Hindi-Urdu phrasebook'''Hindi''' ?????? is an Indo-European language spoken in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and throughout the Indian diaspora in Fiji, Singapore, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana, South Africa, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mauritius, Germany, etc.). Of the 22 national languages and over 1,000 dialects of India, Hindi is promoted by the government and viewed by over half the population as a "link-language." It is descended from Sanskrit, sometimes called "the mother of all languages." '''Urdu''' ????, Sometimes formally called زبانﹺ اردوﹺ معلہ (Zabān-e-Urdū-e-Mo'allah), is the national language of Pakistan, though spoken by less than 10% of the Pakistanis as a first language. It is also spoken by 5% of the Indian population, mainly in the north. Urdu essentially the same language grammatically, infused with a rich Arabic, Persian, and Turkish vocabulary, and written in a Persian derived version of the Arabic abjad known as Nast'alīq (نستعلیق). There is also a dialect of Urdu with less Arabic and Persian words, called Dakhini, spoken in the Muslim enclave of the Deccan. The word ''Urdu'' is itself derived from the Turkish word ''ordu'', ultimately derived from the Mongolian word "horde." In addition to vocabulary, Urdu also adopted the Persian use of the enclitic ''ezāfe'' and most poets used ''takhallus'' (''noms de plume''). Urdu is renowned for its poetic tradition dating back to Mughal times when, incidentally, Persian was the court language; thus the reason why Persian vocabulary and elements are so notable. The Arabic and Turkish words themselves were often loan words within Persian and thereby transmitted to both Urdu and Hindi alike, eg. kitāb, intazār etc. Arabic words are especially prevelant in religious contexts as it is the sacred language of the Qur'an. Hindi and Urdu are sometimes referred to as co-dialects, as they both developed from the proto-Hindi ???? ???? Khaṛī Bolī dialect c. 12th century CE during the Mughal conquest. The difference between the two, is often, ''but not always'', a matter of national or religious identity. A mixture of both, sometimes 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. A striking fact is that, depending on the source, Hindi/Urdu is listed anywhere from the 2nd-5th most widely spoken language in the world. Even seperated, they both rank within the top 20. Given the amount of stress on learning Mandarin or Spanish, it is mystifying that there has never been much widespread interest abroad in promoting Hindi education; especially considering India's growing economy and the outsourcing phenomenon. This phrasebook may help lift the veil of this "exotic" language, and pique interest into the "Language of Songs," in addition to the primary goal of helping travellers who wish to visit India and/or Pakistan. ==Pronunciation guide for Hindi== Hindi uses a phonetic writing system. It is written in the '''Devanagari''' (????????) alphabet (sometimes called Nagari for short), a writing system of about 52 primary letters which combine to form syllables. Devanagari was designed for the Prakrit language c. 13th century CE, an intermediate language between Sanskrit and Hindi, and later elaborated for Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, and other languages. '''Notes:''' "-a" though usually pronounced short, is always written long at the end of a masculine word (the exception are Sanskrit loan words) as a visible mas. marker ''-a''. The feminine "-i" marker is pronounced as written. In the contemporary transliteration schemes, doubled vowels are often more accurately replaced by placing a macron over them. (e.g. "aa" = "a", because two identical vowels never follow another in the Devanagari script; though there is a special rule when two ''different'' vowels follow one another. This will be covered later. Popular and commercial faux transliterations like "oo" and "ee" should be replaced by the sounds they are meant to represent to English speakers: oo by u, "ee" by i. For instance, the Hindi loan word ''shampoo'' would properly be transliterated saimpu --> ?????, and the name ''Sanjeev'' would be transliterated Sanjiv --> ?????. And since ''o'' and ''e'' are always long, there is no special long form of these, meaning that e.g. "oo" is never a long o as in German ''Boot'' but u. Remember that when ? follows an inherent vowel as in ??? ??? (taj mahal), the 'a' preceding the 'h' becomes an 'e', as in ?? (yeh = this), thus pronounced taj mehal. Thus the transliteration in such cases is deliberate and not a typo! Another noteworthy aberration is ?? (voh = that). Fortunately these are a few of the only words that aren't phonetically pronounced in Hindi. There is also a diphthong -?? which is pronounced as the 'i' in 'high', e.g. ??? (cay) = ''tea'''. And a double consonant isn't just there to look pretty, hold that consonant's sound a little longer. Finally, the final -a is purposefully written without the macron, as this is misleading as to the pronunciation, which is more like a schwa sound. If this were Sanskrit, it would be practical, but not here. Just remember the inherent 'a' is always written at the end of a mas. word in Hindi. The semi-vowel "?" is normally transliterated in Roman as an "r" with a diacritical ring below. This semi-vowel is pronounced like "ri", but slightly trilled as in ''rip''. Unfortunately, the proper Roman diacritic doesn't appear to be supported yet by unicode. It can be found in ???? ????? (sri k???a) - "Lord Krishna"). For now the diacritical bindi (dot) will have to suffice for both of the flapped ''r's''. Ambiguity shouldn't cause too much problems, as the trilled ''r'' in ????? (k???a) or ??? (?i?i) occurs only in Sanskrit loan words, and is very rare in Hindi. In addition; if you are familar with Devanagari, that should resolve any remaining confusion. One of the only stresses found in Hindi, is the last long syllable prior to the last syllable (e.g. in "dhanyavad" stress "dha"). But it is a mild stress which occurs naturally, so don't force it. Don't even think about it! For emphasizing words don't stress them by voice (which would be regarded as a sign of agressiveness) but add a "to" after them. "yeh kya hai?" - "what's this?" / "yeh to kya hai?" - "what is ''this''?". Voice should always be very low and with little changes in pitch, loudness and stress (British speakers must be aware of this especially: their tone sounds extreme to German ears, and in turn, even German sounds extreme to Hindi speakers, so please: ''relax''!). ??????????! / subhkamnaen! / Good luck نك خواہشات۔ / nek khwāhiśāt! / Good luck! ===Vowels=== Each vowel has two forms: an "isolated" form when beginning a word or following another vowel; and another used within a word by use of diacritics called ?????? ''matra''. As an example, the forms used with consonants are placed with the letter ??. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Equivalent !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Within Word |- |?||a||as in '''a'''bout||? |- |?||a||as in f'''a'''ther||?? |- |?||i||as in s'''i'''t||?? |- |?||i||as in el'''i'''te|| ?? |- |?||u||as in p'''u'''t||?? |- |?||ū||as in fl'''u'''te||?? |- |?||ṛ||as in Scottish hea'''r'''d, t'''ri'''p.||?? |- |?||e||long '''e''' as in German "zehn". It is not a diphthong; the tone does not fall.||?? |- |?||ai||as in M'''ai'''l, sometimes a longer ?. In Eastern dialects as in br'''i'''ght (IPA ıj).||?? |- |?||o||as in German K'''oh'''le, not a diphthong; tone does not fall.||?? |- |?||au||as in '''o'''xford. In Eastern dialects as in German l'''au'''ft, or English t'''ow'''n.||?? |} ===Consonants=== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Equivalent/Comments |- |क||k||as in s'''k'''ip. |- |ख||kh||as in sin'''kh'''ole. |- |ग||g||as in '''g'''o. |- |घ||gh||as in do'''gh'''ouse. |- |ङ||?