Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Learning the Hindi alphabet
• Part 2 of 4: Learning Hindi grammar
• Part 3 of 4: Practicing Hindi words and expressions
• Part 4 of 4: Expanding your knowledge
• Tips

Hindi (मानक हिन्दी) is the main official language of India alongside English and is spoken across the entire Indian subcontinent. Hindi shares the same roots as other Indo-Aryan languages ​​such as Sanskrit, Urdu and Punjabi, as do Indo-Iranian and Indo-European languages ​​ranging from Tajik to Pashto and Serbian-Croatian to English. By knowing just a little bit of Hindi you will be able to communicate with over a billion people on this earth about culture or business. You will be immersed in an incredibly rich language and culture.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Learning the Hindi alphabet

1. Familiarize yourself with the Devanagari script. Devanagari is an Abugida alphabet from India and Nepal and is the main script for writing Hindi, Marathi and Nepalese. It is written from left to right, does not use capital letters and there is a recognizable horizontal line running through the top of the letters connecting them.
   • Here is a table of the Devanagari alphabet: http://www.omniglot.com/charts/print/hindi.pdf.
2. Study Hindi vowels. Hindi has 11 vowels, some of which are indicated by diacritics or by symbols added to the letters of the alphabet to indicate different pronunciation. Vowels in Hindi can have two forms: one for when used on their own and another for when joined together with a consonant in a word.
   • अ a and आ aa
     • अ does not change the consonant, so if you see a consonant without a change symbol, the consonant will have this vowel sound.
     • When adding आ to a vowel, add the symbol ा to the end of the consonant (for example, न na becomes ना na when आ is added to it).
   • इ i and ई ee
     • When adding इ to a consonant, add the symbol ि to the "left" side of the consonant (before the consonant).
     • When adding ई to a consonant, add the symbol ी to the "right side" of the consonant (after the consonant).
   • उ you and ऊ oo
     • When adding उ to a consonant, add the symbol ु below the consonant.
     • When adding ऊ to a consonant, add the symbol ू below the consonant.
   • ए e and ऐ ai
     • When adding ए to a consonant, add the symbol े above the consonant.
     • When adding ऐ to a consonant, add the symbol ै above the consonant.
   • ओ O and औ au
     • When adding ओ to a consonant, add the symbol ो to the "right side" of the consonant (after the consonant).
     • When adding औ to a consonant, add the symbol ौ to the "right side" of the consonant (after the consonant).
   • ऋ ri
     • When adding ऋ to a consonant, add the symbol ृ below the consonant.
     • This vowel is uncommon in Hindi, only with Hindi words from Sanskrit.
3. Study Hindi consonants. There are 33 consonants in Hindi. They are organized in the alphabet according to how you should use your mouth and throat to pronounce them. Because Hindi has more consonants than Dutch, there is no equivalent in Dutch for some. The (a) next to some consonants indicates that they should be pronounced "sucked up" (e.g. with a strong blast of air such as p in "put" or "chug").
   • Velar consonants, pronounced by placing the back of the tongue against the top of the palate (eg. k or g in English): क k, ख k (a), ग g, घ g (a), ङ n
   • Palatal consonants, pronounced by placing the front of the tongue to just behind the gum (eg. j in "job"): च ch, छ ch (a), ज j, झ j (a), ञ n
   • Retroflex consonants, pronounced by moving the tongue back and forth against the palate just behind the gum (not available in Dutch): ञ t, ट t (a), ड d, ढ d (a), ण n
   • Chattering consonants, pronounced by "flapping" the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth (e.g., the soft t in words such as "butter"): ड़ d and ढ़ d (a)
   • Dental consonants, pronounced by touching the back of the upper protrusions with the tip of the tongue (e.g. th in "thriller"): त t, थ t (a), थ d, ध d (a), न n
   • Labial consonants, pronounced using the lips together (eg. b in "baby"): प p, फ p (a), ब b, भ b (a), म m
   • Semi-vowels are vowel-like consonants, such as w in "water": य j (as in "June"), य r, ल l, व w or v
   • Sibilante consonants, pronounced using the tip of the tongue to push air out with a hissing sound: श sh, ष sh, स s
   • Glotal consonants, pronounced using the "glottis" at the back of the throat: स h
4. Distinguish between "pronounced" and "silent" consonants. Hindi consonants have two standard ways of being pronounced: pronounced and silent. Reading the explanations for these statements can be quite complicated, but don't worry; once you start practicing the sounds you will feel the difference between spoken and silent.
   • "Pronounced" consonants are pronounced by vibrating your vocal cords. A pronounced consonants is for example z in "zoo".
   • Silent consonants are pronounced without vibrating your vocal cords. Silent consonants are for example s in "cut" and k in "cat".
5. Distinguish between "aspirated" and "non-aspirated" consonants. The consonants in Hindi fall into two main groups namely aspirated and non-aspirated. There are silent non-aspirated consonants, silent aspirated consonants, etc.
   • Aspiration is another term for the blast of air that goes out through your mouth.
   • The only way to really understand how this works in Hindi is to listen to recordings.
6. Listen to a recording of the Hindi alphabet and then try to mimic the recording. The Hindi alphabet may look otherworldly to you, especially if your native language is Dutch, but with a little practice you will be able to understand what all these letters sound like in Hindi. Here is a video of the Hindi alphabet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyG_594WOjE.
   • Once you've listened to the recording a few times, pause it and try to mimic the pronunciation. Take your time for this and work through the entire alphabet.
7. Learn how the Hindi alphabet is written. It will be easier to learn the Devanagari script when you see how it is written. Several online guides exist, but the one on hindibhasha.com is recommended by university language faculties.

