Lesson 1 New Format

A Door Into Hindi
Lesson 1 Script
Copyright US Dept. of Education
Right click to download an mp3 file of the audio track from the Lesson 1 Movie

यह औरत है।

यह लड़की है, यह लड़का है।

दुकानदार: नमस्ते जी,

आप कैसी हैं ?

औरत: मैं ठीक हूँ, आप कैसे हैं?

दुकानदार: जी, मैं भी ठीक हूँ।

औरत: क्या यहाँ गाजर है?

दुकानदार: जी नहीं, यहाँ गाजर नहीं है।

औरत: टमाटर कैसे हैं?

दुकानदार: जी, टमाटर बहुत अच्छे हैं।

औरत: टमाटर का दाम क्या है?

दुकानदार: जी, टमाटर का दाम पाँच रुपये किलो है।

औरत: टमाटर सस्ते नहीं हैं।

दुकानदार: जी नहीं, ये टमाटर सस्ते हैं।

औरत: पाँच रुपये बहुत हैं।

दुकानदार: जी, ये टमाटर चार रुपये हैं।

औरत: अच्छा।    और लौकी का दाम क्या है?

दुकानदार: जी, लौकी का दाम दस रुपये।

औरत: अच्छा।

लड़की: माँ, यह क्या है?

औरत: यह करेला है।

लड़की: क्या यह मीठा है?

औरत: नहीं, यह मीठा नहीं है।

दुकानदार: जी, आपका नाम क्या है?

लड़की: मेरा नाम “दीपा”  है। आपका नाम क्या है?

दुकानदार: जी, मेरा नाम “राजा” है।

औरत आलू कहाँ हैं?

दुकानदार: आलू यहाँ हैं।

औरत:   क्या ये सस्ते हैं?

दुकानदार: जी हाँ, ये बहुत सस्ते हैं।

औरत:   आलू का दाम क्या है?

दुकानदार: जी,  तीन रुपये किलो है।

लड़का: माँ, यह क्या है?

औरत: यह बैंगन है।

दुकानदार: जी, यह आपकी लौकी, ये आपके टमाटर …

औरत: और आलू कहाँ हैं?

दुकानदार: जी, ये आपके आलू।

औरत: ये आपके रुपये  हैं।

दुकानदार: जी, धन्यवाद।

औरत: क्या यहाँ फल हैं?

दुकानदार: जी नहीं, यहाँ फल नहीं हैं।

औरत: फल कहाँ हैं?

दुकानदार: फल वहाँ हैं।

औरत: कहाँ?

दुकानदार: जी, वहाँ।

औरत: अच्छा, धन्यवाद।

औरत: क्या यहाँ अंगूर है?

दुकानदार: जी नहीं, अंगूर नहीं है।

औरत: आम का दाम क्या है?

दुकानदार: आम का दाम पाँच रुपये किलो है।

औरत: क्या ये मीठे हैं?

दुकानदार: जी हाँ, ये बहुत मीठे हैं।

लड़का: माँ, यह क्या है?

औरत: यह अनार है।

औरत: सब्ज़ी कहाँ है?

लड़का: सब्ज़ी यहाँ है!

औरत: ओ, सब्ज़ी यहाँ है!

औरत: सब्ज़ी कहाँ है?

लड़का: सब्ज़ी यहाँ है!

Copyright Afroz Taj

A Door Into Hindi
Lesson 1 Glossary

यह	this, he, she, it [third person singular pronoun, or demonstrative adjective]
है	is [conjugation of होना (to be)]
औरत	woman [f.]
लड़की	girl [f.]
लड़का	boy [m.]
दुकानदार	shopkeeper [m./f.]
नमस्ते	a greeting
जी	[honorific, used to show respect]
आप	you [second person plural/polite pronoun]
कैसी	how? [f.]
हैं	are [conjugation of होना (to be)]
मैं	I [first-person singular pronoun]
ठीक	fine, OK [adj.]
हूँ	am [conjugation of होना (to be)]
कैसे	how? [m. pl.]
भी	also, too [inclusive particle]
क्या	what? [or at the beginning of a sentence indicates a “yes/no” question]
यहाँ	here
गाजर	carrot(s) [m.]
नहीं	no, not
ये	these, they [third person pl. pronoun, or pl. demonstrative adj.]
टमाटर	tomato(es) [m.]
बहुत	very, a lot
अच्छे	good [adj. m.pl.]
का	of [postposition] “X का” = “of X, or X’s”
दाम	price [m.]
पाँच	five [Hindi numeral “५”]
रुपये	rupees [m.pl.]
किलो	kilo(gram) [m.], per kilo
सस्ते	inexpensive [adj. m.pl.]
चार	four [Hindi numeral “४”]
अच्छा	good [adj. m.s.]
लौकी	bottle gourd [f.s.]
दस	ten [Hindi numeral “१०”]
माँ	Ma (mother) [f.s.]
करेला	bitter gourd [m.s.]
मीठा	sweet [adj. m.s.]
नाम	name [m.s.]
मेरा	my [possessive pronoun m.s.]
दीपा	“Deepa” [proper name]
राजा	“Raja” [proper name]
आलू	potato(es) [m.]
कहाँ	where?
हाँ	yes
तीन	three [Hindi numeral “३”]
बैंगन	eggplant(s) [m.]
आपकी	your [possessive pronoun f.]
आपके	your [possessive pronoun m.pl.]
पैसे	money [m.pl.]
धन्यवाद	thank you, thanks [m.s.]
और	and
फल	fruit(s) [m.]
वहाँ	there
अंगूर	grape(s) [m.]
आम	mango(es) [m.]
अनार	pomegranate(s) [m.]
सब्ज़ी	vegetable [f.s.]
बन्दर	monkey(s) [m.]
हाथी	elephant(s) [m.]
तोता	parrot [m.s.]
गाय	cow [f.s.]
ऊँट	camel(s) [m.]
आदमी	man/men [m.]

