Lesson 1

Hello! How Are You?

नमसते! कया हाल है ?
namaste! kyā hāl hai?

In this lesson you’ll learn different types of greetings, and you’ll also hear a short
conversation between Gopal and Sunita, two old friends. You’ll learn the present form of the
verb “to be,” personal subject pronouns, and few other essentials of Hindi grammar. To start
building your vocabulary, you’ll learn a whole range of words which are used in everyday
life. And you’ll even get a taste of Indian culture. But first, let’s get started with a little
vocabulary warm up. Each lesson begins with this kind of warm up. The words are related to
the topic of the lesson, and many of them will appear in the dialogue as well. Use these short
warm-up lists as a way to transition into each new lesson. It’s a good idea to have a Hindi
notebook that you keep as you progress through the course. Write down the vocabulary warm
up items in it, as well as other elements in each lesson that we’ll get to.

1A. Vocabulary Warm-Up

नमसकार / नमसते (pozdrav) i pri dolasku i pri odlasku
namaskār / namaste
कया हाल है ? kyā hāl hai? Kako ste? (dosl: kako je stanje; -
neformalno)
आप कैसे है ? āp kaise haĩ? Kako ste?

आपका नाम कया है ? Kako se zovete?

āpkā nām kyā hai?
मेरा नाम सुनीता है । Zovem se Sunītā
merā nām Sunītā hai.
जी, अचछा Dobro, u redu.
jī, acchā.
धनयवाद. Hvala.
dhanyavād.
माफ़ कीिजये Oprostite!
māf kījiye!
1B. Dialogue
Now let’s listen to a short dialogue. In Chandni Chowk, a colorful shopping street in Old
Delhi, Sunita runs into Gopal, who she hasn’t seen in a long time. At first she’s not sure
whether she recognizes Gopal. As you read the dialogue, notice that the question mark in
Hindi is the same as in English, but the period is a line (।) rather than a point.

सुनीता : माफ़ कीिजये! कया आपका नाम गोपाल है ?

Sunītā : māf kījiye! kyā āpka nām Gopāl hai?
गोपाल : जी हाँ, मेरा नाम गोपाल है ।
Gopāl : jī h, merā nām Gopāl hai.
सुनीता : गोपाल जी! नमसते, मै सुनीता हूँ।
Sunītā : Gopāl jī! namaste, maĩ sunītā h.
गोपाल : सुनीता जोशी?
Gopāl : Sunītā Jośī?
सुनीता : जी हाँ।
Sunītā : jī h.
गोपाल : नमसते, सुनीता जी। आप कैसी है ?
Gopāl : namaste Sunītā jī. āp kaisī haĩ?
सुनीता : जी, बहुत अचछी। और आपका कया हाल है ?
Sunītā : jī bahut acchī. aur āpkā kyā hāl hai?
गोपाल : मै भी ठीक हूँ।
Gopāl : maĩ bhī ṭhīk h.
सुनीता : आजकल आप कहाँ है ?
Sunītā : ājkal āp kah haĩ?
गोपाल : यहीं िदलली मे। और आप?
Gopāl : yah dillī mẽ. aur āp?
सुनीता : वैसे तो मै आगरा मे हूँ, पर आजकल छुटटी पर िदलली मे हूँ।
Sunītā : vaise to maĩ āgrā mẽ h, par ājkal chuṭṭī par dilli mẽ h.
गोपाल : जी अचछा! आपसे िमलकर खुशी हुई। अभी जलदी है । ििर िमलेगे।
Gopāl : jī acchā! āpse milkar khuśī huī. abhī jaldī hai. phir milẽge.
सुनीता : जी, ििर िमलेगे। नमसकार
Sunītā : jī, phir milẽge. namaskār
गोपाल : नमसकार
Gopāl : namaskār

Sunita : Excuse me, is your name Gopal?

Gopal : Yes. My name’s Gopal.
Sunita : Good day, Mr. Gopal. I’m Sunita.
Gopal : Sunita Joshi?
Sunita : Yes.
Gopal : Good day, Ms. Sunita (“Ma’am”). How are you?
Sunita : Very well. And how are you?
Gopal : I’m doing well, too.
Sunita : Where are you these days?
Gopal : Here in Delhi. And you?
Sunita : I’m in Agra usually (“otherwise”), but now I’m in Delhi for vacation.
Gopal : Very good. It’s a pleasure to see you. I’m in hurry now. See you again!
Sunita : See you. Bye.
Gopal : Bye.

