Hindi is descended from Sanskrit, sometimes called "the mother of all languages," or "Latin of the East." Hindi developed from the proto-Hindi ???? ???? Kha?? Bol? (lit. "Pure language"). A mixture of Hindi and Urdu, called '''Hindustani''' (though this name is also applied to the Caribbean dialect of Hindi), is the form heard in most Bollywood films, that try to appeal to the widest audience possible. Hindustani is different than what is taught at the literary level and what is used by news programs and the government in India.
A striking fact is that, depending on the source, Hindi is listed anywhere from the 2nd-5th most widely spoken language in the world. In contrast to languages such as Mandarin or Spanish, there has not been much stress outside of India in promoting Hindi education. In 2006, however, President Bush brought education of India's languages, including Hindi, to the forefront in the United States through the National Security Language Initiative, thus highlighting the need for closer ties and understanding between the two countries. This phrasebook may help lift the veil of this "exotic" language, actually a relative of English, in addition to the primary goal of helping travellers who wish to visit India.
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Aspiration means "with a puff of air", and is the difference between the sound of the letter "p" in English '''''p'''in'' (aspirated) and ''s'''p'''it'' (unaspirated). In this phrasebook, aspirated sounds are spelled with an h (so English "pin" would be ''phin'') and unaspirated sounds without it (so "spit" is still ''spit''). Hindi aspiration is quite forceful and it's OK to emphasize the puff: ''b'''h'''arti''.
Hindi retroflex consonants, on the other hand, are not really found in English. They should be pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. Practice with a native speaker, or just pronounce as usual — you'll usually still get the message across.
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: ''yeh ky? hai?'' ("what's this?") → ''yeh to ky? hai?'' - ("what is '''this'''?")
Voice should always be very low and with few changes in pitch, loudness and stress, so please: ''relax''!.
One of the only stresses found in Hindi is the last long syllable prior to the last syllable (e.g. in "dh?nyav?d" stress "dh?"). But it is a mild stress which occurs naturally, so don't force it. Don't even think about it!
??????????! / ?ubhk?mn?e<sup>n</sup>! / Good luck
'''Civilities:''' In Western cultures saying phrases like ''please'', ''thank you'', ''you're welcome'', ''excuse me'', ''sorry'', etc. are so ingrained into us from a young age that we say them without a second thought. Not so for Indians. Saying such phrases in an inappropriate circumstance might even embarrass the person, or cheapen the gravity of the phrase itself. These phrases are only said in a sincere sense. For example, don't say ??????? (thank you) after a clerk hands you your grocery bag, but when someone goes out of their way to do something nice for you. Sometimes English words themselves are used; due to the British colonial influence, especially in urban areas and among the upper class. In this case use them as you would in English. Just remember that like Germans, and the French, they sometimes have trouble with English ''th'' sounds and therefore pronounce ''th'' as ?. When someone is in your way, instead of saying ''excuse me,'' or ''zara suniye'', just let out an aspirated ''ts'' sound with your tongue behind your teeth to attract their attention. This might seem rude, but is no more rude than children saying "pssst" to get a friend's attention during class! In conclusion, though Hindi has corresponding words to ours, this does not mean that the context in which they are used also correspond likewise. Don't let all of this lead you to believe Indians are cold though ? nothing could be further from the truth! These sentiments are merely communicated through body language rather than verbally. To show your thanks, a simple smile will do the trick. Other common gestures include the infamous "head bobble"; and a hand gesture made by swiftly swinging the wrist so your palm is facing the sky and your forefingers slightly elongated. Before travellling to India, rent some Bollywood films so that if a spontaneous Bhangra breaks out in the streets, you'll be ready to join in! All kidding aside, they can demonstrate body language and customs far better than any book is able to, all while acclimatizing you to the language as well.
