Basic Hindi for English Speakers

नमस्ते! Greetings & Introductions

Start with the two words you already know: नमस्ते (namaste) — "hello" — works for hello, goodbye, please and thank-you all at once, and सुप्रभात (suprabhāt) — "good morning". नमस्कार (namaskār) is a slightly more formal "hello".

Introduce yourself with मेरा नाम… है (merā nām… hai) — "my name is…". Ask back: आपका नाम क्या है? (āpkā nām kyā hai?). Say where you are from with मैं … से हूँ (main … se hūn) ("I am from…"). When you meet someone, आपसे मिलकर खुशी हुई (āpse milkar khuśī huī) means "nice to meet you".

The Devanagari Script & a Sound Guide for English Speakers

Hindi is written in Devanagari, read left to right just like English. Vowels come first: अ (a), आ (ā), इ (i), ई (ī), उ (u), ऊ (ū). Short अ (a) sounds like the "u" in "cup", while long आ (ā) is held twice as long — like the "a" in "car". Consonants such as क (ka), ग (ga), न (na) carry a built-in short "a" that is often dropped at the end of words.

Hindi has sounds English lacks: retroflex ट (ṭa) and ड़ (ṛa) — curl your tongue tip back before touching the palate; and aspirated stops — क (ka) vs ख (kha) — where a burst of air follows the consonant, like the "k" in "kick" held on the "h". In our Latin spellings a plain k is unaspirated and kh is aspirated.

Numbers 0–20

Start at zero: शून्य (śūnya) (0), then एक (ek) (1), दो (do) (2), तीन (tīn) (3), चार (chār) (4), पाँच (pā̃ch) (5), छह (chhah) (6), सात (sāt) (7), आठ (āṭh) (8), नौ (nau) (9), दस (das) (10).

The teens build on ten: ग्यारह (gyārah) (11), बारह (bārah) (12), तेरह (terah) (13), चौदह (chaudah) (14), पंद्रह (pandrah) (15), सोलह (solah) (16), सत्रह (satrah) (17), अठारह (aṭhārah) (18), उन्नीस (unnīs) (19), बीस (bīs) (20). From 21, the pattern is regular: इक्कीस (ikkīs) (21), बाईस (bāīs) (22)…

Days, Months & Time

The days: सोमवार (somvār) (Monday), मंगलवार (maṅgalvār) (Tuesday), बुधवार (budhvār) (Wednesday), गुरुवार (guruvār) (Thursday), शुक्रवार (śukravār) (Friday), शनिवार (śanivār) (Saturday), रविवार (ravivār) (Sunday). Ask आज कौन सा दिन है? (āj kaun sā din hai?) — "what day is it today?".

The months hug their English names: जनवरी (janvarī), फ़रवरी (farvarī), मार्च (mārch), अप्रैल (aprail)… The time: कितने बजे हैं? (kitne baje haiṁ?) — "what time is it?" → तीन बजे हैं (tīn baje haiṁ) — "it's three o'clock". आज (āj) is "today"; कल (kal) is both "yesterday" and "tomorrow" — context decides!

Key Verbs: होना honā, करना karnā, जाना jānā, खाना khānā

Verbs sit at the end of a Hindi sentence. होना (honā) means "to be": मैं हूँ (main hūn) (I am), तुम हो (tum ho) (you are), वह है (vah hai) (he/she is), हम हैं (ham haiṁ) (we are). Build sentences at once: मैं छात्र हूँ (main chhātra hūn) — "I am a student"; वह शिक्षक है (vah śikshak hai) — "he is a teacher".

The action verbs are just as regular: करना (karnā) (to do), जाना (jānā) (to go) — मैं बाज़ार जाता हूँ (main bāzār jātā hūn) "I go to the market"; खाना (khānā) (to eat) — मैं चावल खाता हूँ (main chāval khātā hūn) "I eat rice".

Everyday Cognates & Borrowed Words

Modern Hindi borrows freely, so plenty of words already look familiar: स्कूल (skūl) (school), स्टेशन (sṭeśan) (station), बस (bas) (bus), होटल (hoṭal) (hotel), कॉफ़ी (kofī) (coffee), पुलिस (pulis) (police), फ़ोन (phon) (phone). Same word, Indian accent.

Persian and Urdu loans live side by side with English ones in daily speech: मैं ठीक हूँ (main ṭhīk hūn) ("I'm fine") uses the Persian ठीक (ṭhīk), while शुक्रिया (śukriyā) ("thanks") sits next to the borrowed थैंक्स (thaiks).

Family & People

Start closest to home: माँ (mā̃) (mother), पिता (pitā) (father), भाई (bhāī) (brother), बहन (bahan) (sister), दादा (dādā) (grandfather), दादी (dādī) (grandmother), बेटा (beṭā) (son), बेटी (beṭī) (daughter).

People around you: आदमी (ādmī) (man), औरत (aurat) (woman), लड़का (laṛkā) (boy), लड़की (laṛkī) (girl), दोस्त (dost) (friend), शिक्षक (śikshak) (teacher), डॉक्टर (ḍākṭar) (doctor). Notice how endings often signal gender: लड़का (laṛkā) vs लड़की (laṛkī).

Questions & Negation

Make a yes/no question by adding क्या (kyā) at the start: क्या आप अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं? (kyā āp aṅgrezī bolte haiṁ?) — "do you speak English?". The question words are wonderfully regular — कौन (kaun) (who), कहाँ (kahā̃) (where), कब (kab) (when), क्यों (kyoṁ) (why), कैसे (kaise) (how). They all start with "k", like English's "wh-" words!

Negation is beautifully simple: drop नहीं (nahī̃) before the verb. मैं हूँ (main hūn) (I am) → मैं नहीं हूँ (main nahī̃ hūn) (I am not). मैं बोलता हूँ (I speak) → मैं नहीं बोलता (main nahī̃ boltā) (I don't speak).

Food & Ordering

Start ordering: चाय (chai) (tea), पानी (pānī) (water), दूध (dūdh) (milk), रोटी (roṭī) (flatbread), चावल (chāval) (rice), थाली (thālī) (a platter of several dishes), मेन्यू (myū) (menu), मीठा (mīṭhā) (sweet). The classic order: एक चाय, कृपया (ek chai, kripayā) — "one tea, please".

Ask for the bill with बिल दीजिए (bil dījiye) — "the bill, please" (बिल (bil) is the borrowed "bill"). Check the cost with यह कितने का है? (yah kitne kā hai?) — "how much is this?". And the all-purpose कहाँ है? (kahā̃ hai?) — "where is…?".

Putting It Together — Your First Conversation

Everything you have learned fits into a real conversation. Read this dialogue out loud twice — once slowly, once at a natural speed:

Notice how every piece you learned appears here: greetings, कैसे हैं (kaise haiṁ), नाम (nām), होना (honā), से हूँ (se hūn), कहाँ (kahā̃) and the farewells.

Shadowing drill (the habit that builds accent): play this dialogue aloud from memory once a day. Match the melody of the sentences, not just the words. Thirty seconds a day beats one big cram session every week.