Hindi Lesson - Part 2

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Hindi Lesson - Part 2

26 Apr, 2012 by Lizzie Hobbs

Now that you are comfortable with a few words (from Hindi lesson - part 1), it is time to look at some phrases.

English	Hindi	Breaking the word down
Basic words
I/Me	Mai	The ‘ai’ are pronounced as the ‘e’ in Namaste
You	Ap	Aap Rhymes with the vowels in heart
Did you know? In Hindi there are words which vary depending on the familiarity of the person you are conversing with. ‘Tum’ can be used with someone close, and Ap is the formal version.
Am	Hu	Huu
Is	Hai	He The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste
Are	Hain	He Is similar to the above but has a nasal sound The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste
And	Aur	Rhymes with or
Question words
What	Kya		Try and pronounce ky as one sound together Ya rhymes with far
Where	Kahan		K-haa
Why	Kyo		Try and pronounce ky as one sound together The whole word sounds similar to the letter ‘Q’
When	Kab		Kb A very short word!
Who	Kaun		Korn Rhymes with corn, but there is no emphasis on ‘r’
Which	Kaun se		Korn se The ‘e’ of se is the same as in Namaste
How	Kaise		Ke-se Ke sound similar to care, but is pronounced shorter and without an ‘r’ The ‘e’ of se is the same as in Namaste
How much	Kitna		Kit-na
Useful phrases
My name is....	Mera nam.....hai		Meraa naam.....he The ‘aa’ is pronounced as it is in far, he has the same ‘e’ as Namaste
How are you?	Ap kaise hain?		Aap - Rhymes with the vowels in heart Ke-se - Ke sound similar to care, but is pronounced shorter and without an ‘r’. The ‘e’ of se is the same as in Namaste. He - has a nasal sound, the ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste
I am okay	Mai thik hu		Mai - The ‘ai’ are pronounced as the ‘e’ in Namaste Thik - Pronounced the same as ‘tique’ in antique, but with an aspirated ‘t’ Hu - Huu
I am good	Mai accha hu (for male) Mai acchi hu (for females)		Mai - The ‘ai’ are pronounced as the ‘e’ in Namaste A-cha - ‘A’ is pronounced as in apple, cha rhymes with far Hu – Huu Mai - The ‘ai’ are pronounced as the ‘e’ in Namaste A-chee - ‘A’ is pronounced as in apple Hu - Huu
Who are you?	Ap kaun hain?		Aap - Rhymes with the vowels in heart Korn - Rhymes with corn, but there is so emphasis on ‘r’ He - has a nasal sound, the ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste
What is this?	Yeh kya hai?		Ye - The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste Kya - Try and pronounce ky as one sound together. Ya rhymes with far. He - The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste
Where is the haveli?	Haveli kahan hai?		Havelee K-haa He - The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste
Did you know? In Hindi there is no word for ‘the’.
When is lunch?	Din-ka-khana kab hai?		Din-k-khana - The ‘k’ in khana is aspirated with an ‘h’. ‘A’ is pronounced as it is in star, in both places. Kb He - The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste
How much is this?	Yeh kitna ka hai?		Ye - The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste Kit-na Ka He - The ‘e’ is the same as in Namaste

In the same way that you learnt the vocabulary, you can also test yourself with the phrases. You will see that some of the words you have learnt previously are repeated in the phrases, allowing you to progress easily into short sentences.

When you feel ready, complete the following exercises. (Answers below)

Translate the following words:

Food
What
Namaste
Rice
Bara
Thank you
When
Okay

Fill in the missing words:

I am okay                             .......thik.......
How much is this?            Yeh...........hai?
Ap kaise hain?                   ........are you?
Haveli kahan hai?             ........is the........?
How are you?                    .................hain?

Create the following phrases in Hindi:

This food is good
The bathroom is clean
Who are you?
I am very good, thank you
The lunch is okay
Yes please
I am twenty
Where is the water?

Answers

Food - Khana

What - Kya
Namaste - Hello/Goodbye
Rice - Chaval
Bara - Big
Thank you - Dhanyavad
When - Kab
Okay - Thik

I am okay - Mai thik hu

How much is this? - Yeh kitna ka hai?
Ap kaise hain? - How are you?
Haveli kahan hai? - Where is the haveli?
How are you? - Ap kaise hain?

This food is good - Yeh khana accha hai

The bathroom is clean - Snanagar saf hai
Who are you? - Ap kaun hai?
I am very good, thank you - Mai bahut accha/acchi hu, dhanyavad
The lunch is okay - Din-ka-khana thik hai
Yes please - Ha kripiya
I am twenty - Mai bees hu
Where is the water? - Pani kahan hai?

Congratulations, you have completed the mini Hindi lesson! Now that you know these words, you can create your own useful questions for when you’re on your travels. Hindi is a beautiful language, and can be embraced when you holiday with us in Northern India.