What are the most useful phrases in Hindi?

Hindi alongside Urdu as Hindustani is the third most spoken language in the world, after Mandarin and English. As a linguistic variety, Hindi is the fourth most spoken first language in the world, after Mandarin, Spanish and English. Apart from the script and formal vocabulary, standard Hindi is mutually intelligible with Standard Urdu, another recognised register of Hindustani as both share a common colloquial base. Hindi or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in India. Hindi is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India. Hindi is the lingua franca of the Hindi belt and to a lesser extent other parts of India. Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, is one of the two official languages of the Government of India, along with the English language. Hindi has been described as a standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language, which itself is based primarily on the Khariboli dialect of Delhi and neighbouring areas of Northern India. It is an official language in 9 States and 3 Union Territories and an additional official language in 3 other States. Outside India, several other languages are recognised officially as “Hindi” but do not refer to the Standard Hindi language described here and instead descend from other dialects, such as Awadhi and Bhojpuri. Such languages include Fiji Hindi, which is official in Fiji, and Caribbean Hindustani, which is spoken in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname.

1. Hello – नमस्ते (na-ma-sté)
2. Good morning – शुभ प्रभात (Shubh-pra-bhaat)
3. What is your name? –  आपका नाम क्या है? (aapka naam kya hai?)
4. Where are you from? – आप कहाँ से हैं? (aap kaha[n] sé hai[n]?)
5. It’s nice to meet you – आप से मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई (aap sé milkar khushee hooee)
6. Please – कृपया (krip-ya) NB: Please is usually implied in the verb – so this word is not commonly used.
7. Thank you – धन्यवाद (dhany-vaad)
8. Yes – हाँ (haa[n]) and No – नहीं (nahee[n])
9. Excuse me (to get past someone) – माफ़ कीजिए (maaf keejiyé)
10. I’m sorry – माफ़ कीजिए (maaf keejiyé)
11. I don’t understand – मैं नहीं समझा (m.) / मैं नहीं समझी (f.) (mai[n] nahee[n] sam-jha (m.] / mai[n] nahee[n] sam-jhee (f.))
12. Do you speak English? – क्या आप अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं? (kya aap angrezee bolté hai[n]?)
13. I don’t know – मुझको मालूम नहीं  (mujhko maaloom nahee[n])
14. I’m a vegetarian – मैं शाकाहारी हूँ (mai[n] shaakaahaari hoo[n])
15. Help! –  मदद कीजिए (madad keejiyé)
16. I need a doctor –  मुझको डॉक्टर चाहिए (mujhko doctor chaahiyé)
17. Watch out! – सावधान (saavdhaan)
18. Go away! – यहाँ से जाओ (yahaa[n] sé jaao)
19. I lost my passport –  मेरा पास्पोर्ट खो गया (mera passport kho gaya)
20. Where is the American/British/Australian/Canadian embassy? – अमेरिकी / ब्रिटिश / औस्ट्रेलियन / कनेडियन दूतावास कहाँ है? (amerikee / british / austreliyan / kanediyan dutaavaas kaha[n] hai?)

The word Hindi got its name from the Persian word ”Hind” which means “land of the Indus River”. Hindi is taught in 176 of the world’s universities out of which 45 alone are in America. Every day about 25 Hindi magazines and newspapers are published in countries outside India. India is not the only country where Hindi is spoken. It is also spoken in other countries like Mauritius, Guyana, Fiji, Tobago and Nepal.

September 14 is considered as Hindi Day or Hindi Divas, a special day to celebrate the adoption of Hindi written in the Devanagari script as India’s official language. The occasion marks September 14, 1949, the 50th birthday of Beohar Rajendra Simha, a Hindi scholar who worked to push the language as the official language of India. It’s the same date when the Constituent Assembly of India approved the adoption of the language. There’s an amazing new way to learn Hindi! Want to see what everyone’s talking about! Click here.