Part 2 of 4: Learning Hindi grammar

1. Familiarize yourself with Hindi nouns. Nouns are words for objects, places, animals and people. In Hindi, all nouns have a gender: masculine (M) or feminine (V). The gender of Hindi nouns is crucial for correct grammar and communication, so when you learn Hindi nouns you also need to learn their genders so that you can use the nouns correctly.
   • A very general rule for determining the gender of a noun is that words ending in the vowel आ aa are often masculine and words ending in the vowel ई ee are usually feminine. However, there are numerous exceptions to this rule, so it remains important to memorize the gender of each noun through practice.
   • For example: The noun for boy is: लड़का larkaa (M) and the noun for girl is: लड़की larkee (V). So in the case of these nouns, the general rule for the genders is correct.
   • Nouns such as केला kelaa - Banana (M) and मेज़ mez - Desk (V) or घर ghar - House (M), on the other hand, are all exceptions to this general rule.
2. Familiarize yourself with Hindi pronouns. Simple pronouns such as "he, she, I, we, she" are crucial to be able to communicate in any language, including Hindi. The pronouns in Hindi are:
   • First person singular: मैं main - I.
   • Plural first person: हम ham - We
   • Second person singular: तू too - You (Intimate)
   • Second person plural: तुम tum - You (Informal), आप aap - You (Formal)
     • A note about informal and formal pronouns: each pronoun depends on the degree of politeness used in a conversation. Use the formal आप ape when you first meet someone, when talking to someone older than you, or simply to show respect for the person you are addressing.
     • Use the casual तुम tum when talking to friends or close family. Use तू too when you have a very informal conversation, such as with your partner or with young children. It would be interpreted as very rude to use तू too in Hindi to talk to a stranger or someone you barely know.
   • Third person singular: यह yah - He / She / It / This
   • Third person singular: वह vah - He / She / It / That
     • In spoken Hindi, these words are pronounced slightly differently: यह is pronounced yeh and वह is pronounced voh. Use यह yeh when talking to someone close by, so if someone is next to you then use यह yeh.
     • Use वह voh when talking to someone at a distance, so if someone is on the other side of the street, use वह voh.
     • When in doubt, use वह voh.
   • Third person plural: ये ye - This / They
   • Third person plural: वे ve- Die / Zij
     • Often you will hear that ve is pronounced as the singular "voh". The third person plural pronouns follow the same rules: ये ye for people / things near (in terms of distance) and वे vo for people / things further away.
     • Know that both "yeh" and "voh" can mean either "he" or "she" so there is no difference based on the gender of the person you are talking to. You must rely on the context of the sentence to determine whether the person being spoken to is a "he" or a "she".
3. Familiarize yourself with Hindi verbs. Verbs describe actions, events, or states of mind. Learn Hindi verbs in the infinitive form because verbs are formed by dropping the ending of the infinitive and adding other suffixes. The infinitives in Hindi end at ना naa.
   • Some examples of infinitives in Hindi are: होना honaa - to be; पढ़ना pahrnaa - to read or study; बोलना bolnaa - to speak; सीखना seekhnaa - to learn; जाना jaanaa - go.
4. Learn the basic conjugation of verbs. As with nouns, verbs must be conjugated in Hindi to convey grammatical categories such as number, gender, tense and mood.
   • The infinitive होना honaa- conjugated by number becomes:
     • मैं हूँ main hoon - I am
     • हम हैं ham hain - We are
     • तू है too hai - You are (intimate)
     • तुम हो tum ho - You are (informal)
     • आप हैं aap hain - You are (formal)
     • यह है yah hai - he / she / this is
     • वह है voh hai - he / she / that is
     • ये हैं ye hain - these / they are
     • वे हैं ve hain - who / they are
   • There are three conjugations for genders in the present tense:
     • For masculine singular, drop the infinitive suffix ना naa and add ता taa.
     • For masculine plural, drop the infinitive suffix ना naa and add ते.
     • For feminine singular or plural, drop the infinitive suffix ना naa and add ती tee.
   • Because Hindi verbs have so many tenses, you will need a textbook or other reference material when you learn the conjugation of the verbs in addition to the present tense. A good dictionary will also come in handy for learning new verbs to conjugate.
5. Keep practicing your Hindi with longer and longer sentences and phrases. Once you are more familiar with Hindi nouns, pronouns and verbs, you can begin to study other aspects of Hindi.