1.1 Word Order

Hindi word order is different from English word order. The most important difference is that the verb or verbal phrase almost always goes at the end of the sentence. In general, Hindi word order follows the following pattern:

Subject + Predicate + Verb

Examples:

1.2 Questions – क्या,कहाँ,कैसे

Most questions are formed by placing a question word (like “what” or “where”) right before the verbal phrase.

Examples:

Any statement can be turned into a “yes-no” question by putting the question word क्या in front of the sentence. In this kind of question sentence, the word क्या is not translated.

Examples:

Note that in English, this kind of “yes-no” question is usually made by putting the verb or auxiliary verb at the beginning of the sentence:

“Is your name Deepa?”

“Is this sweet?”

1.3 Negation

A sentence is negated by putting the word नहीं right before the verbal phrase.

Examples:

1.4 Articles

Hindi does not have articles like the English words “the”, “a” or “an”. You can tell by the context whether a specific or general item is meant.

Examples:

1.5 Punctuation

The end of a sentence is indicated by the Hindi “period” विराम, which is a vertical line “ | ” rather than the dot ( . ) as it is in English punctuation. Otherwise, the comma, exclamation point, question mark, etc. are used in Hindi just as they are in English.

1.1 Shopping

Microwave ovens have only recently become common household items in South Asia. Refrigerators even now are used mostly for storing cold drinks and perishable goods, milk, butter, etc. and freezers are not frequently used to store leftovers for later consumption. Traditionally food is cooked fresh for every meal, and people go out to the markets every day to buy fresh vegetables and fruits. Although upscale grocery stores now exist in larger cities, most people purchase their fresh produce daily from itinerant carts or neighborhood vendors. Here, prices are not posted and it is expected that the shopper will bargain with the seller (see Culture 1.4 below).

1.2 Greetings

One of the most common greetings in modern India is नमस्ते. नमस्ते is usually accompanied by the following gesture: place your palms together in front of your chest and make a slight bow. Here is an example:

Note: the literal meaning of नमस्ते is simply “[I] bow to you.” Although नमस्ते is associated with Yoga and other spiritual practices, it is essentially a secular greeting. There are many other greetings used in South Asia, most of which are associated with particular religious communities.

1.3 Respect

जी is an honorific particle that is used in conversation to indicate that a speaker respects the person they are addressing. It is usually added after the person’s name, or at the beginning of a sentence. You should always use it before the Hindi words for “yes” and “no”: “जी हाँ” and “जी नहीं.” It may also be used after a greeting: “नमस्ते जी”. जी should always be used when addressing strangers and people in formal settings like a workplace or classroom. Note how the shopkeeper in this lesson uses जी. It may also be used when talking (respectfully) about a third person by name, whether the third person is present or absent.

In the Urdu register, the words साहब [m.] and साहिबा [f.] are likewise used after proper names to indicate respect. There are a number of other respectful forms of address in Hindi-Urdu that we will learn later.

1.4 Bargaining

When shopping for anything (including vegetables) you are expected to haggle over the price (like people do for cars and houses in America). You ask the seller his price, and then you respond with a counter-offer, usually much lower. You can go through as many iterations as you like until a mutually agreeable price is reached – or not.

1.5 Fruits and Vegetables

Many South Asian fruits and vegetables are not commonly available in the United States or Europe, although Asian specialty shops may carry some of them. For example, करेला (bitter gourd) is popular throughout Asia. Try it some time! Many people believe that South Asian vegetables, grown without artificial stimulants or greenhouses, are more flavorful than the ones grown in America. Note that each fruit or vegetable is only available during its particular harvest season: oranges in winter, mangoes in summer, etc. Lesson 4 (Review) contains more vocabulary for South Asian vegetables.

1.6 Animals

In most cities and towns in South Asia it is not uncommon to see unattended animals on the streets. They may be wild, or family livestock left free to wander the neighborhood. For example, in India many cows do not belong to anybody; they forage for a living. Cows are considered sacred by Hindus but they often help themselves to items they like from vegetable carts. In addition to domesticated horses, goats, buffaloes, pigs and donkeys, you will see stray dogs, monkeys and other animals roaming the streets. Some monkeys बन्दर and silver-haired apes लंगूर are kept on leashes as performing pets (see the Lesson 2 movie). Most monkeys and langoors are wild, however, and may be dangerous if provoked. Did you see the pet parrot and kitten (watch closely) in the Lesson One movie?