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ONE-FLIGHT MINI-COURSE

🇮🇳 Hindi हिन्दी

Greetings, key phrases, numbers and the handful of grammar rules that let you build your own sentences — romanized, with Devanagari alongside.

The idea. Instead of drowning you in vocabulary, this gives you a small, high-frequency core plus plug-and-play sentence templates. Learn words inside the patterns, not as flashcards.

How to use it. Work top to bottom, out loud. Cover the English column to test yourself. The later sections give you a sentence-building machine, practice, and a 2-week plan.

0 Pronunciation key

Hindi is spelled how it sounds. Learn these and you can pronounce almost anything.

Vowels

a
short "uh" — sofa
aa
long "ah" — father
i / ee
sit / see
u / oo
put / moon
e / o
day / go
ai / au
bat / saw
~ (n/m)
nasal hum, e.g. हूँ hoon

Consonants that trip people up

kh gh chh jh th dh ph bh
add a puff of air
t / d (soft)
tongue on teeth
T / D (hard)
curl tongue back
r
a light single tap

Don't chase perfection — rough sounds are understood in context.

1 Survival phrases

Say these on day one.

Namaste नमस्ते
Hello / greetings
Dhanyavaad / Shukriya धन्यवाद
Thank you
Haan / Nahin हाँ / नहीं
Yes / No
Theek hai ठीक है
OK / fine
Kripya / Maaf kijiye कृपया
Please / Sorry
Aap kaise hain? आप कैसे हैं?
How are you?
Main theek hoon मैं ठीक हूँ
I'm fine
Aapka naam kya hai? आपका नाम क्या है?
What's your name?
Mera naam ___ hai मेरा नाम ___ है
My name is ___
Mujhe samajh nahin aaya मुझे समझ नहीं आया
I didn't understand
Kya aap angrezi bolte hain? अंग्रेज़ी?
Do you speak English?
Yeh kitne ka hai? यह कितने का है?
How much is this?
Madad kijiye मदद कीजिए
Please help
Phir milenge / Alvida अलविदा
See you / Goodbye

2 Pronouns & “my / your”

Use aap with strangers & elders, tum with friends. Add -ka/-ki after a pronoun for possession.

main मैं
I
tum / aap तुम / आप
you (casual / polite)
yeh / voh यह / वह
this / that · he / she
hum हम
we
ve log वे लोग
they
mera / meri मेरा / मेरी
my
tumhara / aapka तुम्हारा / आपका
your
iska / uska इसका / उसका
his / her

3 Question words

These unlock everything.

kya क्या what kaun कौन who kahan कहाँ where kab कब when kyun क्यों why kaise कैसे how kitna कितना how much kaunsa कौन-सा which

4 Core verbs

Dictionary form ends in -na. (See §9+ to conjugate.)

hona होना
to be
karna करना
to do
jaana जाना
to go
aana आना
to come
khaana खाना
to eat
peena पीना
to drink
dekhna देखना
to see
sunna सुनना
to hear
bolna बोलना
to speak
samajhna समझना
to understand
chaahna चाहना
to want
dena / lena देना / लेना
to give / take
milna मिलना
to meet / get
khareedna ख़रीदना
to buy

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5 Numbers

1ek एक 2do दो 3teen तीन 4chaar चार 5paanch पाँच 6chhah छह 7saat सात 8aath आठ 9nau नौ 10das दस 20bees बीस 50pachaas पचास 100sau सौ 1khazaar हज़ार

6 Essential nouns

People

aadmi / aurat आदमी / औरत
man / woman
ladka / ladki लड़का / लड़की
boy / girl
dost / log दोस्त / लोग
friend / people
maa / papa माँ / पापा
mum / dad

Places

ghar घर
home
bazaar बाज़ार
market
sheher शहर
city
kamra / rasta कमरा / रास्ता
room / road

Things & time

paani पानी
water
khana / chai खाना / चाय
food / tea
paisa पैसा
money
samay समय
time
din / saal दिन / साल
day / year

7 Adjectives (opposite pairs)

accha / bura अच्छा / बुरा
good / bad
bada / chota बड़ा / छोटा
big / small
naya / purana नया / पुराना
new / old
garam / thanda गरम / ठंडा
hot / cold
door / paas दूर / पास
far / near
zyada / kam ज़्यादा / कम
more / less
sasta / mehnga सस्ता / महँगा
cheap / pricey
sahi / galat सही / ग़लत
right / wrong

8 Glue words

aur और and ya या or lekin लेकिन but kyunki क्योंकि because isliye इसलिए so aaj आज today kal कल yest./tom. abhi अभी now yahan यहाँ here wahan वहाँ there bahut बहुत very thoda थोड़ा a little

kal means both “yesterday” and “tomorrow” — the verb's tense tells you which.