Part 3 of 4: Practicing Hindi words and expressions

1. Buy a good Hindi dictionary. While small pocket dictionaries can also come in handy for looking up single words, investing in a larger academic dictionary will allow for a deeper and more formal study.
   • There are also all kinds of Hindi dictionaries online. For example, the University of Chicago has the project "Digital Dictionaries of South Asia" with dictionaries Urdu and classical Hindi (in English).
2. Learn the days of the week. Start with simple words to familiarize yourself with how Hindi vowels and consonants are used together to form words. Focus on recognizing Hindi words and getting used to the Devanagari script. The days of the week are:
   • Sunday, Hindi word: RaveevaaR, Devanagari script: रविवार
   • Monday, Hindi word: SomvaaR, Devanagari script: सोमवार
   • Tuesday, Hindi word: MangalvaaR, Devanagari script: मंगलवार
   • Wednesday, Hindi word: BudhvaaR, Devanagari script: बुधवार
   • Thursday, Hindi word: GuRoovaaR, Devanagari script: गुरुवार
   • Friday, Hindi word: ShukRavaaR, Devanagari script: शुक्रवार
   • Saturday, Hindi word: ShaneevaaR, Devanagari script: शनिवार
3. Learn basic words for place and time determinations. Once you are familiar with the days of the week you can move on to some basic Hindi words while keeping the Devanagari script in mind.
   • Yesterday, Hindi word: kal, script: कल
   • Today, Hindi word: aaj, script: आज
   • Tomorrow, Hindi word: kal, script: कल
   • Day, Hindi word: din, script: दिन
   • Night, Hindi word: comb, script: रात
   • Week, Hindi word: haftaa, script: हफ़्ता
   • Month, Hindi word: maheenaa, script: महीना
   • Years, Hindi word: eel, script: साल
   • Second, Hindi word: boxRaa
   • Minute, Hindi word: mint, script: मिनट
   • Hour, Hindi word: ghantaa, script: घंटा
   • Morning, Hindi word: saveRey, script: सवेरे
   • Evening, Hindi word: shaam, script: शाम
   • Afternoon, Hindi word: dopeheR, script: दो पहर
   • Midnight, Hindi word: aadheeRaat, script: आधी रात
   • Now, Hindi word: ab, script: अब
   • Later, Hindi word: bathe mey, script: बाद में
4. Practice common expressions with a partner or through a tape recording. Learning colloquial Hindi is a great way to master your alphabet and prepare for Hindi grammar lessons. Having a factual conversation in Hindi is the best way to learn the language.
   • Find a friend in your language class or search online language forums for people who enjoy speaking Hindi. There are also recordings of basic phrases online that you can listen to.
   • Apply to expressions such as:
     • Hi !, Hindi: Namastey !, script: नमस्ते
     • Good morning !, Hindi: Suprabhate, script: सुप्रभात
     • Good evening !, Hindi: Shubh sundhyaa, script: शुभ संध्या
     • Welcome! (to greet someone), Hindi: Aapka swaagat hai !, script: आपका स्वागत हैं।
     • How are you ?, Hindi: Aap kaisey hain ?, script: आप कैसे हैं?
     • I'm fine, thank you !, Hindi: Mein theek hoon, shukriya !, script: मैं ठीक हुँ।
     • And you ?, Hindi: Aur aap ?, script: और आप?
     • Good / That's okay, Hindi: Accha / Theek-thaak, script: अच्छा / ठीक-ठाक
     • (very much) Thank you !, Hindi: Shukriyaa (Bahut dhanyavaad), script: शुक्रीया (बहुत धन्यवाद)
   • For the recordings of these phrases and for more details on the pronunciation, see this link: http://www.learning-hindi.com/convo.
   • Don't be afraid to speak a language even if you only know a few basic concepts and the basics of grammar. The sooner you start, the faster you will master the basics of the language - learning Hindi is basically a matter of practice and determination.

