®

Hindi 1

Reading Booklet
 Hindi 1

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© Reading Booklet 2006 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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ii
 Hindi 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Voices
English-Speaking Instructor........................Ray Brown
Hindi-Speaking Instructor....................... Vivek Mathur
Female Hindi Speaker...................................Dolly Raja
Male Hindi Speaker.................................. Bharat Singh

Course Writers
Dr. Jilani Warsi ♦ Christopher J. Gainty

Editors
Elizabeth Horber ♦ Beverly D. Heinle

Reviewers
Anoop Bhargava ♦ Dilnavaz Bamboat

Executive Producer
Beverly D. Heinle

Producer & Director

Sarah H. McInnis

Recording Engineers
Peter S. Turpin ♦ Kelly Saux

Simon & Schuster Studios, Concord, MA

iii
 Hindi 1
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................. 1
Devanagari Alphabet ............................................... 4

Lesson One ............................................................... 8

Lesson Two ............................................................... 9
Lesson Three ............................................................ 10
Lesson Four .............................................................. 11
Lesson Five ............................................................... 12
Lesson Six ................................................................. 13
Lesson Seven ........................................................... 14
Lesson Eight ............................................................. 15
Lesson Nine .............................................................. 16
Lesson Ten ................................................................ 17
Lesson Eleven ........................................................... 18
Lesson Twelve .......................................................... 19
Lesson Thirteen ........................................................ 20
Lesson Fourteen ....................................................... 2 1
Lesson Fifteen .......................................................... 22
Lesson Sixteen ......................................................... 23
Lesson Seventeen .................................................... 24
Lesson Eighteen ....................................................... 25
Lesson Nineteen ...................................................... 26
Lesson Twenty ......................................................... 27

iv
 Hindi 1
Introduction
Hindi is one of 23 official languages of India, and is
reported to be the second most commonly spoken
language in the world. (Only Mandarin Chinese has
a greater number of speakers.) Approximately 500
million people around the world speak a dialect of
Hindi, and an even greater number have at least
some familiarity with it. India’s popular “Bollywood”
films have served to expose viewers in many parts of
the world to the sounds of Hindi.
However, included in those 500 million are
speakers of the many regional dialects of the
language, which are often quite different. Hindustani
is the term used to describe this closely related
series of languages or dialects, including Hindi and
Urdu. In this course, we teach Standard Hindi as
spoken in New Delhi. While elsewhere in India
other dialects are more prevalent, the New Delhi
dialect will be understood by most people you will
meet. And while there are 23 official languages, only
Hindi and English are official government languages
of communication.
The Hindi language actually shares some roots
with English, as both are considered descendants
of the Indo-European parent language spoken in
Central Asia approximately seven thousand years
ago. However, while English has its linguistic roots
in the West Germanic language family, Hindi is a
 Hindi 1
descendant of the classical Sanskrit of Central Asia
and belongs to the Indo-Iranian family. Today, most
Indians are multi-lingual, speaking Hindi, English
(one of the main dialects of English, called “Indian
English”), and one or more regional dialects.
Hindi is a close relative of the Urdu language
spoken in Pakistan, and speakers of the two
languages can often understand one another, at
least to some extent. Both languages are descen-
dants of the colloquial Hindustani spoken in northern
India in the ninth and tenth centuries. (The name
“Hindi” is of Persian origin, and was first used by
Persian-speaking Turks who established the “Delhi
Sultanate” in the eleventh century A.D.) That said,
the marked cultural differences between India and
Pakistan have caused the Hindi and Urdu languages
to develop along somewhat different lines, so that
they are no longer entirely mutually comprehen-
sible. Though extremely similar, the two are now
considered separate languages. Urdu is written in
a Persian-Arabic script, while Hindi is written in the
Devanagari script.
The written system of Hindi, known as Devanagari,
dates back to approximately the 11th century A.D.
There are also other languages, such as Sanskrit,
Marathi, and Nepali, which use the Devanagari
script. A noticeable feature of Devanagari is the

2
 Hindi 1
top horizontal line which is formed when letters are
combined. Hindi is read from left to right and written
with spaces between words. However, the letters
which make up a word often combine and when the
letters join together they sometimes change form.
In Hindi there is a definite correspondence between
spelling and pronunciation. There are a total of 11-14
vowels and 33-36 consonants, depending on the
chart used. There are no capital letters, but Hindi
vowels have a different appearance when they
appear independently or following another vowel
than they do when they appear in a word following
a consonant. In a word following a consonant, they
change to what is known as a maatraa form. As
a maatraa, a vowel can be placed before, after,
above, or below a consonant. Devanagari also
includes several diacritical marks, the chandrabindu
and bindu, which nasalize the vowels.
Since Hindi is written using the Devanagari
alphabet, you will need to learn to associate the
sounds with what is probably a new system of
symbols. A listing of the Devanagari alphabet
follows. This is for your reference only; you will not
need the list to learn to read Hindi, since all of the
instruction is on the audio.

