If you are totally new to Hindi, start here...
Vowel sounds - rough guide
a the U in cup
aa the A in after
e the A in cake
ai the AI in air
i the I in sit
ii the EE in seed
o the O in coke
au the O in corn
u the U in put
uu the OO in food
(Any of which may be nasalised, in which case I write a ñ after it)
Consonant sounds
b
bh
ch
chh
d
dh
D
Dh
f
g
gh
G
h
j
jh
k
kh
q
Kh
l
m
n
N
p
ph
r
R
Rh
s
sh
t
th
T
Th
v
y
z
Notes
Roughly the same as English, except capital letter means the consonant is "retroflex" - the tongue touches the roof of the mouth. If an "h" follows then it is pronounced with a short burst of breath. The lower case equivalents of D, T, etc. are "dental", i.e. the tongue touches the teeth rather than the roof of the mouth. If a consonant is doubled, hold it for a little while longer than normal.
The Arabic / Persian Q is k but at the back of the throat, G is g in the same place.
"r" is rolled, "sh" is as in English.
The best thing is to practise using a tape or listen to a native speaker.
First words
ek, do, tiin, chaar, paañch
one, two, three, four, five
chhe, sat, aaTh, nau, das
six, seven, eight, nine, ten
maiñ huuñ
I am
tuu hai
you are (singular, intimate)
tum ho
you are (plural, informal)
aap haiñ
you are (plural, polite)
ye
this, these
vo
this, these
hai
is
haiñ
are
hindii
Hindi
bolnaa
to speak
(infinitives are always a stem (e.g. "bol") + "naa")
Some simple sentences
meraa naam juulii hai
My name is Julie
aap kaise haiñ?
How are you? (polite)
maiñ Thiik huuñ, shukryaa
I'm fine, thank you
The simple present tense
Take the stem of a verb (remove the "-naa"):
bolnaa --> bol
add:
-taa (masculine singular)
-te (masculine plural)
-tii(feminine singular and plural)
then say "is" (hai) or "are" ("huuñ", "ho", or "haiñ")
For example:
maiñ boltaa huuñ
I speak
aap bolte haiñ
you (masculine, plural or polite) speak
Word order
Normally the word order is subject - object - verb.
Examples:
tumhaaraa naam kyaa hai?
(word-for-word: Your name what is?)
What is your name?
Some other question words
kaun? who?
kaunsaa? which?
kyoñ? why?
kahaañ? where?
kab? when?
Examples:
vo kaun hai?
Who is s/he?
(word-for-word: S/he who is?)
kaunsaa kuttaa?
Which dog?
kyoñ? -- kyoñkii!
Why? -- Because!
nyuu york kahaañ hai?
Where is New York?
Some useful adjectives
laal
red
safed
white
goraa
white (skin colour)
kaalaa
black
niilaa
blue
piilaa
yellow
haraa
green
chhoTaa
small
baRaa
big
achchhaa
good
Thiik
OK, alright
OK, then! If you want to learn this lesson remember to take your time and make it fun. Look for the similarities with other languages you know (don't the numbers feel familiar?) and if you liked what you saw, please keep coming back.
Comments, suggestions, corrections?.. Please post!