Learn About Hindi
हिन्दी • 600 million speakers worldwide
"नमस्ते, आप कैसे हैं?"
Pronunciation: Namaste, aap kaise hain?
Translation: Hello, how are you?
Speakers
600 million
Language Family
Indo-European (Indo-Aryan)
Writing System
Devanagari script
Official Status
Official language of India alongside English
Regions (9 countries)
Hindi evolved from Sanskrit through Prakrit and Apabhraṃśa stages. It became standardized in the 19th century with the adoption of the Devanagari script. It shares mutual intelligibility with Urdu, though written in a different script.
Subject-Object-Verb word order
Extensive verb conjugation system
Gendered nouns (masculine/feminine)
Postpositions instead of prepositions
Retroflex consonants unique to South Asian languages
Khari Boli (standard Hindi)
Awadhi
Braj
Bhojpuri
Marwari
Practice Devanagari script early on
Listen to Bollywood songs for natural exposure
Focus on retroflex sounds (ट, ड, ण)
Learn postpositions instead of prepositions
Use Hindi media like TV shows for immersion
Hindi is deeply tied to Indian traditions and festivals
Formal and informal speech varies by context
Bollywood cinema and music are a huge cultural export
Many Sanskrit-origin words carry religious and cultural weight
Hindi is the 3rd most spoken language in the world
Hindi and Urdu are mutually intelligible in spoken form
Bollywood films have popularized Hindi globally
Over 180 million people use Hindi as a second language