||as in si'''ng'''. Used only in Sanskrit loan words, does not occur independantly. |- |च||c||as in '''ch'''ur'''ch'''. |- |छ||ch||as in pin'''chh'''it. |- |ज||j||as in '''j'''ump. |- |झ||jh||as in do'''dge h'''er. |- |ञ||ñ||as in ca'''ny'''on. Used only in Sanskrit loan words, does not occur independantly. |- |ट||ṭ||as in s'''t'''eer. |- |ठ||ṭ||as in ligh'''th'''ouse. |- |ड||ḍ||as in '''d'''oom. |- |ढ||ḍ||as in mu'''dh'''ut. |- |ण||ṇ||retroflex '''n'''. Used only in Sanskrit loan words. |- |त||t||does not exist in English. more dental '''t'''. |- |थ||th||aspirated version of the previous letter, ''not'' as in '''th'''anks or '''th'''e. |- |द||d||dental '''d'''. |- |ध||dh||aspirated version of the above. |- |न||n||dental '''n'''. |- |प||p||as in s'''p'''in. |- |फ||ph||as in u'''ph'''ill. |- |ब||b||as in '''b'''e. |- |भ||bh||as in a'''bh'''or. |- |म||m||as in '''m'''ere. |- |य||y||as in '''y'''et. |- |र||r ||as in Spanish pe'''r'''o, a tongue trip. Don't roll as in Spanish ''rr'', German or Scottish English. |- |ल||l||as in '''l'''ean. |- |व||v||as in Spanish '''v'''aca, between English '''v''' and '''w''' (IPA: ʋ). |- |श||ś||as in '''sh'''oot. |- |ष||ṣ||almost undistinguishable retroflex of the above. slightly more aspirated. Used only in Sanskrit loan words. |- |स||s||as in '''s'''ee. |- |ह||h||as in '''h'''im. |} ===Foreign Sounds=== Generally, foreign sounds (particularly Arabic and Persian) are written by modifying the closest original Devanagari phoneme. This is most often done by placing a bindu (dot) underneath the corresponding Devanagari letter. Most recently, letters approximating English consonants have been created, but these are used only in techincal fields and translating. In Hindi dictionaries these letters are found under the original Devanagari letter they modify. Though these are technically called "foreign" sounds, they are no more foreign than Norman words like ''bœuf'' have become to English speakers. In this context "foreign" merely means non-Sanskrit, as they have existed in northern India all the way back to the Mughal conquest. The equivalent Arabic letter will appear after its Devanagari variant. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Arabic !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Equivalent/Comments |- |??||?||q||A '''k''' sound said deep in the throat, no English equivalent. |- |??||?||kh||As '''ch''' in Scottish lo'''ch''' or German i'''ch'''. |- |??||?||gh, ğ||A '''g''' sound said deep in the throat. Similar to the French rolled '''r'''. |- |??||?||z||as in '''z'''oo. |- |??||?||f||as in '''f'''or. |} Note: Many Hindi speakers find and hard to pronounce ?? and ?? and say them without the bindu. In addition, some Hindi speakers; especially in certain regions, will pronounce an Arabic or Persian word as it would sound without the dot, e.g.: '''z'''indagi ''life'', is sometimes pronounced '''j'''indagi. Conversly, realize that writing the dot is seen as optional to native speakers, and many publications and commercial signs omit them altogether. There are also special letters for writing sounds unique to Mara?hi (?????) and Tamil (????) in Devanagari, but these are '''''extremely''''' rare. In addition, there are letters from Sanskrit and Pali which were abandoned completely centuries ago - so, if by chance, you come across a letter you don't know, this is probably the reason. However; you won't encounter these in Hindi. ===Modifiers=== ? is used here for demonstrative purposes: {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Name !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Equivalent/Comments |- |??||tan, or 'tã'||candrabindu (lit. moon-dot)||nasalizes the vowel as in French ''sans''. Sometimes shortened to a bindu, in which it can be mistaken for the asunsvara |- |??||taṃ, tan, tam||anusvara (lit. after-sound)||makes the preceding vowel nasal, as in "count" or "Sam" |- |??||taḥ||visarga||produces a "puff" of air after the consonant, and makes the inherent vowel shift towards "e" as in ''jet''. Used in Sanskrit loan words like ???????- ''peace'', ?? - six. |- |??||t||virama||removes the vowel attached to a consonant. |- |??, ??||tă (there is no standard transliteration)||cand||This is a modern invention which shortens or modifies the Devanagari vowel, and is used to write foreign; partucularly English, loan words, e.g. ????? ''flashlight''/''torch''; ??? ??? ''soccer''/''football''. |} ===Ligatures=== One of the things which appears daunting to most beginners are the over 100 conjunct characters. These happen, when two or more consonants are joined together (with no vowel between). Upon seeing all these, the new learner might gasp, thinking that they will have to memorize each one as if they were Chinese ideograms. The good news is, that most of these are quite simple and merely involve dropping the inherent 'a' stem. e.g.: *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? However there are a few special constructions. For many of these, you may also use the previous method though. e.g. *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? (is fairly rare and occurs only in Sanskrit loan words) Most often odd forms arise, in consonants without a stem. e.g. *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? Do not worry to much about conjuncts though, you may always supress the inherent 'a' with a halant. Another thing which causes problems for new learners is the use of ?, which is treated as a vowel as in Hindi it is a "semi-vowel." There are three forms for conjuncting ?, and one for ?: 1. After a consonant with a stem add a slash from the lower half of the stem (top-down, right-left). e.g.: *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? = ??? note: ?+ ? = ??? and ?? + ? = ???. 2. After a vowel and before a consonant ? is written as a small hook (a good mnemonic trick is to picture a stylized lower case ''r''). This conjunct cannot occur alone, nor begin a word. Therefore, an example shall be given within the context of words: *???? ''hot'' *?????? ''only'' *???? ''karma'' (In Sanskrit, the last inherent vowel is not written long as it is in Hindi) If followed by ''a'', ''i'', ''e'', ''o'', or ''ai'' the "hook" is moved one letter to the right, e.g. the name ''Marco'' would be written: ??????. 3. In most letters without stems, the ? is joined to the consonant by placing a circumflex-like diacritic below the letter, e.g.: *?? + ? = ??? *?? + ? + ??? *?? + ? = ??? 4. ? when preceded by a consonant is written as a small hook resembling the Polish ogonek attached to the stem. Only occurs in Sanskrit loan words, most notably the word ''Sanskrit" itself: ???????. Finally, ? has two special forms when followed by '''u''', and '''u''' respectively: *?? ''ru'' *?? ''ru'' ===Punctuation=== Punctuation is the same as in English, except for the period, or ''full stop'' called the ????? ''viram'': "?". When a question is used with a question marker like ???? ''kya'', meaning ''what''; no question mark is needed. In speech when no question marker is used, there is a rise in intonation towards the end of the sentence. Example, ''is he a good boy?'': ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? — kya voh accha la?ka hai? ???? ?? ????? ????? ??? — kya voh accha la?ka hai? ?? ????? ????? ??? — voh accha la?ka hai? ==Pronunciation Guide for Urdu== Urdu; as mentioned earlier, is a modified Perso-Arabic script known as an ''abjad''. An abjad does not write short vowels, except at the beginning of a word with ''alif''' serving as a place holder. This can make it frustrating for the learner as the words ??? ''I'' and ??? ''in'' are both written ??? in Urdu. Urdu is also written in a stylized form of the Arabic script called '''nast'aliq''' (???????). Developed in Persia and still used for religious and poetic calligraphy in Iran today, Urdu in contrast uses it as its standard script. Meaning; if you want to read an Urdu newspaper, street sign, etc. you will have to learn to read nastaliq, which can prove difficult for the beginner. As a result, a simpler style called Naskh (???), as used in other languages using the Arabic abjad will be used for two reasons. 1. to ease the learner into nastaliq, and 2. because unicode does not support nastaliq, thus making #1 somewhat of a moot point, but nonetheless an important one. Vowel diacritics do exist, mostly used to modify the ''alif'' vowel holder at the beginning of a word. But they are also used for educational purposes, in the Qur'an, and for clarifying ambiguous spellings. ===Vowels=== At the beginning of a word ''alif'' serves as a placeholder for the diacritical mark. Due to directional issues with unicode the medial/final occurs before the initial example, and some marks appear to the right, when they should appear ''after'', i.e., to the ''left'' of the letter. Note that when cho?i ye and baṛi ye occur in the middle, both take the ﻴ form. The Hindi transliteration schemes are kept here for continuity and to limit confusion. However; for further reference, in Urdu tranliteration ''ai'' is ''ae'' and ''au'' is ''ao.'' Neither are diphtongs in Urdu as they are in Hindi. