts; जानना for people / deeper knowledge.

Original Lesson Notes

Note

Notes captured live while watching the YouTube series. Kept here in lesson order for reference.

You gotta pronounce main with the nose, so it’s like mè but use the nose too — it sounds a bit nasally.

Lesson 1

• Main — I (मैं)
• hoon — am (हूँ)

Lesson 2

1. Naheen — no / not (नहीं)
2. And — aur (और)
3. Or — ya (या)
4. Main always ends with hoon
5. From — say / से (se)

Lesson 4

• Meraa naam Steven hai. (मेरा नाम स्टीवन है।)
• meraa / mere — masculine
• meri / meri — feminine

Lesson 5

• main — I (मैं)
• tu / tum / aap — you (तू / तुम / आप)
• hoon (हूँ) — with main only
• hai (है) — singular: tu, yah, vah
• ho (हो) — with tum only
• hain (हैं) — plural / formal: aap, hum, ye, ve