As a foreign traveller you must know basic Hindi Terms to Explore India
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India is the second country after USA with the most number of English speakers and that consists of 14% of the total population of India. English is the official language of India along with Hindi. The number of Hindi speakers is a total of 57% of the total population and Hindi is also a language which is preferably spoken by the entire sub-continent.
Hindi speakers are especially found in the North. Hindi is also the main language of 12 states of India which is Delhi, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. There are also parts of Northern and Central India where Hindi is not the main language but still spoken widely, these states are West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha and Punjab. People belonging to Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka also respond to little bit of Hindi.
When you will travel to India as a tourist then most of the people with whom you will be having a conversation are the public vehicle drivers, waiters, vendors, etc. and these are the people who do not have a grasp of English. If you are lucky they might understand what you are trying to say but they won’t be able to answers properly. Hindi might be tough for English speakers to learn as it is written in Devnagari Script. There are many words in English language has been adapted from Hindi like guru and shampoo and also there are many words in Hindi language that has been adapted from English and they are being used by Hindi speakers on a daily basis like train, bus, railway, station hospital, cycle, cricket, jungle, etc. So, even as an English speaker if you learn some of the basic Hindi terms and phrases then your time in India will be a more convenient.
Listed below are some basic Hindi terms and phrases that might help you as a traveller to India:
- Namastay – Hello
- Namastay Dev ji – Hello Dev
- Subha – Morning
- Raat – Night
- Baiye – Left (direction)
- Daye – Right (direction)
- Aaj – Today
- Kal – Tomorrow
- Mai – I/me
- Mai Canada se hu – I am from Canada
- Mera – Mine
- Yeh mera hai – This is mine
- Aap – You
- Aapka – Yours
- Kya yeh aapka hai? – Is it yours?
- Aap kaise hai? – How are you
- Mai theek hu – I’m fine
- Chai – Tea
- Mujhe ek cup chai chahiye – I want a cup of tea
- Paani - Water
- Mujhe paani chahiye – I want water
- Khana - Food
- 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?
- Madat - Help
- Kya aap meri madat karenge? – Will you help me?
- Haa – Yes
- Nahi – No
- Shukriya – Thank you
- Kripya – Please
- Maaf kijiye – Sorry
- 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 Hindi terms and phrases that might help you to an extent as a traveller to India but there is no harm in learning a little more. As a traveller to India knowing basic Hindi terms and phrases is necessary otherwise you will face a problem while communicating to the Indians. 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.