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Initial !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Medial/Final !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Name |- |??||??||a||zabar |- |??||??||i||zer |- |??||??||u||pesh |- |?||??||a||alif madda |- |???||???||i||zer + cho?i ye |- |???||???||u||pesh + va'o |- |??||??||e||ba?i ye |- |??||??||o||va'o |- |???||???||ai||zabar + ba?i ye |- |???||???||au||zabar + va'o |- |} ===Consonants=== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Final !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Medial !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Initial !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Isololated !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu Name !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Name |- |ﺎ||ﺎ||?|||?||?||a||????||alif |- |ﺐ||ﺒ||ﺑ||?||?||b||??||be |- |ﭗ||ﭙ||ﭘ||?||?||p||??||pe |- |ﺖ||ﺘ||ﺗ||?||?||t||??||te |- |ﭧ||ﭩ||ﭨ||?||?||?||??||?e |- |ﺚ||ﺜ||ﺛ||?||?||?||??||se |- |ﭻ||ﭽ||ﭼ||?||?||c||??||ce |- |ﺢ||ﺤ||ﺣ||?||?||h||???? ??||baṛi he |- |ﺦ||ﺨ||ﺧ||?||??||kh||??||khe |- |ﺪ||ﺪ||ﺩ||ﺩ||?||d||???||dal |- |ﮉ||ﮉ||ﮈ||ﮈ||?||?||???||?al |- |ﺬ||ﺬ||ﺬ||ﺬ||??||z||???||zal |- |ﺮ||ﺮ||ﺭ||ﺭ||?||r||??||re |- |ﮍ||ﮍ||ﮌ||ﮌ||??||ṛ||??||ze |- |ﺰ||ﺰ||ﺯ||ﺯ||??||z||??||eṛ |- |ﮋ||ﮋ||ﮊ||ﮊ||????||zh||??||zhe |- |ﺲ||ﺴ||ﺳ||ﺱ||?||s||????||sin |- |ﺶ||ﺸ||ﺷ||ﺵ||?||s||????||sin |- |ﺺ||ﺼ||ﺻ||ﺹ||?||s||????||su'ad |- |ﺾ||ﻀ||ﺿ||ﺽ||??||?||????||zu'ad |- |ﻂ||ﻄ||ﻃ||ﻁ||?||t||???||to'e |- |ﻆ||ﻈ||ﻇ||ﻅ||??||z||???||zo'e |- |ﻊ||ﻌ||ﻋ||ﻉ||?||‘a, ?||????||‘ain |- |ﻎ||ﻐ||ﻏ||ﻍ||??||gh||????||ghain |- |ﻒ||ﻔ||ﻓ||ﻑ||??||f||??||fe |- |ﻖ||ﻘ||ﻗ||ﻕ||??||q||????||qaf |- |ﻚ?ﮏ||ﻜ||ﻛ||ﻙ?ﮎ||?||k||????||kaf |- |ﮓ||ﮕ||ﮔ||ﮒ||?||g||????||gaf |- |ﻞ||ﻠ||ﻠ||ﻝ||?||l||????||lal |- |ﻢ||ﻤ||ﻣ||ﻡ||?||m||????||mim |- |ﻦ||ﻨ||ﻧ||ﻥ||?||n||????||nun |- |ﻮ||ﻮ||ﻭ||ﻭ||?||v, o, u||????||va'o |- |ﮧ||ﮩ||ﮨ||ﮦ||?||h||????? ??||cho?i he |- |ﮫ||ﮭ||ﮬ||ﮪ||-||asp.||?? ????? ??||do chasmi he |- |ﺀ||ﺌ||ﺋ||ﺀ||'||-||??????||hamza |- |ﻰ||ﻴ||ﻳ||ﻯ||?, ?||y, i||????? ??||cho?i ye |- |ﮮ||ﻴ||ﻳ||ﮯ||?, ?||y, e||???? ??||baṛi ye |- |} '''So why are there 5 z's, etc.?!''' - The letters ?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,? are exclisively Persian (Farsi) or Arabic sounds. As such; the Arabic sounds especially, are pronounced with the closest Indic equivelent. Thus, to illustrate: the Arabic ? (''?'') is pronounced as ?, and the Arabic ? (''ð'') is pronounced as ?. A rare Urdu letter unique to Farsi and Farsi loan words is ?, which is pronounced as the Russian ''?'', or '''s''' in plea'''s'''ure. ===Aspiration=== To make aspirated letters in Urdu the ''do chashmi he'' is added to the letter it aspirates. The corresponding Devanagari character is shown for additional clarification for those whom are familiar with the Hindi but not the Urdu script. In Nastaliq, the ''do chashmi he'', lit. meaning "two-eyed he" looks like this: ﻬ. Unfortunately unicode only supports this character as it exists in Arabic; therefore the Urdu Naskh will have to suffice. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Final !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Medial !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Initial !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Isolated !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |ﮫﺒ||ﮭﺒ||ﮭﺑ||ﮫﺑ||?||bh |- |ﮫﭙ||ﮭﭙ||ﮭﭘ||ﮫﭘ||?||ph |- |ﮫﺘ||ﮭﺘ||ﮭﺗ||ﮫﺗ||?||th |- |ﮫﭩ||ﮭﭩ||ﮭﭨ||ﮫﭨ||?||?h |- |ﮫﺨ||ﮭﺨ||ﮭﺧ||ﮫﺧ||?||jh |- |ﮫﭽ||ﮭﭽ||ﮭﭼ||ﮫﭼ||?||ch |- |ﮫﺪ||ﮭﺪ||ﮭﺩ||ﮫﺩ||?||dh |- |ﮫﮉ||ﮭﮉ||ﮭﮈ||ﮫﮈ||?||?h |- |ﮫﮍ||ﮭﮍ||ﮭﮌ||ﮫﮌ||??||?h |- |ﮫﮑ||ﮭﮑ||ﮭﮐ||ﮫﮐ||?||kh |- |ﮫﮕ||ﮭﮕ||ﮭﮔ||ﮫﮔ||?||gh |- |} ===Special Characters & Signs=== Special diacritical signs will be used with ? as an example when appropriate. Explanations are given below the table. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Sign !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu Name !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Name |- |?||????? ?????||nun-e ghunna |- |?||??????||hamzah |- |??||???????||i?afat |- |??||???????||tasdid |- ||?ˆ||????;||jazm |- |?ۢ||???? ?????????||alif maqsura |- |?ۢ||????? ?????||kha?a zabar |- |?||?? ??????????||ta marbutah |- |} '''nun-e ghunna''' - The nasalization symbol in Urdu, analogous to Devanagari ?. In medial form a normal ''nun'' is used. '''hamzah''' - Though part of the alphabet, the hamzah is not really a letter. Nor is it exactly a diacritical sign. It is an entity unto itself. It is a vowel seperator similar to the glottal ''‘ain''. It is used often, on a consonantal "seat" in words ending with the irregular polite imperative suffix -iye. Example: ?????/?????? ''liji'e/lijiye (take) is written ﻟﻴﺟﺌ?. '''i?afat''' - Though identical to ''zer'' in appearance is an element borrowed from the Persian ''ezafe''. This is very common in Urdu and unlike ''zer'' is pronounced as a "long" ''e''. It is placed under the last consonant of the adjective which is affecting the noun. Roughly translated as ''of''. It is transliterated as the suffix '''-e''', or '''-e-'''. Example: ???? ?? — zakhm-e-dil — lit. wound of (the) heart, i.e. heartsorrow, or better, German ''Herzeleid''. When the first word ends in a vowel, the ''i?afat'' is written under a hamzah placeholder: ??. '''tasdid''' - A small "w" which doubles the consonant it is written over. However; in verbs, the consonant is written twice. '''jazm''' - Placed over a consonant, it indicates there is no short vowel following it. It looks like a circumflex. '''alif maqsura''' - Used only in Arabic loanwords. Appears over the final ''cho?i ye'' as a superscript alif. Indicates an '''-a''' sound. '''kha?a zabar''' - lit. "standing zabar", also only occurs in Arabic loanwords. Written over a consonant like the above, it indicates an '''a''' after that consonant. Also called a "dagger alif". '''ta marbutah''' - Is the Arabic fem. marker. As such, it only occurs in Arabic loanwords, though is often merely replaced by a ''cho?i he'' or ''te''. ===Special Ligatures=== There are many special ligatures in nast'aliq. Kaf+alif, kaf+lam, gaf+alif, gaf+lam, and many more which unicode does not support. Learn the naskh and you will hopefully be able to spot these on your own with some practice; not to mention ''much'' patience. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Medial/Final !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Isolated !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |ﻼ||ﻻ||la|| |- |} ===Urdu Punctuation=== Except for the final dash, most are as in the Roman alphabet; the comma, semi-colon and question mark being inverted. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Roman !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Punctuation |- |.||۔||period/full stop |- |,||?||comma |- |;||?||semi-colon |- |:||:||colon |- |!||!||exclamation point |- |?||?||question mark |- |} == Grammar == Hindi grammar is quite simple (no, actually it's not: some nouns have more than one case at the same time, you can use nouns and adjectives as postpositions, verbal nouns are sometimes male, sometimes female, and word order is so completely different from Western languages that it drives you crazy in long sentences. And some of the so called cahiye-sentences are so complicated that you won't find them in books like "Teach yourself Hindi"!). Most verbs are regular, with very few exceptions. The tenses are present, continuous present, past and future. (and being-used-to-present, perfect, having-already-done-perfect, future perfect, subjunctive and, and, and ...) Many Indians use English words within Hindi phrases; and some speak a creole "Hinglish." ==Hindi-Urdu Phrases== ===Cultural Notes=== '''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, -i. However; when addressing the person respectively with ?? ''ap'', the mas. 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 ?? is also both the respectful 2nd person pronoun ''and'' plural form of address. The other two forms are the famliar ??? ''tum'' and intimate ?? ''tū''. These change the forms of certain words. ??? is for friends and peers.?? for small children (wihin 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 ??, until you become more familiar with the language and culture. Forget about ?? 