1C. Vocabulary
The vocabulary list from each lesson will give you a chance to focus on individual words and
phrases from the dialogues. They’ll also introduce important related vocabulary. Experiment
with several different ways to master new vocabulary – spoken or written repetition,
flashcards, labeling objects in your home, typing the words into search engines… be creative!
It’s a very good idea to write down the vocabulary in your notebook, and to glance at it from
time to time to remind yourself of the words and phrases that you’re learning.
Note that the abbreviations m. and f. mean masculine and feminine, and they refer to the
grammatical gender of nouns. You’ll learn about that in grammar point 4.
कया ? kyā? What? / Is it…?

कैसे? / कैसी? kaise / kaisī? How?

हाँ h yes

हाल m. hāl situation

जी jī sir, ma’am

बहुत bahut very

अचछा acchā fine, good, well

ठीक ṭhīk fine, good, well

भी bhī also, too

आजकल ājkal nowadays, these days

मे mẽ in

कहाँ? kah? where?

और aur and

छुटटी f. chuṭṭī vacation, holiday

खुशी khuśī happiness

अभी abhī now

जलदी jaldī hurry

ििर phir again

Audio Comprehension Practice

Now see how well you do at taking part in a dialogue similar to the one you’ve just heard.
Answer the following questions as if you’re taking part in a conversation. You’ll hear the
correct answer after a brief pause. Then repeat it for practice. Don’t worry if this is
challenging for you, and don’t be afraid to do this short dialogue a few times so that you’re
able to remember your lines.
नमसते!//
Namaste! //
नमसते!/
Namaste! /
मेरा नाम गोपाल है । और आपका? // (Give your name.)
merā nām Gopāl hai. aur āpkā? //
मेरा नाम ….. है ।/
merā nām … hai. /

आपका कया हाल है ? //

āpkā kyā hāl hai? //
मै ठीक हूँ। /
maĩ ṭhīk h. /
आजकल आप कहाँ है ? // (Say that you’re in Delhi.)
ājkal āp kah haĩ? //
आजकल मै िदलली मे हूँ।/
ājkal maĩ dillī mẽ h. /

1D. Key Phrases

Each lesson contains a Key Phrases list designed to give you more practical vocabulary
related to the topic of the lesson. Now let’s build on what you’ve learned with more
vocabulary and phrases that you might use in greeting and introducing yourself and others.
Again, your notebook is a great place to record these key phrases.
नमसकार / नमसते namaskār / Hello. / Good bye.
namaste
कया हाल है ? kyā hāl hai? How are you? (“How is your
situation?”)
आप कैसे है ? āp kaise haĩ? How are you?

मै अचछा हूँ। maĩ acchā h. I’m fine.

आपका नाम कया है ? āpkā nām kyā What’s your name?

hai?
मेरा नाम … है । merā nām … hai My name is …

जी हाँ। jī, h. Yes, Sir / Ma’am.

जी, अचछा. jī, acchā. Okay.

धनयवाद. dhanyavād. Thanks.

माफ़ कीिजये! māf kījiye! Excuse me!

ििर िमलेगे! phir milẽge! See you!

मुझे जलदी है । mujhe jaldī hai. I’m in hurry.

आपसे िमलकर खुशी हुई। āpse It’s a pleasure to meet you.

milkar khuśī huī
1E. Culture Topic 1
In Hindi there are three forms of the pronoun “you” used to address a person. They
represent different levels of politeness based on formality or informality. These levels of
formality are actually reflected in different forms of both pronouns and verbs. There is no
equivalent in English, but it’s not hard to get used to. The pronoun तू tū (you) is the most
informal of the three and is used only by very close friends or family members (brothers and
sisters, not parents). Students of Hindi are advised to avoid it completely. The pronouns तुम
tum and आप āp are used to address someone in a more polite way. आप āp, the most
polite usage, is for older people and strangers, and तुम tum is used among friends. So, you
could say “how are you:”
आप कैसे है ? āp kaise haĩ? (to a stranger, a professor, etc.)
तुम कैसे हो? tum kaise ho? (to a colleague of the same age, a child etc.)
The word जी jī after a name or a title shows extra politeness towards the person
addressed. It can be translated as “Sir” or “Ma’am”. Very often जी jī replaces जी हाँ jī
h, or “yes,” to show extra politeness.

1F. Grammar
Each lesson focuses on a few grammar points, where a key concept is explained,
along with examples. You can use your notebook to take notes on these points to
remind yourself of the grammar you learn.
1. Subject Pronouns
Subject pronouns are the words we use in place of the subject of a sentence: I, you,
he, etc. The subject pronouns in Hindi are as follows:
मै maĩ I

तू tū you (sing.)

वह vah (pronounced vo) he, she, it

यह yah he, she, it

Notice that there is no gender distinction in the third person forms.

