Hindi Sentence Structure

English is an SVO(Subject-Verb-Object) language while Hindi is an SOV(Subject-Object-Verb) language.

Let’s look at the first example.

See the colour groups for faster understanding. Let’s see one more example.

Note:

1. A ‘to be’ helping verb is required in most of the Hindi sentences.

2. In Devanagari, there is no concept that ‘a sentence starts with a capital letter’ or ‘a proper noun starts with a capital letter’. All letters are of same size for all words.

honā होना To Be

These are the most basic Hindi sentences using ‘to be’ forms with first person, second person & third person pronouns.

मैं हूं।	maiň hūň.	I am.
हम हैं।	ham haiň.	We are.
तू है।	tu hai.	You are. (Informal)
तुम हो।	tum ho.	You are. (Little formal/Plural)
आप हैं।	āp haiň.	You are. (Formal/Plural)
वह है।	vah hai. *vo hai.( In spoken)*	He/She/It is.
वे हैं।	ve haiň. *vo hai.( In spoken)*	They are. (Formal/Plural)

Some Common Action Words

In Hindi, infinitive = root verb + nā

So if root verb is kar then karnā is the infinitive.

करना	karnā	To do
मुस्कराना	muskarānā	To smile
हंसना	hasnā	To laugh
रोना	ronā	To cry
बजाना	bajānā	To play (musical instrument)
ताली बजाना	tālī bajānā	To clap
खडा होना	khadā honā	To stand
बैठना	baithnā	To sit
चलना	chalnā	To walk
दौडना	daudnā	To run
खाना	khānā	To eat
पीना	pīnā	To drink
पढना	padhnā	To read/study
पढाना	padhānā	To teach
लिखना	likhnā	To write
फेंकना	feknā	To throw
पकडना	pakadnā	To catch
कूदना	kūdnā	To jump
खेलना	khelnā	To play
तैरना	tairnā	To swim
नाचना	nāchnā	To dance
सोना	sonā	To sleep
पकाना	pakānā	To cook
बताना	batānā	To tell
बात करना	bāt karnā	To talk
बोलना	bolnā	To speak
देखना	dekhnā	To see
सुनना	sunnā	To hear/listen
नहाना	nahānā	To bathe
लेना	lenā	To take
देना	denā	To give
आना	ānā	To come
जाना	jānā	To go
मारना	mārnā	To hit/kill
बेचना	bechnā	To sell
खरीदना	kharīdnā	To buy

Worksheet 1 (hello & bye)

1. Sarita & Ram are meeting for the first time.

Sarita: namaste!

Ram: ______________

Sarita: merā ___________ Sarita hai. āpkā ___________ nām?

Ram: ___________ Ram hūn.

Sarita: āpse mil kar ____________ hui!

Ram: jī, ___________ bhi!

2. Sarita is a girl. Ram is her uncle. They are greeting each other.

Sarita: __________ Uncle!

Ram: __________ betā! (betā = child)

Sarita: kaise hain ___________?

Ram: maiň ____________ hūn. tum ___________ ho?

Sarita: badhiyā hūn!

3. Sarita & Ram are colleagues. They are greeting each other.

Sarita: ____________!

Ram: ____________!

4. Sarita & Ram are good friends. They are greeting each other.

Sarita: ____________!

Ram: ____________!

Sarita: __________ hāl haiň?

Ram: mast! _____________?

Sarita: badhiyā!

5. Sarita & Ram are good friends saying bye.

Sarita: maiň chaltī hūn. (I will leave.)

Ram: Thīk _____. to ham jaldī _________. (jaldī = soon)

Sarita: hān, __________. Bye!

Ram: ___________!

namaste नमस्ते Hello

Image Courtesy: Exotic India Online Art Store

In India, in formal situations both genders join their own hands to greet each other. Young people wave hands or shake hands with each other.

I) Words to Remember:

नमस्ते!	namaste!	Hello! (I bow to you!)
नमस्कार!	namaskār!	Hello! (I bow to you!)
मेरा नाम राम है।	merā nām rām hai.	My name is Ram.
आप से मिल कर खुशी हुई।	āp se mil kar khushī huī.	Pleased to meet you.

Cultural Tip:

Indians frequently address people as  श्रीमान (shrīmān = Mr.), महोदय (mahoday = Sir), महोदया (mahodayā = Ma’am). With names you can use श्रीमान or श्री. (shrī) for married men; श्रीमति (shrīmati = Mrs.) for married women. कुमार (kumār = Master) for boys or unmarried men; कुमारी (kumārī  = Miss) for girls or unmarried women.

Other popular greetings are सत श्री अकाल (sat shrī akāl), सलाम (salām), राम-राम (rām-rām), जय राम जी की (jai rām jī kī).

II) In Conversation: Introduction

Ram :	नमस्ते! मेरा नाम राम कुमार शर्मा है।	namaste! merā nām rām kumār sharmā hai.	Hello! My name is Ram Kumar Sharma.
Sarita :	नमस्ते! मैं सरिता तलवार हूं। आप से मिल कर खुशी हुई।	namaste! maiň saritā talwār hūň. āp se mil kar khushī huī.	Hello! I am Sarita Talwar. Pleasure to meet you.
Ram :	जी, मुझे भी!	jī, mujhe bhī!	Yes, me too!

In Conversation: Goodbye

Indians use ‘namaste’ / ‘namaskār’ while leaving as well.

Ram :	तो हम कल मिलें?	to ham kal mileň?	So should we meet tomorrow?
Sarita :	हां, बिल्कुल!	hān, bilkul!	Yes, definitely!
Ram :	ठीक है। नमस्ते…	Theek hai. namaste!	OK. Bye…

*Informally, the English ‘hi’ & ‘bye’ are more popular. In offices, ‘hello’  is used the most.

III) Put into practice

IV) Useful Phrases

आप का शुभ नाम?	āp kā shubh nām?	Your (good) name?
अल्विदा	alvidā…	Goodbye…
धन्यवाद!	dhanyavād!	Thank you!
फिर मिलेंगे/फिर मिलते हैं!	fir milenge/fir milte haiň!	We’ll meet again!

V) Meeting known people

कैसे हैं आप?	kaise haiň āp?	how are you?
कैसे हैं वो?	kaise haiň vo?	how is he?
क्या हाल हैं?	kyā hāl haiň?	{literally} what condition is?
मैं ठीक हूं।	maiň Theek hūň.	I am fine.
बढिया!	baDhiyā!	excellent!
बहुत अच्छा!	bahot achchā!	very good!
मस्त!	mast!	awesome!

Phonetic Symbols

I have used the following symbols.

Vowel sound symbols:

a   as in cup.

ā   as in car.

i    as in dip.

ī    as in deep.

u   as in good.

ū   as in food.

e   as in pain.

ai  as in pair.

o   as in goal.

au as in awesome.

ň   is nasal ‘N’.

Consonant sound symbols:

k    as in king.

kh = k + air.

g    as in gang.

gh = g + air.

ch  as in chamber.

chh = ch + air.

j     as in jam.

jh = j + air.

T    as in take.

Th = T + air.

D    as in deck.

Dh = D + air.

t      (check th. t = th – air.)

th   as in thirty.

d     as in the

dh = d + air.

n    as in no.

p    as in pick.

f      as in flower.

b     as in back.

bh = b + air.

m    as in me.

y      as in yacht.

r       as in rash.

l        as in live.

v       as in vision/wish. (Hindi has only 1 ‘v’ sound, unlike English’s ‘v’ & ‘w’)

sh    as in shake.

s        as in same.

h        as in home.