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 ?? form. On a similar note ??, meaning both ''we'' and the "royal" ''I'' are often used interchangebly by native speakers. To keep things simple and avoid confusion, only ??? will be used here. '''Greetings:''' There are no time elemental greetings in Hindi such as good morning, good afternoon, etc. And each religion has their own greetings. It is considered very polite to address a person by their respective greetings, but not necessary. ''Namaste'' is the most ubiquitous greeting, and though of Hindu origin is now mostly secular. It is said with hands folded and a small gesture of bowing - but don't go overboard Japanese style! Namaste literally means "I bow to you." Namaste can be described as the "aloha" of India, as it is used both for Hello and Goodbye. The original religious significance was of bowing to the soul (''atma'') within another. ''Namaskar'' has the same meaning, but is seldom used in Hindi, though it is common in other Indian languages such as Gujarati and Bengali. Namaskar is thought of as more formal, and as such is used more often when addressing a group. The Sikhs also fold their hands and bow, but have their own greetings. ''Sat śri akal'' is the most common, which comes from the Punjabi ?? ????? ???? meaning "God alone is Truth." Though Sikhism is mostly centered in the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan, Punjabi greetings are used by Sikhs all over the world, as Punjabi (??????) is the language of the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Scripture. A longer, more formal greeting used exclusively between Sikhs is the greeting proscribed by Sri Guru Gobind Singh (the 10th and final Guru of Sikhism): ''vahegurū ji ka khalsa, vahegurū ji fateh'' from the Punjabi ???????? ?? ?? ?????, ???????? ?? ?? ????, meaning "(The) Khalsa (a 'baptized' Sikh) belongs to God and to God alone belongs Victory." In Pakistan, an Islamic Republic, the most common greeting will be ''as-salam 'alaikum'' (?????? ?????) meaning "peace be upon you." In India which has a large Muslim minority this is hardly an uncommon greeting either, especially in Muslim quarters. As-salam 'alaikum, of course, is the traditional Arabic greeting proscribed in the Qur'an (24:61, &c.), and is used throughout the Muslim world. The obligatory reply is walaikum as-salam, meaning "and peace be upon you (too)." As-salam 'alaikum is used both when meeting and parting as the Hindu and Sikh greetings are. Often times this formal greeting is shortened simply to ''salam''. A more secular Urdu greeting is ''adab''. Adab is customarily accompanied by touching the forehead with your right hand and slightly nodding considerately. When adab is used; upon parting, goodbye can be said a couple of ways: ''khuda hafiz'', or ''Allah hafiz''; both meaning "may God protect you." After meeting someone for the first time ''apse milkar bahut khuśi hui.'' is often said, meaning "after meeting you much happiness has happened (to me)." '''Civilities:''' In European 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 South Asians. Saying such phrases in an inappropriate circumstance might even embarass 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. An exception is ''sukriya'', derived from Arabic ً????, which can be used a bit more casually. Sometimes English words themselves are used; due to the British colonial influence, especially in urban areas and among the upperclass. In this case use them as you would in English. Just remember that like Germans, and the French, they 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 and Urdu have corresponding words to ours, does not meant that the context in which they are used also correspond to each other. Don't let all of this lead you to believe South Asians are cold though. These sentiments are merely communicated through body language rather than verbal. 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 the subcontinent, 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. '''Accha!:''' One of the most useful words to know is ''accha''. It is both an adjective and interjection. Its meanings include (but are not limited to!): good, excellent, healthy, well, OK, really?, awesome!, hmm..., a-ha!, etc.! If you learn no other word, learn this one. Another common adj. and interj. is ''?hik hai''. It is used in the same manner, meaning: OK/all right, yes/understood (affirmation), right/correct, etc. Sometimes shortened to ''?hik''. '''Prefixes & Suffixes:''' With the words for ''yes'' and ''no'' ?? ''ji'' may be added before to give it a more polite tone. Sometimes speakers will simply reply with ??, as an affirmation of something someone says. ?? is added to a person's name as a sign of respect. For example; in India Mahatma Gandhi is known simply as ???????. There are also a number of Urdu words which show respect in the same manner. Another suffix which is indispensible is -????. Many books devote whole chapters to vala. With nouns it gives the meaning "the one or thing that does" and with verbs, it indicates something is about to happen. Examples: * noun - ????? ''dukan'', shop + -???? = ?????????, shopkeeper. * verb - ??? ''ana'', to come + -???? = ... ??????? ??, (the) ... is coming '''English Loan Words:''' Much like Persian once was, the British Empire's influence spread into the language itself. And today, with American culture being exported throughout the world, 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. Upon meeting an Indian or Pakistani, many times you may not even get to practice your Hindi or Urdu, because they want to practice ''their'' English on ''you''! 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. ===Basics=== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|English !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |Hello||????||????||helo |- |Hello/Goodbye (Hindu)||??????||?????||namaste |- |Hello (Hindu, more formal)||???????||??????||namaskar |- |Hello (Hindu, colloquial)||??? ???||??? ???||ram ram |- |Hello/Goodbye (Sikh)||?? ???? ????||?? ??? ????||sat śri akal |- |Hello/Goodbye (Sikh, formal)||???????? ?? ?? ??????||?????? ?? ?? ??????||vahegurū ji ka khalsa |- |Hello/Goodbye (Sikh, reply)||???????? ?? ?? ????||?????? ?? ?? ???||vahegurū ji ki fateh |- |Hello/Goodbye (Muslim)||??????? ??????||?????? ?????||assalam ‘alaikum |- |Hello/Goodbye (Muslim, reply)||??????? ???????||?????? ??????||valaikum assalam |- |Hello/Goodbye (Muslim, colloq.)||????||????||salam |- |Hello (Urdu)||????||????||adab |- |Goodbye (Urdu, Muslim)||????? ???????||??? ????||khuda hafiz |- |Goodbye (Urdu, Muslim)||?????? ???????||???? ????||Allah hafiz |- |See you later||??? ???????||??? ??????||phir milenge |- |How are you?||?? ????/???? ????||?? ????\???? ????||ap kaise/kaisi hain? |- |How are you? (Urdu, lit. are you well?)||?? ??????? ?? ???||?? ????? ?? ???||ap khairiyat se hai? |- |I am fine||??? ??? ???||??? ???? ???||main ?hik hun |- |OK/fine (colloq.)||??? ??||???? ??||ṭhik hai |- |Fine, and you? (more formal reply)||?? ?? ???????||?? ?? ???ﺋ??||bas ap sunaiye |- |Fine, and you? (more formal reply)||???? ??? ??||?? ?? ??? ??||apki dua hai |- |What is your name?||???? ??? ???? ???||?? ?? ??? ??? ???||apka nam kya hai? |- |My name is ___ .||???? ??? ___ ???||???? ??? ___ ??۔||mera nam ___ hai. |- |Nice to meet you (formal).||???? ????? ???? ????? ????||???? ???? ??? ??? ??ﺋ?||apse milkar bahut khusi hui |- |Nice to meet you too (reply).||???? ??||???? ???||mujhe bhi |- |Yes||???||???||han |- |No/not||????||????||nahin |- |Do you speak English?||???? ????????? ??? ???||?? ?? ??????? ??? ???||apko angrezi ati hai? |- |Is there someone here who speaks English?||???? ???? ?? ????????? ??? ???||??? ??? ?? ??????? ??? ???||kya kisi ko angrezi ati hai? |- |I don't speak Hindi/Urdu?||???? ??????/????? ???? ??? ???||???? ????\???? ???? ??? ??۔||mujhe hindi/urdū nahin |- |I can't speak Hindi/Urdu||??? ??????/????? ???? ??? ???? ????||??? ????\???? ???? ??? ???? ???۔||main hindi/urdū nahin bol sakta hūn. |- |I speak some Hindi/Urdu.||???? ??? ??????/????? ??? ???||???? ??ھ ????\???? ??? ??۔||mujhe kuch hindi/urdū ati hai? |- |I don't understand.||??? ????/???? ?????||۔??? ?????\????? ????||main samjha/samjhi nahin |- |Speak more slowly||???? ???? ??????