Common Words and Phrases

Now that you can read the Devanagari script, it is time to build your practical vocabulary. This lesson covers the most common Hindi words and phrases you will encounter in everyday life, all written in Devanagari with full transliterations.

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Essential Greetings and Pleasantries

Devanagari	Transliteration	Meaning	Usage
नमस्ते	namaste	Hello / Greetings	Universal greeting (formal and informal)
नमस्कार	namaskaar	Formal greetings	More formal than namaste
अलविदा	alvidaa	Goodbye	Standard farewell
फिर मिलेंगे	phir milenge	See you again	Casual farewell
शुभ प्रभात	shubh prabhaat	Good morning	Formal morning greeting
शुभ रात्रि	shubh raatri	Good night	Formal night greeting
धन्यवाद	dhanyavaad	Thank you	Formal thanks
शुक्रिया	shukriyaa	Thank you	Informal/Urdu-influenced thanks
कृपया	kripayaa	Please	Formal
माफ़ कीजिए	maaf keejiye	Please forgive me / Sorry	Formal apology

Cultural Note: नमस्ते (namaste) literally means "I bow to you" and is accompanied by pressing the palms together in front of the chest. It is used for both greeting and farewell and is appropriate in virtually all situations.

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Personal Introductions

Devanagari	Transliteration	Meaning
मेरा नाम ... है	meraa naam ... hai	My name is ...
आपका नाम क्या है?	aapkaa naam kyaa hai?	What is your name?
मैं ... से हूँ	main ... se hoon	I am from ...
आप कहाँ से हैं?	aap kahaan se hain?	Where are you from?
मुझे हिंदी आती है	mujhe hindee aatee hai	I know Hindi
मुझे हिंदी नहीं आती	mujhe hindee nahin aatee	I do not know Hindi
मैं हिंदी सीख रहा हूँ	main hindee seekh rahaa hoon	I am learning Hindi (male)
मैं हिंदी सीख रही हूँ	main hindee seekh rahee hoon	I am learning Hindi (female)

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Essential Questions

Devanagari	Transliteration	Meaning
क्या?	kyaa?	What?
कौन?	kaun?	Who?
कहाँ?	kahaan?	Where?
कब?	kab?	When?
क्यों?	kyon?	Why?
कैसे?	kaise?	How?
कितना?	kitnaa?	How much? / How many?
यह क्या है?	yah kyaa hai?	What is this?
यह कितने का है?	yah kitne kaa hai?	How much does this cost?
क्या आप अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं?	kyaa aap angrezee bolte hain?	Do you speak English?

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Numbers in Everyday Use

Devanagari	Transliteration	Meaning
एक	ek	one
दो	do	two
तीन	teen	three
चार	chaar	four
पाँच	paanch	five
सौ	sau	hundred
हज़ार	hazaar	thousand

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Common Nouns