3
 Hindi 1
Devanagari Alphabet—Vowels
Letter *Maatraa Sound

अ None a as in about

आ oा a as in father

इ िo i as in sit

ई oी ee as in seem

उ oु u as in put

ऊ oू oo as in pool

ए oे a as in late

ऐ oै a as in glad

ओ oो o as in go

औ oौ aw as in saw

ri as in grip

ऋ None
This vowel occurs only in words
that are borrowed from Sanskrit
and is rarely used in Hindi.

oँ chandrabindu – nasalizes vowels

oं bindu – nasalizes vowels

* The circle represents a consonant and shows the

relative position of the maatraa to the consonant.

4
 Hindi 1
Devanagari Alphabet—Consonants
Hindi Transliteration Sound
In beginning of words the g
क k
as in gold; within a word or
at the end of a word like the k
in skit
ख kh breathy k as in look here
ग g g as in gate

घ gh breathy g as in dog house

ङ n. ng as in swing
च ch ch as in check
छ Chch breathy ch as in catch him

ज j j as in June

झ jh breathy j as in dodge him

This sound does not exist
ञ ñ in English, most like the n in
unjust

ट T
combination of t and d as in
train / drain
ठ Th breathy t as in ant hill
ड D d as in date
This sound does not exist in
ड़ Ra English, sounds most like an r
followed by a quick d

5
 Hindi 1
Hindi Transliteration Sound

ढ Dh
breathy d with a very
noticable breath at the end
ढ़ Rha breathy version of Ra
.
ण N
This sounds does not exist in
English, most like the n in end

त ta soft t as in at or in at the

थ tha breathy version of ta

द da d as in breadth

ध dha breathy version of da

न na n as in name or anthem

प pa
p as in pun; sometimes closer
to a b sound
फ pha breathy p as in top hat

ब ba b as in bun

भ bha breathy b as in club house

म ma m as in mug

य ya y as in young

र ra r as serene

ल la l as in lunch

6
 Hindi 1
Hindi Transliteration Sound

व va between an English v and w

श sh sh as in shell

ष SH sh as in German Schneider

स Sa s as in sun

ह Ha h as in head

·
Hindi Borrowed Sounds / Consonants

क्ष ksha ct as in section (Sanskrit)

त्र tra tr as in trishna (Sanskrit)

ज्ञ gy g-y combination (Sanskrit)

क़ qa k (Arabic)

ख़ khha ch as in loch (Persian)

ग़ ghha g (Persian)

ज़ z z as in zone (English)

फ़ f f as in fin (English)

o: h (visarga) breathy h

7
 Hindi 1
Lesson One
Lesson One
1. 1.

2.2. 
3.3.

4.4. 
5.5.

6.6. 
7. 7. 
8.8. 
9.9. 
10.
10. 
11.
11. 
12.
12. 
13.
13. 
14.
14. 
15.
15. 
16.
16. 
17.
17.

18.
18.

19.
19. 
20.
20. 
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 Hindi 1
Lesson Two
Lesson Two
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3.

4.4.

5.5.
/

6.6. 
7. 7.  
8.8. 
9.9. 
10.
10.  
11.
11.  
12.
12.

13.
13. 
14.
14.

15.
15. 
16.
16. 
17.
17. 
18.
18.

19.
19.  

9
 Hindi 1
Lesson Three
Lesson Three
1. 1.  

2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4.

5.5. 
6.6. 
7. 7. 
8.8. 
9.9.  
10.
10.  
11.
11. 

12.
12. 
13.
13. 
14.
14. 
15.
15. 
16.
16. 
17.
17. 

18.
18. 
19.
19. 
20.
20. 
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 Hindi 1
Lesson Four
Lesson Four
1. 1. 
2.2.

3.3.

4.4.

5.5. 
6.6.  
7. 7. 
8.8. 
9.9. 
10.

10.
11. 
11.
12. 
12.
13. 
13.
14. 
14.
15. 
15.
16. 
16.
17. 

17.
18. 
18.

11
 Hindi 1
Lesson Five
Lesson Five
1. 1. 

2.2. 

3.3.

4.4. 
5.5. 

6.6.

7. 7. 

8.8. 

9.9. 

10.
10. 

11.
11. 

12.
12. 
13.
13. 

14.
14. 

15.
15.

16.
16.  
17.
17. 

18.
18. 

12
 Hindi 1
Lesson Six
Lesson Six
1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3. 
4. 4. 
5. 5. 
6. 6.  
7. 7. 
8.8. 
9. 9.  
10.
10. 

11.
11.  
12.
12. 
13.
13.  
14.
14. 
15.
15. 
16.
16.  
17.
17. 

18.
18. 

13
 Hindi 1
Lesson Seven
Lesson Seven
1. 1.

2.2.

3.3.

4.4.


5.5. 

6.6. 

7. 7. 

8.8.

9.9.


10.
10. 

11.
11. 

12.
12. 
13.
13. 
14.
14. 
15.
15. 
16.
16. 
17.
17. 
18.
18.  