||????? ????? ??ﻟﺌ?||dhire dhire boliye |- |Speak more slowly (Urdu)||?????? ??????? ??????||????? ????? ??ﻟﺌ?||ahista ahista boliye |- |Come again?||???????||?????||firse? |- |What does "..." mean?||"..." ?? ???? ??? ???||?? ???? ??? ??? "..."||"..." ka matlab kya hai? |- |How do you say "..."?||"..." ???? ???? ????||???? ???? ???? "..."||"..." kaise kehte hain? |- |Where are you from?||?? ???? ?? ????||?? ???? ?? ????||ap kahan se hain? |- |I'm from ...||??? ... ?? ???||??? ... ?? ???||main ... se hun |- |Please (Hindi)||?????||?????||kṛp-ya |- |Please (Urdu)||???????? ?? ??||??????? ?? ??||mehrbani kar se |- |Thank you (Hindi)||???????||???????||dhanyavad |- |Thank you||????????||?????||sukriya |- |Thank you||???????||???????||thainkyu |- |Thank you very much||???? ???? ...||... ??? ???||bahut bahut ... |- |You're welcome||???? ?????? ??||?? ?? ????? ??||apka svagat hai |- |You're welcome (lit. don't mention it)||??? ??? ????||??ﺋ? ??? ????||koi bat nahin |- |Excuse me (getting s.o.'s attention)||???? ??????||??? ﺳﻨﺌ?||zara suniye |- |Pardon me (Hindi)||????? ??????||-||k?ama kijiye |- |Pardon me/I'm sorry||???? ??????||??? ﻛﺠﺌ?||maf kijiye |- |Where is the toilet?||?????? ???? ???||??ﺌ??? ???? ???||?ayale? kahan hai? |- |Where is the toilet? (Hindi)||?????? ???? ???||????ﺌ? ???? ???||saucalay kahan hai? |- |Where is the toilet? (Urdu)||?????????? ???? ??||??????? ???? ???||ghasalkhana? |- |Good!, really?, nice, etc.||?????||????||accha |- |Just one minute||?? ????||??? ???||ek mina? |- |Sure||?????||????||?arur |- |} ===Forms of Address=== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|English !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration|| |- |-Ji (''q.v. ut supra''||??||??||ji|| |- |Mr.||??????||????||mis?ar|| |- ||Mrs.||??????||???||misez|| |- ||Mr. (Hindu)||????||???||sri|| |- ||Mrs. (Hindu)||???????||??????||srimati|| |- ||Mr. (Sikh < P. ?????)||?????||?????||sardar|| |- ||Mr. (Muslim)||????||????||saheb|| |- ||Mrs. (Muslim)||??????||?????||saheba|| |- |Sir (Urdu)||????||????||janab|| |- |Sir (Urdu)||??????||????||huzur|| |- |Sir (Urdu)||?????||????||miyan|| |- |} ===Problems=== ; Leave me alone. : ???? ????? ??? ?? ? (''mujhe akela chod do'') ; Don't touch me! : ???? ?? ???? ? (''mujhe chuna mat'' / mujhe mat chuo) ; I'll call the police. : I'll call the police. ????? ?? ????? ??? ? (''police ko bulata hum'') ; Police! : Police! ????? ! ????? ! (''police ! police !'') ; Stop! Thief! : ???? ! ??? ! (''rukho! chor!'') ; I need your help. : ???? ???? ????? ?????? ? (''mujhe apki sahayta chahie'') ; It's an emergency. : ?????? ?? ? (''musibat hai'') ; I'm lost. : I'm lost. ??? ????? ??? ??? ? (''me rasta bul gaya'') ; I lost my bag. : ???? ??? ??? ?? ??? ? (''mera bag gum ho gaya'') ; I lost my wallet. : ???? ???? ??? ?? ??? ? (''mera purse gum ho gaya'') ; I'm sick. : ???? ????? ?? ? (''mujhe bukhar hai'') ; I've been injured. : ???? ??? ??? ?? ? (''muche chot lagi hai'') ; I need a doctor. : ???? ????? ?????? ? (''muche doctor chahie'') ; Can I use your phone? : ??? ?? ????? ??? ? (''phone kar sakta hum ?'') ===Numbers=== 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="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Roman !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Devanagari !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Arabic |- |0||?||?|| |- |1||?||?|| |- |2||?||?|| |- |3||?||?|| |- |4||?||?|| |- |5||?||?|| |- |6||?||?|| |- |7 ||?||?|| |- |8 ||?||?|| |- |9 ||?||? |} Note: Though Urdu nastaliq is written right-left, as in Arabic, numbers are written left-right. Hindi-Urdu numbers ending in 9 are named as "un" (-1) plus the next multiple of ten. Instead of naming powers of a thousand, Hindi-Urdu 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. {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Numeral !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |0||?????||sifr|| |- |1||??||ek|| |- |2||??||do|| |- |3||???||tīn|| |- |4||???||char|| |- |5||????||pānc|| |- |6||??, ??, ??||cheh, chai, cheḥ) |- |7||???||sat|| |- |8||??||aṭh|| |- |9||??||nau|| |- |10||??||das|| |- |11||??????||gyareh|| |- |12||????||bareh|| |- |13||????||tereh|| |- |14||????||caudeh|| |- |15||??????||pandreh|| |- |16||????||soleh|| |- |17||?????||satreh|| |- |18||?????||aṭhareh|| |- |19||??????||unnis|| |- |20||???||bis|| |- |21||??्???||ikkis|| |- |22||????||bais|| |- |23||????||teis|| |- |29||?????||untis|| |- |30||???||tis|| |- |31||???????||ikttis|| |- |39||???????||untalis|| |- |40||?????||calis|| |- |41||???????||iktalis|| |- |42||??????||bayalis|| |- |43||??ं????||taintalis|| |- |44||??????||cavalis|| |- |45||??ं?????||paintalis|| |- |46||???????||chiyalis|| |- |47||??ं?????||saintalis|| |- |48||?ड़?????||aṛtalis|| |- |49||?????||uncas|| |- |50||????||pacas|| |- |51||??्????||ikyavan |- |52||????||bavan|| |- |53|| ?????||tirpan|| |- |54||?ौ??||cauvan|| |- |55||????||pacpan|| |- |56||??्??||chappan|| |- |57||??्????||sattavan|| |- |58||??्????||aṭṭhavan|| |- |59||????||unsaṭh|| |- |60||???||saṭh|| |- |61||????||iksaṭh|| |- |62||????||basaṭh|| |- |63||?????||tirsaṭh|| |- |64||?ौं??||cainsaṭh|| |- |65||??ं??||painsaṭh|| |- |66||??????||chiyasaṭh|| |- |67||????||sarsaṭh|| |- |68||?ड़??||aṛsaṭh|| |- |69||???्???||unhattar|| |- |70||??्??||sattar|| |- |71||????्??||ik-hattar|| |- |72||???्??||behattar|| |- |73||????्??||tihattar|| |- |74||?्??्??||cauhattar |- |75||????्??||pac-hattar|| |- |76||????्??||chihattar|| |- |77||????्??||sat-hattar|| |- |78||????्??||aṭhhattar|| |- |79||??्????||unyasi|| |- |80||??्?? ||assi|| |- |81||??्????||ikyasi|| |- |82||?????||bayasi|| |- |83||?????||tirasi|| |- |84||?ौ????||caurasi |- |85||?????||pacasi|| |- |86||??????||chiyasi|| |- |87||???्????||sattasi|| |- |88||??्????||aṭṭhasi|| |- |89||?????||navasi|| |- |90||??्??||nabbe|| |- |91||??्?????||ikyanave|| |- |92||??????||banave|| |- |93||???????||tiranave|| |- |94||?ौ?????||cauranave|| |- |95||??????||pacanave|| |- |96||???????||chiyanave|| |- |97||??्?????||sattanave|| |- |98||??्?????||aṭṭhanave|| |- |99||???्?????||ninyanave|| |- |100||??||sau|| |- |200||?? ??||do sau|| |- |300||??? ??||tin sau|| |- |1000||?????||hazar|| |- |2000||?? ?????||do hazar|| |- ||3000||??? ?????||tin hazar|| |- |1,00,000||???||lakh|| |- |1,00,00,000||?????||karoṛ|| |- |1,00,00,00,000||???||arab|| |- |1,00,00,00,00,000||?||(''sunkh'')? |- |number _____ (''train, bus, etc.'')||??ं? _____ ?????, ??, ...||nambar _____ ṭren, bas, ...|| |- |1 half||???||adha|| |- |less||??||kam|| |- |more||???????||zyada|| |} ===Time=== {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|English !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |now||??, ???||??? ????||ab, abhi|| |- |later||??? ???||??? ???||bad men|| |- |before||????||????||pehle|| |- |morning||????, ?????||???? ?????||subeh, savera|| |- |afternoon||?????||?? ???||dopehar; sa pehar|| |- |evening||???||???||sham|| |- |night||???||???||rat|| | |} ====Clock time==== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|English !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |one o'clock AM||??? ??? ?? ???||??? ??? ??? ???||rat men ek baje|| |- |two o'clock AM||??? ??? ?? ???||??? ??? ?? ???||rat men do baje|| |- |noon||?????||?????||dopehar|| |- |one o'clock PM||????? ?? ???||????? ??? ???||dopehar ek baje|| |- |two o'clock PM||????? ?? ???||???? ?? ???||dopehar do baje|| |- |midnight||??? ???||???? ???||adhi|| |} ====Duration==== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|English !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |minute||???||???||mina?|| |- |hour||????||?????? ???||ghan?a; vaqt|| |- |day||???, ???||??? ???||din, roz|| |- |week||??????||????||hafta|| |- |month||?????||?????||mehina|| |- |year||???||???? ??||sal; san|| |} ====Days==== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|English !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |Today||??||??||aj|| |- |Yesterday/Tomorrow (depends on context/tense)||??||??||kal|| |- |Week||??????||????||hafta|| |- |This week||?? ??????||?? ????||is hafte|| |- |Last week||????? ??????||???? ????||pichle hafte|| |- |Next week||???? ??????||???? ????||agle hafte|| |- |Two weeks||?? ??????||?? ????||do hafte|| |- |Month||?????||?????