Basic Hindi phrases are a must in your repertoire if you are visiting India, whether for a few months or on vacation. Going to a country where your native language is not the main one can be intimidating and a bit scary. Don’t worry, here are some of the most common Hindi phrases with their basic pronunciations, executed in a more user-friendly way than those lousy phonic markings found in most dictionaries.
Namastey, aap kaise hain. (na-mas-thay, Aap kai-say hey?) Hello, how are you? In India, we often greet people by saying Namastey with folded hands.
Main theek hoon, dhanyevaad (Mai teek hu, dhun-ye-vaad) I’m fine, thank you.
Aapka naam Kya hai? (Aap-ka naam kya hey?) What is your name? Generally, it is a casual question asking for your name.
Mera naam…..hai( May-ra naam….hey) My name is…. This is an answer to the previous question.
Aapko Hindi aati hai? (Aap-ko Hindi aati hey) Lots of people will ask you this question, unless you’ve already tried it, and then they’ll just smile and be really nice to you.
Mujhe angrezy nahi aati hai (Mu-jay un-grazy n-he aati hey) I don’t speak English. This can be an answer if you don’t know English.
Kitney ka hai? (Kit-ne ka hey?) How much is it? This sentence assumes that you know the numbers from one to ten in Spanish.
Mujhe samjh nahi aaya (Mu-jay sum-jh n-he aa-ya) I don’t understand.
Bahut mehanga hai. (bo-hu-thh may-heng-ga hey) is too expensive.
Mujhe chahiye (muj-he chah-iye). This verb means “I want”. It is a very useful word as it is used in many day-to-day situations. Like when you order coffee in a restaurant, you will say, mujhe ka-fee chahiye.
Khana (kha-na) Means food.
Paani (pa-ni) means water.
Haan (ha) means yes.
Nahi (n-he) means not
Aapse milke bahut aacha laga (Aap-say mil-ke bah-ut a-cha laga) nice to meet you.
Don’t forget to say “namastey” (na-mas-thay) which means “goodbye” when you leave, usually said with folded hands.
I hope these basic words help you get started. Hindi is one of the most enjoyable languages to learn, so don’t stop here!