'''Prefixes & Suffixes:''' With the words for "yes" and "no" ''j?'' (??) may be added before to give it a more polite tone. Sometimes speakers will simply reply with ''j?'', as an affirmation of something someone says. ''J?'' is added to a person's name as a sign of respect. For example; in India Mahatma Gandhi is known simply as ''Gandhiji'' (???????). Another suffix which is indispensable is ''v?la'' (-????), often rendered in English as "-wallah". Many books devote whole chapters to v?la. With nouns it gives the meaning "the one or thing that does" and with verbs, it indicates something is about to happen. Examples:
'''English Loan Words:''' The British Empire's influence spread into the language itself, and this continues today with American culture being exported throughout the world. So, an English word or phrase may almost always be inserted into any Hindi sentence. You will often hear Indians, whom while talking in Hindi, pepper their sentences with English words. Sometimes they'll even alternate sentences, going from Hindi to English, and back to Hindi! Upon meeting an Indian, many times you may not even get to practice your Hindi, because they want to practice ''their'' English on ''you''! English loan words are particularly used for modern inventions/technologies, so words like TV, computer and microwave are the same as in English apart from the slight change of accent. However; this is mostly in the cities, and learning some Hindi will have been all the more rewarding when in rural or non-tourist areas, as well as allowing you to communicate with a wider variety of people in the cities.
'''Gender & The 2nd Person Pronoun:''' Certain words have different endings depending on your gender. If you are a man say these with an -a suffix, and if you're a woman, -?. However; when addressing the person respectively with ''?p'' (??), the masculine ending takes the plural form. This is not all that different from the behavior of other Indo-European languages, c.f. German ''Sie'', which like ''?p'' is also both the respectful 2nd person pronoun ''and'' plural form of address. The other two forms are the familiar ''tum'' (???) and intimate ''tū'' (??). These change the forms of certain words. ''Tum'' is for friends and peers, ''tū'' for small children (within the family); between 'significant others' in private; traditionally to lower castes; in the past, slaves; and, paradoxically, when supplicating to the gods/God (c.f. Greek mythology). As a general rule, stick with ''?p'', until you become more familiar with the language and culture. Forget about ''tū'' altogether, at the best using it would be a ''faux pas'' and at the worst, ''very'' offensive. For those reasons as well as practical ones, this section will only use the ''?p'' form.
Another common all-purpose word is ''?h?k hai'', pronounced and occasionally even spelled out as "TK". It is used in the same manner, meaning: OK/all right, yes/understood (affirmation), right/correct, etc. Sometimes shortened to just ''?h?k''.}}
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The numerals used to write in decimal are called Indo-Arabic numerals. Developed in India, they were borrowed by the Arabs, and gradually spread to Europe. The similarities are hard to miss. Here are their respective numerals. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Roman !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari <br> <br> <br> Hindi numbers ending in 9 are named as "un" (-1) plus the next multiple of ten. Instead of naming powers of a thousand, Hindi has unique names for a thousand, a hundred thousand, ten million etc. These peculiarities don't seem to have effected the proliferation of Indian mathematicians.
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The Hindu days of the week are each ruled by a planet, and corresponding exactly to ancient cultures in the West, i.e. Sunday = Raviv?r (Lord of the Sun's day [lit. time or period]). Thursday/O.N. Torsdagr, Thor's day = Guruv?r (Lord of Jupiter's day), Saturday/Saturn's day = ?ani's (Lord of Saturn's day), etc. Unlike her Western counterparts, in India, Astrology is still a vital part of Hindu culture. Though attitudes may vary on its validity, priests are still consulted, as per tradition, for an auspicious day to hold a wedding. -??? (''-v?r''), meaning ''day, time, or period'' is often dropped colloquially.
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India has two main calendars in use, though other groups like the Parsis have their own calendar as well. The Western (Gregorian) calendar is used for day to day and business affairs, and the Hindu calendar is used by religious communities.