14
 Hindi 1
Lesson Eight
Lesson Eight
1. 1.

2.2.


3.3.

4.4. 
5.5.

6.6.

7. 7.

8.8.

9.9. 
10.
10.

11.
11. 
12.
12. 
13.
13. 
14.
14. 
15.
15. 
16.
16.

17.
17. 
18.
18. 

15
 Hindi 1
Lesson Nine
Lesson Nine
1. 1.

2.2.

3.3.

4.4. 

5.5. 

6.6.

7. 7. 

8.8. 

9.9.

10.
10. 
11.
11. 
12.
12. 
13.
13. 
14.
14. 
15.
15.
 / 
16.
16. 
17.
17. 
18.
18.


16
 Hindi 1
Lesson Ten
Lesson Ten
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4. 

5.5.  
6.6. 
7. 7.  

8.8. 
9.9.  
10.
10. 
11.
11. 
12.
12. 
13.
13.  
14.
14. 
15.
15. 
16.
16.

17.
17. 

18.
18. 
19.
19.  

17
 Hindi 1
Lesson Eleven
Lesson Eleven
1. 1. 
2.2.  
3.3.  
4.4.

5.5.  
6.6.
 
7. 7.  
8.8.  
9.9.  
10.
10.  
11.
11.  
12.
12.  
13.
13.  
14.
14. 
15.
15.  
16.
16.  
17.
17.  
18.
18.  
19.
19. 
20.
20.  
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 Hindi 1
Lesson Twelve
Lesson Twelve
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4. 

5.5.  
6.6. 
7. 7. 

8.8. 

9.9.  

10. 
10.
11. 
11.
12. 


12.
13. 
13.
14.  

14.
15.  

15.
16.  

16.
17.  


17.
18. 

18.

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 Hindi 1
Lesson Thirteen
Lesson Thirteen
1. 1. 
2. 2. 
3. 3. 
4. 4. 
5. 5. 
6. 6.  
7. 7.  
8.8. 
9. 9. 

10.
10. 
11.
11. 

12.
12. 
 
13.
13.  
14.
14.  
15.
15.


16.
16.  
17.
17. 

18.
18. 
19.
19. 

20
 Hindi 1
Lesson Fourteen
Lesson Fourteen
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4.

5.5. 
6.6. 
7. 7. 
8.8. 
9.9.  
10. 

10.
11. 
11.
12.  
12.
13. 
13.
14. 
14.
15. 
15.
16. 
16.
17. 
17.
18. 
18.
19. 
19.
20. 
20.
21
 Hindi 1
Lesson Fifteen
Lesson Fifteen
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4. 
5.5. 
6.6. 
7. 7. 

8.8. 
9.9.

10. 
10.
11. 
11.
12. 
12.
13. 
13.
14. 
14.
15. 
15.
16.

16.
17. 
17.
18. 
18.
19. 
19.

22
 Hindi 1
Lesson Sixteen
Lesson Sixteen
1. 1.

2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4. !
5.5.  
6.6. 
7. 7. 

8.8. 
9.9. 
10. 
10.
11. 
11.
12. 
12.
13.  
13.
14. 
14.
15.   

15.
16. 
16.
17. 
17.
18.   
18.
19.   
19.
20.  
20.
23
 Hindi 1
Lesson Seventeen
Lesson Seventeen
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4. 
5.5. 
6.6.  
7. 7. 
8.8. 

9.9.  
10.   
10.
11.     .
11.
12.   
  .
12.
13.     .
13.
14.

14.
15. 
 .
15.
16.  
16.
17. " 
17.
18.  "   .
18.
19.  "   .
19.
20.     .
20.
24
 Hindi 1
Lesson Eighteen
Lesson Eighteen
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3. !
4.4. 
5.5. 
6.6. 
7. 7. # 
8.8.  
9. 9. #   .
10.
10. 
 .
11.
11. 
12.
12. #
13.
13. 
14.
14. 
15.
15. 
16.
16. 
17.
17.
 
18.
18.  $!
19.
19.   $!
20.
20.    $!.
25
 Hindi 1
Lesson Nineteen
Lesson Nineteen
1. 1. 
2.2. 
3.3. 
4.4. 1
5.5. 1 *
6.6. 1&
7. 7. (2
8.8. (2
9. 9.  %/
10. 
10.
11. #
11.
12. 
12.
13. $'  +
13.
14. $'   ! +.
14.
15. 1%
15.
16.
 
16.
17. 1%  %.
17.
18.  1
18.
19. 3) " ,?
19.
20.
) - 1 *.
20.
26
 Hindi 1
Lesson Twenty
Lesson Twenty
1. 1. $
2.2.
$
3.3.  $
4.4. $
5.5. $

6.6. &
7. 7. &
8.8.
&

9. 9. %
10.
10. %
11.
11. % 
12.
12. %
13.
13. 
14.
14. #
" !  .
15.
15. 
16.
16. 
17.
17. 
 .

27
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