हम ham we

तुम tum you (pl.)

आप āp you (pl.)

वे ve they

ये ye they

Don’t forget that तुम tum and आप āp can be used to address one person, as a show of
politeness. Sometimes the word लोग log (people) is used after the plural pronouns; तुम लोग
tum log, आप लोग āp log, वे लोग ve log. In these cases, the pronouns only have a plural
meaning, so you can distinguish whether you mean you (plural) or you (polite) in this way.
You may also have noticed that there are two forms in the third person. These indicate
 proximity to the speaker. यह yah and ये ye are used when the subject is nearby, and वह vah
and वे ve are used when the subject is further away. In fact, यह yah can also mean “this” and
वह vah can also mean “that.” वे Also note that ve is a third person plural pronoun, but it can
be used to refer to a single person to show respect toward him or her. So the sentence वे
पोफ़ेसर है । ve professar haĩ has two meanings depending on the context: “They are
professors,” and “He/She is a professor” (with extra respect.)

[AU] Let’s see if you remember the subject pronouns. You’ll hear the English pronoun,
and you should answer with the Hindi equivalent.
we// हम ham
he// वह vah
she// वह vah
I// मै maĩ
you sing.// तू tū
you pl. or most formal // आप āp
it // वह vah
they// वे ve
Good job! [AU]

2. Present Tense of होना honā (to be) and Some Basics of Hindi Word Order
Here are the forms of होना honā (to be.) This is an irregular, but very common, verb,
so it’s important to learn it early.
मै हूँ maĩ h हम है ham haĩ
I am we are
तू है tū hai तुम हो tum ho
you are you are, all of you are
आप है āp haĩ
you are, all of you are
वह / यह है vah / yah hai वे / ये है ve / ye haĩ
he, she, it is they are

मै गोपाल हूँ। maĩ Gopāl h. I am Gopal.

वह छात है । vah chātra hai. He is a student.

वे पोफ़ेसर है । ve profesar haĩ. They are professors.

Now that you’ve seen a few full sentences and learned a bit of grammar, it’s a good time to
make a few general points. In Hindi, the verb comes at the end of the sentence, as you can see
in the examples above. Any interrogative words come before the verb, unless they are
specially stressed somewhere in the sentence:
आपका नाम कया है ? āpkā nām kyā What is your name?
(“Your name what is?”)
hai?

The interrogative word कया kyā means “what”, but when it comes at the beginning of a
sentence, it introduces a yes/no question:
कया आपका नाम गोपाल है ? Is your name Gopal?
kyā āpkā nām Gopal hai?
कया आप पोफ़ेसर है ? Are you a professor?
kyā āp profesar haĩ?

Finally, note that Hindi does not have articles (the/a/an). So, छात chātra can mean
“student,” “a student,” or “the student,” depending on context.

[AU]Let’s practice the verb होना honā. First you’ll hear a sentence in English, and
you should translate it into Hindi.

I am Gopal.//
मै गोपाल हूँ ।
maĩ Gopāl h.

We are fine.//
हम ठीक है ।
ham ṭhīk haĩ.

He is a professor.//
वह पोफ़ेसर है ।
vah profesar hai.

You are very happy.//

तुम बहुत खुश हो ।
tum bahut khuś ho.

Are you in Delhi?//

कया आप िदलली मे है ?
kyā āp dillī mẽ haĩ?
Great![AU]

3. Simple Postpositions
A preposition is a word that expresses location, motion, association, belonging, etc. Examples
of English prepositions are in, to, on, with, of, for, etc. They’re called prepositions because
they’re positioned before (pre-) a noun in English: in the house, with a pen, etc. In Hindi these
words are called postpositions because they come after nouns. There are five simple
postpositions: मे mẽ (in), पर par (on), से se (from, by, with,) तक tak (until, up to) and को
ko (to.) Here are a few examples of their use:
िदलली मे dillī mẽ in Delhi

छुटटी पर chuṭṭī par on vacation/holiday

आगरा से āgrā se from Agra

रामनगर तक rāmnagar tak up to Ramnagar

The postposition को ko (to) has many functions. It is mainly used to introduce direct objects
(you see the boy) and indirect objects (you give the boy a ball.) But it is also used in some
fixed expressions, such as सोमवार को somvār ko (on Monday,) or शाम को śām ko (in the
evening.) You’ll learn more about को ko as you progress through the course.