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The Hindu Calendar (?????? ????? ''Vikram sa?vat'') is named after a legendary king of Ujjain who is supposed to have founded the Vikramditya (????????????) era c. 56 BCE. The year 57 BCE was the first year of this (????? ''sa?vat'') era. Thus, to calculate the current date of the Hindu calendar add 57 years. Today the Hindu Calendar is used mainly for religious purposes and calculating festivals. Because it is based on the lunar month, every 30 months an "impure" intercalary leap month is added during which no ceremonies are performed. The Hindi names are variations of the original Sanskrit ones.
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; How much is a ticket to _____ ? : _____ ???? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? _____ jaane ki ticket kitne ki hai? ; One ticket to _____ : ?? _____ ?? ???? ??????. Ek _____ ki ticket dijiye. ; Where does this train go? : ?? ????? ???? ???? ??? Yeh train kidhar jaati hai? ; Does this train/bus stop in _____? : ???? ?? ?????/?? _____ ?? ????? ??? Kya yeh train/bus _____ par rukti hai? ; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : _____ ?? ?????/?? ?? ???????? _____ ki train/bus kab niklegi? ; When will this train/bus arrive in _____? : ?? ?????/?? _____ ?? ????????? Yeh train/bus _____ kab pahuchegi?
; ____the bus station? : ?? ?????____? — bas a??a...? ; ____the airport? : ???? ?????____? — ????...? — ; ____Town square? : ???____? — chowk ; ____Hotel? : _____ ????...? — hotel ; Where can I find (some)____: (???) ____ ???? ???????? — (kuch) ... kidharai? (?) ; ____hotels? : ??????____ — hotelEIN ; ____restaurants? : ?????????____? — restRON ; ____bars? : ???? ?????...? — sharaab khaNE ; ____sites to see? : ...dekhne layek jaghain*? (''...'') ; Can you show me on the map? : ???? ?????? ??? ???? ?????? — mujhe nakSHE mEIN dikhaa deejiYE ; Can you tell me the way to _____? : ???? _____ ?? ?????? ?????? — — muJHE _____ kaa rasta bataIYE ; street : ???? — saDak ; path : ?????? — raastaa ; Turn left. : ????? ???? ??????? — b?y?<sup>n</sup> muDiye ; Turn right. : ?????? ???? ??????? — d?hin? muDiye ; right : ?????? — d?hina ; left : ????? — b?y? ; straight ahead : ???? — s?dhe ; towards the _____ : _____ ?? ?? — _____ kee OR ; past the _____ : _____ ?? ???? — _____ ke agle ; before the _____ : _____ ?? ????? — _____ ke piCHHle ; Watch for the _____. : _____ ???? — _____ dekho ; intersection : ?????? — chOWraahaa ; north : ????? — uttar ; south : ?????? — dakshin ; east : ????? — p?rv ; west : ?????? — pa?cim ; uphill : ????? — chaDHai
; Do you have any rooms available? : Kamra Kirayi pe milega? (''...'') ; How much is a room for one person/two people? : Ek/Do admi ka kitna lagega? (''...'') ; Does the room come with... : Room mein ---- hain kya? (''...'') ; ...bedsheets? : ...bedsheets? (''charaapaaii kai loI'') ; ...a bathroom? : ...a bathroom? (''snaanaghara'') ; ...a telephone? : ...a telephone? (''telipone'') ; ...a TV? : ...a TV? (''teevee'') ; May I see the room first? : May I see the room first? (''phela,kumra dhaik lon? '') ; Do you have anything quieter? : Do you have anything quieter? (''apkai pas aur chupchap/shA.nta/sthira he?'') ; ...bigger? : ...bigger? (''Aur Bharra'') ; ...cleaner? : ...cleaner? (''Aur Saaf'') ; ...cheaper? : ...cheaper? (''Aur Sustha'') ; OK, I'll take it. : OK, I'll