||mahina|| |} The Hindu days of the week are each ruled by a planet, and corresponding exactly to ancient cultures in the West, i.e. Sunday = Ravivar (Lord of the Sun's day [lit. time or period]). Thursday/O.N. Thor's day = Guruvar (Lord of Jupiter's day), Saturday/Saturn's day = Shani'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. -???, meaning ''day, time, or period'' is often dropped colloquially. The Urdu word for Thursday means Friday eve. The Urdu word for Friday is from Arabic and is the Holy day of the Muslim week when Muslims go to their Mosques and pray. The day after this is "hafta" thereby marking the week. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Day !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |Sunday||?????/??????||?????||itvar, ravivar (Sun)|| |- |Monday||??????||???||somvar (Moon); pir|| |- |Tuesday||???????||????||mangalvar (Mars); mangal|| |- |Wednesday||??????||??ھ||budhvar (Mercury); budh|| |- |Thursday||???????/???????????||??????||guruvar (Jupiter)/bṛhaspitvar; jum'arat|| |- |Friday||????????||????||sukravar (Venus); jum'a|| |- |Saturday||??????||????||sanivar (Saturn); hafta|| |- |} ====Months==== India has three main calanders in use, though other groups like the Parsis have their own calendar as well. The Western (Gregorian) calander is used for day to day and business affairs, and the other two are used by their respective religious communities. =====Gregorian Calander===== {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Name !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |January||?????||?????||janvari|| |- |February||??????||?????||farvari|| |- |March||?????||????||marc|| |- |April||??????||?????||aprail|| |- |May||??||ﻣﺌ?||mai|| |- |June||???||???||jun|| |- |July||?????||????ﺋ?||julai|| |- |August||?????||????||agast|| |- |September||???????||?????||sitambar|| |- |October||???????||??????||aktubar|| |- |November||??????||?????||navambar|| |- |December||???????||?????||disambar|| |- |} =====Hindu Calander===== The Hindu Calander (?????? ?????) 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 calander add 57 years. Today the Hindu Calander 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. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Name !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|? of Days !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Gregorian Equivalent |- |Cait||???||30||(March - April)|| |- |Baisakh||?????||31||(April - May)|| |- |Je?h||???||31||(May - June)|| |- |Asaṛh||?????||days||June-July|| |- |Savan||????||31||(July-August)|| |- |Bhadon||?????||31||(August-September)|| |- |Kvar||?????||30||(September-October)|| |- |Katik||?????||30||(October-November)|| |- |Aghan||????||30||(November-December)|| |- |Pus||???||30||(December-January)|| |- |Magh||???||30||(January-February)|| |- |Phagun||?????||30||(February-March)|| |- |Malmas||?????||?||?|| |- |} =====Islamic Calendar===== Also a lunisolar Calendar. The observation of Ramadan can be from September to December. Months are usually 29-30 days long. The Calendar dates from the hijra, or migration, of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. The abbreviation for Muslim dates is AH (''anno Hegiræ''). When writing in Urdu, the word ????, ''hijri'' should precede the date. Note that these are written and pronounced slightly different from the original Arabic. {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Arabic Transliteration !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Arabic Name |- |Muharram||????? |- |Safar||??? |- |Rabi al-Avval||???? ?????? |- |Rabi‘ As-sani||???? ?????? |- |Jumadi al-Awwal||????? ?????? |- |Jumadi As-sani||????? ?????? |- |Rajab||??? |- |Saban||????? |- |Ramzan||????? |- |Savval||????? |- |Zi Qada||?? ???? |- |Zi al-Hijjah||?? ????? |- |} ====Writing Time and Date==== Give some examples how to write clock times and dates if it differs from English. ===Colors=== {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="1" !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Color !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Hindi !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Urdu !bgcolor=#EEEEEE|Transliteration |- |color||???||???||rang|| |- |colorful||????????||?????????||rangabirangi|| |- |colorless||?????||?????||berang|| |- |black||????||????? ????||kala, siah|| |- |white||?????||????||safed|| |- |red||???||???? ???||lal, surkh|| |- |pink, rosy||??????||?????||gulabi|| |- |orange||??????||??????||narangi, naranji (also the fruit)|| |- |saffron||???????||??????||kesiraya|| |- |yellow||????||????? ???||pila, zard|| |- |green||???||???? ???||hara, sabz (sabzi = vegetables)|| |- |blue||????||????? ??????||nila, asmani|| |- |turquoise||????????||?????||firozi||| |- |purple||??????||?????||baingani, jamni|| |- |brown||????||?????? ????||bhūra, khaki|| |- |gray||??????||????||sleṭi, surma'i|| |- |golden||??????||?????? ????||sunhara, sunehra, zarin (gold = sona)|| |- |silver||?????||?????||candi (also the metal)|| |- |shiny||??????||??????||camkila|| |- |deep, dark||????||????||gehra|| |- |pale, light||?????||????||halka|| |- |} ===Transportation=== ====Bus and Train==== ; How much is a ticket to _____? : How much is a ticket to _____? (''...'') ; One ticket to _____, please. : One ticket to _____, please. (''...'') ; Where does this train/bus go? : Where does this train/bus go? (''...'') ; Where is the train/bus to _____? : Where is the train/bus to _____? (''...'') ; Does this train/bus stop in _____? : Does this train/bus stop in _____? (''...'') ; When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : When does the train/bus for _____ leave? (''...'') ; When will this train/bus arrive in _____? : When will this bus arrive in _____? (''...'') ====Directions==== ; How do I get to _____ ? : How do I get to _____ ? (''...'') ; ...the train station? : ...the train station? (''...'') ; ...the bus station? : ...the bus station? (''...'') ; ...the airport? : ...the airport? (''...'') ; ...downtown? : ...downtown? (''...'') ; ...the youth hostel? : ...the youth hostel? (''...'') ; ...the _____ hotel? : ...the _____ hotel? (''...'') ; ...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate? : ...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate? (''...'') ; Where are there a lot of... : Where are there a lot of... (''...'') ; ...hotels? : ...hotels? (''...'') ; ...restaurants? : ...restaurants? (''...'') ; ...bars? : ...bars? (''...'') ; ...sites to see? : ...sites to see? (''...'') ; Can you show me on the map? : Can you show me on the map? (''...'') ; street : street (''...'') ; Turn left. : (''bhain se murnah'') ; Turn right. : (''dhain se murnah'') ; left : (''bhain'') ; right : (''dhain'') ; straight ahead : straight ahead (''...'') ; towards the _____ : towards the _____ (''...'') ; past the _____ : past the _____ (''...'') ; before the _____ : before the _____ (''...'') ; Watch for the _____. : Watch for the _____. (''...'') ; intersection : intersection (''...'') ; north : (''uttar/parbat'') ; south : (''dakshin/dakhan'') ; east : (''purabh/chardeh'') ; west : (''pashchim/lendeh'') ; uphill : (''charahi'') ; downhill : (''talahi'') ====Taxi==== ; Taxi! : Taxi! (''...'') ; Take me to _____, please. : Take me to _____, please. (''...'') ; How much does it cost to get to _____? : How much does it cost to get to _____? (''...'') ; Take me there, please. : Take me there, please. (''...'') ===Lodging=== ; Do you have any rooms available? : Do you have any rooms available? (''...'') ; How much is a room for one person/two people? : How much is a room for one person/two people? (''...'') ; Does the room come with... : Does the room come with... (''...'') ; ...bedsheets? : ...bedsheets? (''...'') ; ...a bathroom? : ...a bathroom? (''...'') ; ...a telephone? : ...a telephone? (''...'') ; ...a TV? : ...a TV? (''...'') ; May I see the room first? : May I see the room first? (''...'') ; Do you have anything quieter? : Do you have anything quieter? (''...'') ; ...bigger? : ...bigger? (''...'') ; ...cleaner? : ...cleaner? (''...'') ; ...cheaper? : ...cheaper? (''...'') ; OK, I'll take it. : OK, I'll take it. (''...'') ; I will stay for _____ night(s). : I will stay for _____ night(s). (''...'') ; Can you suggest another hotel? : Can you suggest another hotel? (''...'') ; Do you have a safe? : Do you have a safe? (''...'') ; ...lockers? : ...lockers? (''...'') ; Is breakfast/supper included? : Is breakfast/supper included? (''...'') ; What time is breakfast/supper? : What time is breakfast/supper? (''...'') ; Please clean my room. : Please clean