[AU]Let’s practice the postpositions. First you’ll hear the name of a place in English, along
with a preposition. Translate the phrase into Hindi. Don’t worry if you don’t know the place
names. They’re cognates, so they sound similar in both languages.
In Mumbai // मुमबई मे mumbai mẽ
From Chandni Chowk // चांदनी चौक से cāndnī cauk se
On Everest // एवरे सट पर evaresṭ par
From Europe // यूरोप से yūrop se
Up to New York // नयूयाकक तक nyuyark tak
Well done! [AU]

4. Gender
In many languages other than English, nouns have grammatical gender. That means that
school might be masculine and class might be feminine. Don’t confuse this with natural
biological gender, though. It is just a system of classifying nouns grammatically. Hindi has
two genders: masculine and feminine. There is no special rule to identify the gender of a
noun, but most nouns with the ending आ ā are masculine, and most nouns with the endings इ
i and ई ī are feminine. If a noun has a natural biological gender, such as man or woman, this
will determine its grammatical gender, regardless of ending. It’s important to learn each noun
along with its gender, because this will determine many aspects of its grammatical usage,
which you’ll learn a bit later.
masculine feminine
अधयापक adhyāpak (male teacher) अधयािपका adhyāpikā (female
teacher)
छात chātra (male student) छाता chātrā (female student)
लड़का laṛkā (boy) लड़की laṛkī (girl)
िपता pitā (father) माँ m, माता mātā (mother)
आदमी ādmī (man) औरत aurat (woman)
नाम nām (name) छुटटी chuṭṭī (holiday)
सकूल skūl (school) कका kakṣā (class)
बाज़ार bāzār (bazaar) िकताब f. kitāb (book)
घर ghar (house) रोशनी f. rośnī (light, brightness)

Possessives are words that show ownership or possession, like “my” or “your.” In Hindi, you
use a different form of the possessive for a masculine possession than you use for a feminine
possession. You’ve already seen the masculine possessives मेरा merā, (my) and आपका
āpkā (your). The feminine forms are मेरी merī and आपकी āpkī.
Masculine: Feminine:
मेरा merā मेरी merī
आपका āpkā आपकी āpkī

मेरा घर merā ghar my house

मेरी कका merī kakṣā my class

आपका घर āpkā ghar your house

आपकी कका āpkī kakṣā your class

We’ll come back to the other possessives later. For now, practice using “my” and
“your” with the nouns given in the list above.

1G. Reading
Practice reading the following short text. Don’t worry about understanding everything yet.
The transcription and translation are given to help you. Use this as a chance to practice
recognizing Devanagari script. Eventually you won’t see the transcription.
वह िववेकाननद िवदालय है । वह हमारा सकूल है । हमारा सकूल चांदनी चौक मे है । मै यहाँ
छात हूँ। मोहन भी यहीं छात है । मेरी कका मे दो पंजाबी और एक गुजराती छात भी है । रमेश
जी िववेकाननद िवदालय मे अधयापक है । वे िहनदी के अधयापक है । आजकल सकूल मे
छुटटी है इसिलये मै अभी बाज़ार मे हूँ। बाज़ार भी यहीं है । मेरा घर भी बाज़ार मे है ।
vah vivekānanda vidyālaya hai. vah hamārā skūl hai. hamārā skūl
cāndnī cauk mẽ hai. maĩ yah chātra h. mohan bhī yah chātra hai.
merī kakṣā mẽ do panjābi aur ek gujarātī chātra bhī haĩ. Rameś jī
vivekānanda vidyālaya mẽ adhyāpak haĩ. ve hindī ke adhyāpak haĩ.
ājkal skūl mẽ chuṭṭī hai isliye maĩ abhī bāzār mẽ h. bāzār bhī yah
hai. merā ghar bhī bāzār mẽ hai.

That is the Vivekananda School. It’s our school. Our school is in Chandni Chowk. I’m
a student here. Mohan is a student here, too. There are two Punjabi students and one
Gujarati student (“two Punjabi and one Gujarati students”) in my class. Mr. Ramesh is
a teacher in Vivekananda School. He’s a teacher of Hindi. The school is closed for
vacation these days (“there are holidays in the school”) That’s why I’m at the bazaar
now. The bazaar is also here. My house is also in the bazaar.