take it. (''Teeke, lailaithein'') ; I will stay for _____ night(s). : I will stay for _____ night(s). (''____raath raingai'') ; Can you suggest another hotel? : Can you suggest another hotel? (''Aur koi hotel pathadiyijeeai'') ; Do you have a safe? : Do you have a safe? (''surakShita sthAna hoga?'') ; ...lockers? : ...lockers? (''sharAna sthAna'') ; Is breakfast/supper included? : Is breakfast/supper included? (''jalapAna/raathka bhojana-byAlu dhArana he?'') ; What time is breakfast/supper? : What time is breakfast/supper? (''kaleva/byAlu kis samaya he?'') ; Please clean my room. : Please clean my room. (''kamra saaf kurlo.'') ; Can you wake me at _____? | Can you wake me at _____? (''____time pe jugana'') ; I want to check out. : I want to check out. (''mainai nikalna he'')
; Do you have this in my size? : Do you have this in my size? (''...'') mere saiz ka milegaa? ; How much is this? : How much is this? (''...'') iska kitna hoga? ; That's too expensive. : That's too expensive. (''...'') bahut mehnga hai ; Would you take _____? : Would you take _____? (''...'') kya aap _____ lena chahege? ; expensive : expensive (''...'') mehnga ; cheap : cheap (''...'') sast? ; I can't afford it. : I can't afford it. (''...'') main nahi le sakta ; I don't want it. : I don't want it. (''...'') mujhe nahi chahiye ; You're cheating me. : You're cheating me. (''...'') tu mujhe fassa rahe hoo ; I'm not interested. : I'm not interested. (..) mujhe shauk nahi hai ; OK, I'll take it. : OK, I'll take it. (''...'') theek hai, main le let? hoon ; Can I have a bag? : Can I have a bag? (''...'') ky? ?p mujhe thaili dege ; Do you ship (overseas)? : Do you ship (overseas)? (''...'') parcel kar sakthe hoo ; I need... : ???? ...?????? — mujhe ... c?hiye ; ...toothpaste. : (???) ????... — (da<sup>n</sup>t) manjan ; ...a toothbrush. : ??? ????... — t?th bra? ; ...tampons. : ???????... — ?aimpon ; ...soap. : ?????... — s?bun ; ...shampoo. : ?????... — ?aimp? ; ...pain reliever. (''e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen'') : ???? ?? ???/"????????"... — dard k? daw? ; ...cold medicine. : ????? ?? ???... — kh?<sup>n</sup>s? k? daw? ; ...stomach medicine. : ???????... — dast?var ; ...a razor. : ?????/??????... — rezar, ustara ; ...an umbrella. : ????... — ch?t? ; ...sunblock lotion. : ...sunblock lotion. (''...'') ; ...a postcard. : ????? ?????... — pos? k?r? ; ...postage stamp. : ??? ?????/?????... — ??k mehs?l/s?aimp ; ...batteries. : ??????... — bai?r? ; ...writing paper. : ??????... — k?<u>g</u>az ; ...a pen. : ????... — kalam ; ...a pencil : ???????... — pensil ; ...an English-language book. : ????????? ?? ?????... — angrez? k? kit?b/pothI ; ... an English-language magazine. : ????????? ?? ???????... — angrez? ka/k? patrika/ris?lah/maigaz?n ; ...an English-language newspaper. : ???????? ?? ??????... — angrez? k? akhb?r; ...an English-Hindi dictionary. : ?????????-?????? ???... — angrez?-hind? ko?
; I want to rent a car. : ???? ??? ?????? ?????? — mujhe k?r kir?ya c?hiye ; Can I get insurance? : ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ??? — mujhe insurance ka k?r sakta (-?) hai? (?) ; gas (''petrol'') station : ??????? ??? — pe?rol pamp ; petrol : ??????? — pe?rol ; diesel : ????? — ??zal
Note: Indian Traffic Signs are much like those in Europe. Words are written in English and sometimes the regional language.