The evolution of the word ‘Hindi’ (हिन्दी) basically started from the Persian Iranian word ‘Hendi’ meaning Indian or India written and pronounced in proper noun as ‘Hind’ or Hindi. Hindi is the official language used by the residents of India. Other spoken languages include English, Tamil, Marathi, Sanskrit etc.
Standard Hindi (मानक हिन्दी) is written in the Devanagari script and shares its roots with Indo-Aryan, Indo-Iranian and Indo-European languages like Sanskrit, Punjabi etc.
Hindi language represents the rich culture and heritage of India which means it could benefit its learners in terms of business and communication with more than a billion people on this planet. Here is a step-wise guide on how to learn Hindi writing and reading according to the Devanagari script.
Step 1: How to learn Hindi to write
The first step is to recognize and learn the alphabets of Hindi. The best way to learn Hindi letters is to memorize ‘abugida’ that consists of 36 consonants and 12 vowels. The consonants include inherent vowels that can be changed with different signs of vowel.
Learning any language requires time and patience so the easy way to learn Hindi consonants and vowels is to divide the 48 letters by learning 5 letters per day. This is also considered as the best way to learn Hindi letters.
Step 2: How to learn to write Hindi fast
The easy way to learn Hindi writing is mentioned in further steps below.
1. Practice writing vowels and consonants for at least an hour or two daily.
2. Familiarize with Hindi grammar and phrases through watching video tutorials.
3. Purchase a Hindi Dictionary that contains all the meaning of the words.
4. Take available online language courses that also offer effective techniques on how to learn Hindi and write it quickly.
These 4 steps clearly are a very easy way to learn Hindi writing.
Step 3: How to learn Hindi reading
Reading Hindi becomes convenient after visualizing Hindi characters and letters. An easy way to learn Hindi consonants is already mentioned above but Hindi is one of those few languages that contain gender-specific words that may sound different while reading and writing.
For Instance, words that ends with the vowel आ aa are mostly masculine like larkaa (boy) while words that ends with the vowel ई ee are mostly feminine like larkee (girl).
Step 4: How to learn to read Hindi fast
The easy way on how to learn Hindi reading is mentioned in further steps below.
1. Practice through listening to different audio lessons offered by websites and applications.
2. Become familiar with Hindi pronouns like main मैं – I, for first person singular and हम Hum- We, for first person plural.
3. Become familiar with Hindi Verbs like parhna पढ़ना – to read and seekhna सीखना- to learn.
4. Try to speak it as much as you can around a group of people to get comfortable with Hindi grammar.
Step 5: How to learn Hindi writing and reading together
The best possible and easy ways to learn Hindi writing and reading together is to learn about basic stuff for example: Days of the week as Hindi and Devanagari script.
- Sunday रविवार known as Raveevaar
- Monday सोमवार known as Somvaar
- Tuesday मंगलवार known as Mangalvaar
- Wednesday बुधवार known as Budhvaar
- Thursday गुरुवार known as Guroovaar
- Friday शुक्रवार known as Shukaravaar
- Saturday शनिवार known as ShaneevaaR
Other Hindi terms include Time and Place, for example:
- Yesterday कल known as bita kal
- Today आज known as aaj
- Tomorrow कल known as kal
- Day दिन known as din
- Night रात known as raat
Step 6: Practice with a partner
Earlier the steps discussed sums up on how to learn Hindi and write it through Devanagari script, tips on how to learn to write Hindi fast and how to learn to read Hindi fast but the best practice to learn the language is to practice it with a partner.
Conversational Hindi is the most efficient way to enhance Hindi alphabet skills and learn about basic Hindi grammar. Learning it in a group of people that share similar interest, i.e. to learn the Hindi language or who also want to know how to learn basic Hindi to write and read effectively is a great experience.
Some examples of introductory phrases in Hindi include:
- Hi नमस्ते known as Namastey!
- Good morning! सुप्रभात known as Shubh Prabhaat!
- Good evening! शुभ संध्या known as Shubh sundhyaa!
- Welcome! आपका स्वागत हैं known as Apka swaagat hai.
- How are you? आप कैसे हैं ? known as Aap kaisey hain?
- I’m fine, thanks! मैं ठीक हुँ known as Mein theek hoon, shukriya!
- Thank you! शुक्रीया (धन्यवाद) known as Shukriyaa (dhanyavaad)
Tips and Techniques to learn Hindi
First of all, every language takes an ample amount of time to memorize and learn. Learning a language is not an easy task as its entire formation is enriched with deeper meaning and years of history. Never be afraid to learn a new language but always keep in mind that the sooner the start, the faster will be the outcome.
Learning Hindi requires the same eagerness and motivation. Using these techniques will help further to develop skills and expand knowledge about the Hindi language.
1. Enroll in free online lessons, for instance; North Carolina State University offers video lessons that include grammar, quizzes and exercises while The University of Pennsylvania covers the basics of Hindi Grammar
2. Purchase good audio and visual textbook that might assist in the vocabulary composition and clear the in-depth concepts about grammar and other elements of the language.
3. Study Rupert Snell’s book about Hindi course or Elementary Hindi by Richard Delacy and Sudha Joshi. Ask for more recommendations about different books from other Hindi lovers as well.
4. Read daily Hindi newspapers, blogs and Hindi literature involving poets, authors, and philosophers.
5. Visit social media pages like Facebook, Linkedin, etc to get daily updates about the changing trends and popular cultural topics.
6. Watch Bollywood movies and series with subtitles to understand more about the language.
7. Attend cultural events and meet new friends to experience more about Indian culture and their values.
8. Download language and culture exploration applications which might help to know about the lifestyle of the native speakers there.
9. Interact with native Indian speakers to learn more about their native language.
10. Visit as a tourist and get to know about some really cool places in India.
More than thousands of people in the world are interested to learn Hindi language and to enhance their Hindi speaking skills as the country, India is among the few countries that lead in almost every aspect of business and life.