9 7 rules for sentences

1
Word order = Subject–Object–Verb. The verb goes last ('I water drink').
मैं पानी पीता हूँ
Main paani peeta hoon = I drink water.
2
“hai” = is/are/am. main→hoon, tum→ho, yeh/voh→hai, aap/hum/ve→hain.
यह अच्छा है
Yeh accha hai = This is good.
3
Little words come AFTER the noun. mein=in, par=on, se=from/with, ko=to.
घर में ghar mein = in the house · दिल्ली से Dilli se = from Delhi
4
Possession = ka / ki / ke ('of / 's'). Start with ka.
राम का घर
Ram ka ghar = Ram's house
5
Present tense = TWO pieces: an action word + a 'to be' tag. stem + -ta(m)/-ti(f)/-te(pl)  +  hoon/ho/hai/hain.
मैं खाता हूँ Main khaata hoon = I eat (m.)
वह हिंदी बोलती है Voh Hindi bolti hai = She speaks Hindi
6
Say 'not' with nahin before the verb.
मैं नहीं जाता Main nahin jaata = I don't go.
7
Yes/no question: add kya at the front (or raise your tone).
क्या यह अच्छा है? Kya yeh accha hai? = Is this good?

About gender (then relax)

Nouns are masculine or feminine; -a adjectives flip to -i to match (accha ladka → acchi ladki). You'll get these wrong at first and still be understood.

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9+ Conjugation cheat-sheet

Two things to conjugate: “to be” on its own, and regular verbs (an action word + a “to be” tag).

A · “To be” (होना hona)

main मैं
हूँ hoon — I am
tum तुम
हो ho — you are
yeh / voh
है hai — is
aap / hum / ve
हैं hain — are

Alone it links two things: मैं स्टूडेंट हूँ Main student hoon = I am a student. It's also the tag on every regular verb below.

B · Regular verbs — model जाना jaana

Recipe: drop -na for the stem (jaana → jaa), add -ta/-ti/-te, then the to-be tag. jaa + ta + hoon = jaata hoon.
main (I)
जाता/जाती हूँ jaata/jaati hoon
tum
जाते/जाती हो jaate/jaati ho
yeh / voh
जाता/जाती है jaata/jaati hai
aap / hum / ve
जाते/जाती हैं jaate/jaati hain

First form = male, second = female. The action word changes with gender; the tag changes with person.

Negative & questions

Not: मैं चाय नहीं पीता Main chai nahin peeta = I don't drink tea.

Question: क्या तुम हिंदी बोलते हो? Kya tum Hindi bolte ho? = Do you speak Hindi?

10 Sentence-building machine

Memorize the frame, swap the ___ for any core word.

मुझे ___ चाहिए · Mujhe ___ chahiye
= I want / need ___ (a thing).
paani · chai · madad · kamra
Main ___ chahta/chahti hoon
= I want to ___ (do something).
jaana · khaana · sona
___ kahan hai? · ___ कहाँ है?
= Where is ___?
station · bazaar · hotel
Yeh / Voh kya hai?
= What is this / that? (kaun hai? = who?)
point + ask
Kya aap ___ sakte hain?
= Can you ___?
madad kar · bol · dikha
Mujhe ___ pasand hai
= I like ___.
chai · yeh sheher · Hindi
___ kitne ka hai?
= How much does ___ cost?
yeh · voh · chai
Main ___ se hoon
= I am from ___.
London · England · India

11 Your turn — practice

Write the Hindi (romanized is fine). Answers below.

  1. Greet someone and give your name:
  2. Ask “Where is the market?”:
  3. Say “I want tea”:
  4. Say “I don't understand”:
  5. Count 1 to 5:
  6. Ask “How much is this?”:
Check yourself: 1) Namaste, mera naam ___ hai.   2) Bazaar kahan hai?   3) Mujhe chai chahiye.   4) Mujhe samajh nahin aaya.   5) ek, do, teen, chaar, paanch.   6) Yeh kitne ka hai?

12 A 2-week plan

15–20 min a day, out loud, beats an occasional long session.

Week 1 — Sounds & survival
  • Days 1–2: pronunciation + survival phrases.
  • Day 3: numbers 1–10.
  • Day 4: pronouns + my/your.
  • Day 5: the 8 question words.
  • Days 6–7: review — greet, count, ask, no notes.
Week 2 — Build sentences
  • Day 8: the core verbs.
  • Day 9: core nouns.
  • Day 10: adjective pairs + glue words.
  • Days 11–12: the 7 rules + conjugation.
  • Days 13–14: sentence machine + practice.

3 habits that make it stick

1. Learn words inside a template, never alone.

2. Speak before you're ready. Rough grammar that communicates wins.

3. Recycle real life. Narrate small actions to yourself.

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