my room. (''...'') ; Can you wake me at _____? | Can you wake me at _____? (''...'') ; I want to check out. : I want to check out. (''...'') ===Money=== ; Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? : Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? (''...'') ; Do you accept British pounds? : Do you accept British pounds? (''...'') ; Do you accept credit cards? : Do you accept credit cards? (''...'') ; Can you change money for me? : Can you change money for me? (''...'') ; Where can I get money changed? : Where can I get money changed? (''...'') ; Can you change a traveler's check for me? : Can you change a traveler's check for me? (''...'') ; Where can I get a traveler's check changed? : Where can I get a traveler's check changed? (''...'') ; What is the exchange rate? : What is the exchange rate? (''...'') ; Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)? : Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)? (''...'') ===Eating=== ; A table for one person/two people, please. : A table for one person/two people, please. (''...'') ; Can I look at the menu, please? : Can I look at the menu, please? (''...'') ; Can I look in the kitchen? : Can I look in the kitchen? (''...'') ; Is there a house specialty? : Is there a house specialty? (''...'') ; Is there a local specialty? : Is there a local specialty? (''...'') ; I'm a vegetarian. : I'm a vegetarian. (''...'') ; I don't eat pork. : I don't eat pork. (''...'') ; I don't eat beef. : I don't eat beef. (''...'') ; I only eat kosher food. : I only eat kosher food. (''...'') ; Can you make it "lite", please? (''less oil/butter/lard'') : Can you make it "lite", please? (''...'') ; fixed-price meal : fixed-price meal (''...'') ; a la carte : a la carte (''...'') ; breakfast : (''nashta'') ; lunch : lunch (''...'') ; tea (''meal'') : tea (''...'') ; supper : supper (''...'') ; I want _____. : I want _____. (''...'') ; I want a dish containing _____. : I want a dish containing _____. (''...'') ; chicken : chicken (''...'') ; beef : beef (''...'') ; fish : fish (''...'') ; ham : ham (''...'') ; sausage : sausage (''...'') ; cheese : cheese (''...'') ; eggs : eggs (''...'') ; salad : salad (''...'') ; (fresh) vegetables : (''sabzhi'') ; (fresh) fruit : (fresh) fruit (''...'') ; bread : bread (''...'') ; toast : toast (''...'') ; noodles : noodles (''...'') ; rice : (''chaaval'') ; beans : beans (''...'') ; May I have a glass of _____? : May I have a glass of _____? (''...'') ; May I have a cup of _____? : May I have a cup of _____? (''...'') ; May I have a bottle of _____? : May I have a bottle of _____? (''...'') ; coffee : coffee (''...'') ; tea (''drink'') : tea (''...'') ; juice : juice (''...'') ; (bubbly) water : water (''...'') ; water : (''paani'') ; beer : beer (''...'') ; red/white wine : red/white wine (''...'') ; May I have some _____? : May I have some _____? (''...'') ; salt : salt (''namak'') ; black pepper : black pepper (''...'') ; butter : butter (''...'') ; Excuse me, waiter? (''getting attention of server''): Excuse me, waiter? (''...'') ; I'm finished. : I'm finished. (''...'') ; It was delicious. : It was delicious. (''badhiya tha'') ; Please clear the plates. : Please clear the plates. (''...'') ; The check, please. : The check, please. (''...'') ===Bars=== ; Do you serve alcohol? : Do you serve alcohol? (''...'') ; Is there table service? : Is there table service? (''...'') ; A beer/two beers, please. : A beer/two beers, please. (''...'') ; A glass of red/white wine, please. : A glass of red/white wine, please. (''...'') ; A pint, please. : A pint, please. (''...'') ; A bottle, please. : A bottle, please. (''...'') ; _____ (''hard liquor'') and _____ (''mixer''), please. : _____ and _____, please. (''...'') ; whiskey : whiskey (''...'') ; vodka : vodka (''...'') ; rum : rum (''...'') ; water : water (''...'') ; club soda : club soda (''...'') ; tonic water : tonic water (''...'') ; orange juice : orange juice (''...'') ; Coke (''soda'') : Coke (''...'') ; Do you have any bar snacks? : Do you have any bar snacks? (''...'') ; One more, please. : One more, please. (''...'') ; Another round, please. : Another round, please. (''...'') ; When is closing time? : When is closing time? (''...'') ===Shopping=== ; Do you have this in my size? : Do you have this in my size? (''...'') ; How much is this? : How much is this? (''...'') ; That's too expensive. : That's too expensive. (''...'') ; Would you take _____? : Would you take _____? (''...'') ; expensive : expensive (''...'') ; cheap : cheap (''...'') ; I can't afford it. : I can't afford it. (''...'') ; I don't want it. : I don't want it. (''...'') ; You're cheating me. : You're cheating me. (''...'') ; I'm not interested. : I'm not interested. (..) ; OK, I'll take it. : OK, I'll take it. (''...'') ; Can I have a bag? : Can I have a bag? (''...'') ; Do you ship (overseas)? : Do you ship (overseas)? (''...'') ; I need... : I need... (''...'') ; ...toothpaste. : ...toothpaste. (''...'') ; ...a toothbrush. : ...a toothbrush. (''...'') ; ...tampons. : ...tampons. (''...'') ; ...soap. : ...soap. (''...'') ; ...shampoo. : ...shampoo. (''...'') ; ...pain reliever. (''e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen'') : ...pain reliever. (''...'') ; ...cold medicine. : ...cold medicine. (''...'') ; ...stomach medicine. : ...stomach medicine. (''...'') ; ...a razor. : ...a razor. (''...'') ; ...an umbrella. : ...an umbrella. (''...'') ; ...sunblock lotion. : ...sunblock lotion. (''...'') ; ...a postcard. : ...a postcard. (''...'') ; ...postage stamps. : ...postage stamps. (''...'') ; ...batteries. : ...batteries. (''...'') ; ...writing paper. : ...writing paper. (''...'') ; ...a pen. : ...a pen. (''...'') ; ...English-language books. : ...English-language books. (''...'') ; ...English-language magazines. : ...English-language magazines. (''...'') ; ...an English-language newspaper. : ...an English-language newspaper. (''...'') ; ...an English-English dictionary. : ...an English-English dictionary. (''...'') ===Driving=== ; I want to rent a car. : I want to rent a car. (''...'') ; Can I get insurance? : Can I get insurance? (''...'') ; stop (''on a street sign'') : stop (''...'') ; one way : one way (''...'') ; yield : yield (''...'') ; no parking : no parking (''...'') ; speed limit : speed limit (''...'') ; gas (''petrol'') station : gas station (''...'') ; petrol : petrol (''...'') ; diesel : diesel (''...'') ===Authority=== ; I haven't done anything wrong. : I haven't done anything wrong. (''...'') ; It was a misunderstanding. : It was a misunderstanding. (''...'') ; Where are you taking me? : Where are you taking me? (''...'') ; Am I under arrest? : Am I under arrest? (''...'') ; I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. : I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. (''...'') ; I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate. : I need to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate. (''...'') ; I want to talk to a lawyer. : I want to talk to a lawyer. (''...'') ; Can I just pay a fine now? : Can I just pay a fine now? (''...'') ==Learning more== ===Sites=== *[http://www.travlang.com/languages/index.html Foreign Languages for Travelers] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/Hindi Wikipedia:Hindi] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/Urdu Wikipedia:Urdu] *[http://www.omniglot.com/hindi.htm Omniglot Hindi] *[http://www.omniglot.com/urdu.htm Omniglot Urdu] *[http://www.ancientscripts.com/devanagari.html Ancient Scripts: Devanagari] *[http://www.avashy.com/hindiscripttutor.htm Avashy Hindi Script Tutor] *[http://sanskrit.claude-marillier.net/alpha.html Calligraphier la Devanâgarî] *[http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/hindi/alphabet/ Hindi Alphabet at UPenn] - Real Audio of Hindi alphabet. *[http://users.skynet.be/hugocoolens/newurdu/newurdu.html Hugo's Urdu Alphabet Pages] *[http://www.pakdata.com/alif/ Urdu Alphabet Tutor] *[http://www.ukindia.com/zhin001.htm Ukindia Learn to Read Hindi] *[http://www.ukindia.com/zurdu1.htm Ukindia Learn to Read Urdu] - in Nastaliq *[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/digbooks/dig_toc.html?BOOKID=PK1983.N2_1999_V1 ''Introductory Urdu''; Vol. I by C.M. Naim] - From Universty of Chicago's Digital South Asia Library *[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/digbooks/dig_toc.html?BOOKID=PK1983.N2_1999_V2 ''Introductory Urdu''; Vol. II by C.M. Naim] - ibid. *[http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/mideast/hindi/ Virtual Hindi] beginner-advanced] - with multimedia *[http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/hindilinks.html Hindi Language Resources] ====Online Dictionaries==== *[http://wwww.wordanywhere.com/ WordAnywhere.com] - Hindi Dictionary *[http://www.urduword.com/ UrduWord.com] *[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/platts/ A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi, and English] *[http://www.ebazm.com/dictionary.htm eBazm.com Urdu Dictionary] - English/Hindi-Urdu *[http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~navin/india/urdu.dictionary Dinesh Prabhu's Urdu-English Word List ] ====Advanced==== *[http://www.ncsu.edu/project/hindi_lessons/ A Door into Hindi] - with multimedia *[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pehook/mindex.html Mellon Project at U of Mich] *[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/digbooks/dig_toc.html?BOOKID=PK1975.N18 ''Readings in Urdu: prose and poetry'' by C.M. Naim] - from the DSAL *[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/digbooks/dig_toc.html?BOOKID=PK2097.P87A15_1965 ''A Premchand Reader'' by Norman H. Zide] - from the DSAL *[http://www.webdunia.com/ Webdunia] - Hindi Web Portal *[http://www.loveurdu.com/ LoveUrdu.com] - Urdu Web Portal *[http://www.urdupoetry.com/ Urdu Poetry Archive] *[http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/hindipoets.html Hindi Immortals] - Hindi/Urdu Poets *[http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ghalib/ghazal_index.html Divan-e Ghalib] - Ghalib's ghazals in Devanagari, Urdu Naskh and English translation. *[http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/jishnu/520/HindiIdioms.htm Hindi Idioms] *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/hindi BBC Hindi] *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu BBC Urdu] *[http://www.khabrain.com/ Khabrain.com] - Urdu Online Newspaper *[http://www.aajtak.com/ Hindi News] *[http://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Wikipedia in Hindi] *[http://ur.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Wikipedia in Urdu] ====Software, Online Interfaces==== *[http://www.aczoom.com/itrans/ ITrans] - Online Hindi Interface *[http://tabish.freeshell.org/u-trans/ UTrans] - Online Urdu Interface *[http://www.omkarananda-ashram.org/Sanskrit/Itranslt.html Omkarananda Ashram Sanskrit Page] *[http://www.salagram.net/fonts.htm Devanagari Fonts] ====Religious==== *[http://www.loveurdu.com/quranurdu/home.asp The Qur'ân in with Urdu ''en face'' with the Arabic] - from LoveUrdu.com *[http://sanskrit.gde.to/hindi/ Hindu Prayers in Hindi] *[http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-hindi.html Lord's Prayer in Hindi] *[http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-urdu.html Lord's Prayer in urdu] ===Books=== Despite Hindi/Urdu being among Chinese, Spanish and English as the most spoken language(s), there is a dearth of resources on the subject(s), and even fewer which are worth-while. Instead of anger of frustration, the Hindi student should instead feel a smug superiority of being ahead of everyone else who are learning other languages, which may fill the rows of bookshelves in bookstores, but still cannot compare with sheer amount of volumes to one day be written on Hindi! Here is a list of the better books and dictionaries. Usha R. Jain's books, which she wrote for her Hindi class at the University of California at Berkeley are more straightforward and easier to use than Snell. Her books are preferred by Hindi professors and private teachers alike throughout North America and Europe. If you know German, Margot Gatzlaff-Hälsig, has continued the German tradition of ''Indologie'' with two dictionaries and many books on Hindi. *''Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi Script'' by Rupert Snell (McGraw-Hill). ISBN: 0071419845. - An entertaining and easy to use introduction to Devanagari. *''Teach Yourself Beginner's Hindi'' by Rupert Snell (McGraw-Hill). ISBN: 0071424369. If you've never studied a language before or are a younger student this book might be where to start. Otherwise, don't waste your money and get the Complete Course instead. *''Teach Yourself Hindi Complete Course'' by Rupert Snell with Simon Weightman (McGraw-Hill). ISBN: 0071420126. By far this book is the most popular, and the usual starting point for those interested in learning Hindi. Available with accompanying CD's. *''Teach Yourself Hindi Dictionary'' by Rupert Snell (McGraw-Hill). ISBN: 0071435034. Companion to his other books in the Teach Yourself series. For Beginners, or younger students. Is '''not''' a complete dictionary in any sense of the word. *''Introduction to Hindi Grammar'' by Usha R. Jain (IAS Publishers). ISBN: 094461325X. Usha R. Jain's books, which she wrote for her Hindi class at the University of California at Berkeley are more straightforward and easier to use than Snell. Her books are preferred by Hindi professors and private teachers alike throughout North America and Europe. Available with a set of accompanying CD's. *''Intermediate Hindi Reader'' by Usha R Jain (IAS Publishers). ASIN: B000739HIG. 21 readings with serial glossaries to improve the student's comprehension of Hindi and expand vocabulary. Available with accompanying CD's and/or multimedia CD-Rom. *''Basic Vocabulary for Hindi and Urdu'' by Karine Schomer, Geoffrey G. Reinhard (IAS Publishers). ISBN: 0819135089 *''Lonely Planet Hindi & Urdu Phrasebook'' by Richard Delacy (Lonely Planet Publications). ISBN: 0864424256. Excellent. Rare, in that both Hindi Devanagari and Urdu Naskh are ''en face''. Also includes glossary and cultural notes, etc. Highly recommended for travellers, and a great auxilliary source for students. *''Say It in Hindi'' by Veena T. Oldenburg (Dover Publications). ISBN: 0486239594. If Delacy's book lacked anything, it is here. Mostly due to the fact that the book focuses on Hindi only. The major flaw is that the book uses an archaic Devanagari font, which may prove difficult to some readers. *''Colloquial Hindi: A Complete Language Course'' by Tej K. Bhatia (Routledge). ISBN: 0415110874. Takes a different approach to teaching the language. Is more sympathetic to the average learner and doesn't go warp speed like Snell and Weightman's ''Teach Yourself Hindi''. However; the biggest flaw is the minimal attention given to Devanagari. Perhaps the best feature are the accompanying CD's. *''Teach Yourself Beginner's Urdu Script'' by John Mace (McGraw-Hill). ISBN: 007141987X. From the author of Teach Yourself's ''Beginner's Arabic Script'' and ''Modern Persian'' Mace is more than qualified to introduce the Urdu script. *''Teach Yourself Urdu Complete Course'' by David Matthews, Mohamed Kasim Dalvi (McGraw-Hill). ISBN: 0071420193. Available with CD's as well. *''Urdu: An Essential Grammar'' by Ruth Laila Schmidt (Routledge). ISBN: 0415163811. A good book which compliments Matthew's. *''Urdu for Beginners'' by Khawaja M. Zakariya (Kazi Publications). ISBN: 1567444482. ====Dictionaries==== *''The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary'' by R. S. McGregor (Oxford University Press). ISBN: 019864339X. Essential for the student. *''Oxford English-Hindi Dictionary" by S. K. Verma (Laurier Books Ltd). ISBN: 0195648196. Common companion to R.S. McGregor's dictionary, but somewhat lacking compared with the former. *''The Modern English Hindi Dictionary'' by I. N. Anand (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers). ISBN: 8121504619. Though designed for Indians translating English, this is also a great tool for students. Includes modern and technical terms. *''English Hindi Dictionary'' by Father Camille Bulcke. Short dictionary recommended by some professors for the student. *''The Oxford English-Urdu Dictionary'' by Shanul Haq Haqqee (Oxford University Press). ISBN: 0195793404. Includes modern terms. Used by translators. ===Audio=== *''Hindi'' by Pimsleur (Pimsleur). ISBN: 0743506251. Great for the auditory learner of for listening to in the car. Helps immerse listener into the sounds of Hindi and developing listening skills. First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

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