Part 4 of 4: Expanding your knowledge

1. Use online classes to hone your skills. There are several universities that offer online classes. Listen to audio and video lessons whenever you can so that you hear how the language is spoken.
   • North Carolina State University offers a series of 24 video lessons that cover writing, vocabulary, grammar and culture in addition to exercises and quizzes (in English).
   • The University of Pennsylvania offers a series of 20 audio lessons covering the basic grammar of Hindi (in English).
2. Find a good textbook. Once you are comfortable with Hindi vocabulary and grammar, you will need a more in-depth resource to learn the more complex aspects of the language. If possible, try to find a textbook that contains audio elements.
   • Rupert Snell’s Teach Yourself Hindi is recommended for beginners and includes audio (in English).
   • Elementary Hindi by Richard Delacy and Sudha Joshi consists of a textbook and a workbook with a CD (in English).
   • Sonia Taneja’s Practice Makes Perfect Basic Hindi is a workbook full of exercises that will help you deepen your existing knowledge and practice practical concepts such as conjugation (in English).
3. Read as much in Hindi as you can. Fortunately, there are numerous online resources available in Hindi, including newspapers, blogs and social media. There is also a Hindi literary tradition dating back to 760 BC full of poets, philosophers and religious writings.
   • Dainik Jagaran is the most popular Hindi newspaper in India. Some other important newspapers in Hindi include Hindustan, Dainik Bhaskar, and Rajasthan Patrika. The BBC also runs the BBC India site.
   • The Parikalpana Award is an annual award given to Indian blogs, a bit like the Bloggie Awards in English.
   • Like in other places, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are popular social media. Visiting the social media pages in Hindi will give you access to the language and all kinds of popular cultural topics.
   • Notable authors in Hindi literature include Chanda Bardai, author of the Prathviraj Rasau (12th century); Kabir (14th century), devout author; poet Ganga Das (1823-1913); novelist Munshi Premchand (19th century); Dharmavir Bharati (20th century); and novelist Jainendra Kumar (20th century).
   • Children's books are great to start with because they are usually very simple and often contain pictures. Learning-Hindi.com has an online collection of Hindi children's books.
4. Watch movies in Hindi. India has a huge film industry, also known as "Bollywood" - this is in fact the largest film industry in the world with over a thousand films released every year. Indians LOVE going to the cinema; more cinema tickets are sold in India than in any other country in the world (2.7 billion tickets per year). Countless Hindi movies are released every year and thanks to online streaming services such as Netflix and other services such as iTunes, it is now possible to watch many of these movies at home. Watch them in the original language with Dutch subtitles so that you can further perfect your Hindi.
   • Important Hindi films include Mughal-e-Azam (often regarded as the best Bollywood movie ever), the comedy Golmaal and the drama Kahaani.
   • If you like movies with superheroes then India has a nice selection. Some popular examples are Krrish and Ra.One.
5. Attend Indian cultural events. If you live near a university or college, there are likely to be all kinds of cultural events hosted by international students. Many cities with a large Indian population hold festivals and other cultural events where you can meet new friends and learn more about Indian culture. If there is a Hindi or Indian cultural center nearby, you can check the calendar there or contact the organizer.
   • If there are no cultural events nearby, search online! Wesleyan University even has a "Virtual Village" where you can look up cultural topics and read interviews with "villagers".
6. Find friends who speak Hindi. Since so many people speak Hindi, chances are you know someone who speaks this language. Especially if they live far from home, people will often be happy to be able to speak in their native language.
   • Websites such as meetup.com offer you the chance to find groups of people interested in learning about Hindi or Indian culture. Meetup currently has 103 groups in 70 countries, but you can always start a group of your own if you don't find what you're looking for.
   • Try chatting with someone at a local Indian restaurant or grocery store. Not only will you be able to practice the language, but you will also learn a lot about delicious Indian cuisine!