1H. Culture Topic 2

Delhi, the capital of India, is one of the biggest cities in the country, with a population
of more than 14 million people. Delhi is divided into two parts: Old Delhi and New
Delhi. Old Delhi reflects the Muslim heritage of India. Developed by the Muslim
rulers, Old Delhi was capital of India from the 17th – 19th centuries. There are many
old buildings, like mosques, forts and monuments, in Old Delhi. Chandni Chowk
bazaar, Jama Masjid Mosque, Kashmiri Gate, and Lal Qila (the Red Fort) are the main
attractions of Old Delhi.
In contrast to Old Delhi, New Delhi is very spacious and open, with broad avenues
and modern buildings. New Delhi was built as the capital of British India. The
buildings constructed by the British, such as Parliament House and Connaught Place,
reflect typical English architecture of those times. Delhi has been expanding since
India won independence from British Rule. Most recently Delhi has overgrown its
borders and entered into Uttar Pradesh on one side, and into Hariyana on the other
side.
The main language of Delhi is Hindi, but there is also a large community of Punjabis.
Since Delhi is the capital of India and has many opportunities for better living, it has
become a very attractive place for people from all over India. It’s not unusual to hear
any Indian language on Delhi streets, but Hindi is spoken by just about everyone from
Delhi. A great deal of the shop signs in Delhi are written in the Roman alphabet, but
the multi-lingual atmosphere of the city can be seen in the signs for streets and places.
They are in Hindi (Devanagari), English (Roman), Urdu (Perso-Arabic) and in
Punjabi (Gurumukhi).
The fascinating history of Delhi, right from the MahāBhārat times (about 3000 years
ago) through the period of the Moguls, to the British rule, and now into modern times,
has much to offer not only to historians, but also to travelers. Its location, in the center
of India, makes Delhi a great first place for a foreigner to experience India and start
an adventure exploring the rest of this fascinating country.
For more information check out this web site: www.delhitourism.nic.in

Exercises
1. Choose the correct subject pronouns from the three options.
a. ______ सुनीता है । (वह, हम, आप) / ______ Sunīta hai. (vah, ham, āp)
b. ______ आगरा मे हो। (हम, तुम, मै) / ______ āgrā mẽ ho. (ham, tum,
maĩ)
c. ______ सकूल मे है । (वह, वे, तुम) / ______ skūl mẽ haĩ. (vah, ve, tum)
d. ______ ठीक हूँ। (वह, हम, मै) / ______ ṭhīk h. (vah, ham, maĩ)
e. ______कैसे है ? (मै, आप, तुम) / ______ kaise haĩ? (maĩ, āp, tum)
f. कया ______ छुटटी पर है ? (वह, हम, तुम) / kyā ______ chuṭṭī par hai?
(vah, ham, tum)

2. Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verb होना honā.
a. मेरा नाम गोपाल _______। / merā nām Gopāl ______.
b. मै पोफ़ेसर _______। / maĩ profesar ______.
c. कया आप भी पोफ़ेसर ______? / kyā āp bhī profesar ______?
d. आजकल हम छुटटी पर ______। / ājkal ham chuṭṭī par ______.
e. कया तुम िदलली मे ______।? / kyā tum dillī mẽ ______.?
f. कया बाज़ार यहीं ______? / kyā bāzār yah ______?
3. Match the Hindi phrases with the correct translation.
1. आपसे िमलकर खुशी हुई। a. How are you?
āpse milkar khuśī huī.
2. माफ़ कीिजये! b. Yes, sir.
māf kījiye!
3. ििर िमलेगे! c. Thanks
phir milẽge!
4. जी हाँ। d. Excuse me!
jī, h.
5. धनयवाद e. See you!
dhanyavād
6. कया हाल है ? f. I am in hurry.
kyā hāl hai?
7. मुझे जलदी है । g. Pleasure to meet you.
mujhe jaldī hai.

4. Ask the question matching each of the following answers in italics.

a. मेरा नाम रमेश है । / merā nām Rameś hai.
b. हम ठीक है । / ham ṭhīk haĩ.
c. क ी यूरोप मे है । / jarmani (Germany) yūrop (Europe) mẽ hai.
जमन
d. हाँ, वह िदलली मे है । / h, vah dillī mẽ hai.
e. बाज़ार यहीं है । / bāzār yah hai.
f. सुनीता जी अचछी है । / Sunīta jī acchī haĩ.

Independent Challenge
Imagine a situation when you suddenly see an old friend of yours, and prepare a short
conversation with him or her. Focus on the greetings that you’ve learned in this lesson, and
see if you can use the dialogue as a model to ask about friends, family, and so on. Don’t be
afraid to use the glossary, a dictionary, or an online reference such as
http://www.shabdkosh.com/ for help. Of course, you’re not quite able to string together many
sentences yet, but that’s okay. Just explore new words.
Use this exercise to start your Hindi journal, which can even be a separate section of your
notebook. Write down all the words and phrases that you use, and keep this journal as a place
to record new vocabulary and phrases that you find. For example, you could add a certain
number of Hindi words to your journal every day, or write a few sentences about your life, or
even jot down some vocabulary you learned at the local Indian restaurant. Record it all in
your journal, and you’ll be surprised how useful a language learning tool it becomes!