Why you should understand Hindi as a traveller to India?
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India is the second country after USA with the most number of Hindi speakers and that is a lot of people. English is the official language of India along with Hindi and English is also a language to which an immense amount of importance is given. English is known by a majority of the Indians but some of them might not speak it as fluently as others do. These are the people whom you’ll have most interactions with like the public transport drivers, waiters, vendors, hotel staff, etc.
India is land where 121 languages are spoken out of which there are 22 scheduled languages that has chosen by the constitution. Hindi is just one of these many scheduled languages but Hindi is also a language which is preferably spoken by the entire sub-continent.
Hindi is spoken in many parts of India, especially in the North. It is also the main language of 12 states of India which is Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. There are also some states in Northern and Central India where Hindi is not the main language but still spoken widely, these states are West Bengal, Odisha, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra. People belonging to Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka also respond to Hindi.
Hindi is hard for English speakers to learn as it is written in Devnagari Script but there are many English words that are used in Hindi spoken by people on a daily basis. Some of these words might be train, bus, railway, station hospital, cycle, cricket, jungle, etc. There are also many words that English language has adapted from Hindi like guru and shampoo. So even as an English speaker if you learn some of the basic Hindi phrases then your time in India will be a vacation to remember.
Listed below are some basic Hindi phrases that might help you as a traveller to India:
- Namastay – Hello
- Namastay Dev ji – Hello Dev
- Mai Canada se hu – I am from Canada
- Yeh mera hai – This is mine
- Kya yeh aapka hai? – Is it yours?
- Mujhe ek cup chai chahiye – I want a cup of tea
- Mujhe paani chahiye – I want water
- Mujhe khana do – Give me food
- Kya aapko English aata hai? – Do you speak English?
- Station kaha hai? – Where is the station?
- Bus stand kaha hai? – Where is the bus stand?
- Aap kaun hai? – Who are you?
- Yeh kya hai? – What is this?
- Kya aap meri madat karenge? – Will you help me?
- Haa – Yes
- Nahi – No
- Dhannewad – Thank you
- Kripya – Please
- Alvida – Bye (but Indians prefer to say ‘phir milenge’ which translated to ‘see you again’ as an affirmation that they will meet again; ‘alvida’ or bye is used very rarely)
These are the few that might help you a little bit as a traveller to India but there is no harm in learning more. As a traveller to India you’ll of course need to know a little bit of Hindi otherwise you will not be able to communicate to all the people here. So before packing your bags go get a book to learn Hindi and search YouTube for a tutorial to learn Hindi easily and fast, you will get plenty.