Tips

• When learning a language it is a good idea to immerse yourself in the culture of that language. Attend Indian festivals, try to meet Indians, go to Indian restaurants and try to order your dish in Hindi. The more you practice the language in a day-to-day environment, the better your language skills will improve.
• Another great way to learn to speak Hindi is to read Hindi labels, signs and children's books. Hindi and Sanskrit also have a rich literary tradition so as you learn to read Hindi better you can also try reading poetry or short novels or books in Hindi.
• Some of the words used by a tremendous portion of the Indian population actually come from Urdu. Although the current Hindi spoken everywhere (in the north of India) is a mix of Hindi and Urdu, there are some differences.
• For "Thank you" the correct word is "Dhanyawaad" but people often use "Shukriya" (but the first word is considered Pure Hindi)
  • Time- "Samay" (Hindi) "Wakt" (Urdu)
  • Year- "Varsh" (Hindi) "Saal" (Urdu)
  • Week- "Saptaah" (Hindi) "Haftaa" (Urdu)
  • Jewels- "Aabhushan" (Hindi) "Gehna / Gahna" (Urdu)
  • To attack! - "Aakraman!" (Hindi) "Hamla!" (Urdu)
  • Difficult- "Kathin" (Hindi) "Mushkil" (Urdu)
  • I'm sorry / apology- "Kshama * K is silent" (Hindi) "Maaf" (Urdu)
  • Sir. - "Mahoday" (Hindi) "Janaab" (Urdu)
  • Lord "Shrimaan" (Hindi) "Huzoor" (Urdu)
  • Story- "Kahaani / Kathaa" (Hindi) "Quissa" (Urdu)
  • Doubt / Suspicion - "Sandeh" (Hindi) "Shuq / Shaq" (Urdu).
  • Single- "Keval" (Hindi) "Sirf / Sirph" (Urdu)
• When greeting someone, you can also use "Namaskar" ("Hello"), because in some cases, "Namastè" is used for "Goodbye" or as a farewell greeting. However, if you wish to show the most respect, then you should use "Pranam" as a farewell greeting (as this is usually used to say goodbye to an Elder / Teachers / Gods, etc.).
• In any case, it is good to use these words with a grain of salt. But this list and even Google sometimes get these words mixed up.
• Learning with real books is a fun and very enriching way to learn Hindi. Some recommend reading classic books such as Panchatantra, Hitopadesh, Mahabharat, Ramayan, etc.
• Watching movies also helps, as a mix of Hindi and Urdu has become common for many years.