Hindi script

Hi, I have only just started to learn Hindi and I find it really difficult to read Hindi script. How can I manage to read and learn more words if I can't read the script? Thanks Thomas

Hi there, welcome to the forum Thomas. I have some good news for you. There is a system to write Hindi that uses English letters. That way you can read Hindi without having to know the script. It's great for beginners and helps a lot. Of course, with time you will get used to the script and one day it will be second nature, but in the meantime make the most of this easier system. We use it in the Rocket Hindi Learning Lounge (as well as script, so you can compare the two). I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions. All the best for your Hindi learning. Nikita

if you want to learn the script actively, here is a good page for it: The Hindi Script Tutor http://www.avashy.com/hindiscripttutor.htm

Hello namasthe. I started hindi learning. i can't know the difference among ka, ki ,ko. can u tell me the difference with examples also Thank you

namaskar, plz i wanna know the difference between main, mujhe, mujhko, mujhse, main ne. may u tell me when i have to use each one of them plz? thank you so much

I find this forum a rather useless tool - I just find more people with the same questions and no answers - I just find more people who are getting confused by the different transliterations used in the lessons and in the vocabulary. What would be helpful would be a chapter about the hindi script, the hindiscriptutor mentioned above (avashi..) doesnt work

That link does work, I used it myself to learn the hindi script about 8 months ago. Many of the questions asked can be rather difficult to explain, as you cant have the same mind set as English, however Ill see if I can clear a couple of things up. Difference between ka, ki and ko. Ill start with "ko". Ko can translate to mean "to" HOWEVER, it can be used in many places and it doesnt actually have a translation. It can also kinda be used for the word "the" in English, if you are talking about a specific pronoun. OK some example: Mujhko dudh pasand hai = I like milk - "to me milk like is" mujhko asha hai ki tum thiik ho = I am glad that you are well = "to me happiness is that you fine are" As I said before, it can be used to state a specific object, so instead of saying drink water in general... drink a specific glass of water. It can also be used to suggest you have something (there are 2 other ways to show this, if you want I can explain them also) For example: mujhko zukaam hai = i have a cold - to me cold is Now, ka and kii (you wrote ki, but ki means "that") ka and kii essentially are used as you would use 's... so "baap ka ghar" - father's house. baap kii gadi" - father's car. you use ka, kii (or ke in the plural) depending on the gender of the following noun. (Ghar = house - male and gadi = car - female "note the word car is used more but I just used as an example). NOW in Hindi, they do not really have the word "of" like in English, instead the noun etc is switched. example - The house of Ram - would be - Ram's House. Now, "main" essentially means "I" - main soc raha huu - I am thinking mujhe and mujhko are the SAME, use either, it literally means "to me". I spoke a little about this above, they have a lot of different meanings.. but most simple sentences you can read as "to me" and it may make a little sense. mujhse - ok, se = by, from, with, etc... it essentially puts all these words into one. to mujhse = by me, from me, with me. It is used in different constructions and such as well... for example. "tum mujhse baat karte ho - you talk with me. main ne or maine is used as the past tense.. so, you would say "I spoke" in hindi, you would say maine bola. (bol coming from the verb bolna). You just use "ne" if its in the past tense and has a sense of "ed" like in english. This was a rather brief intro to all of them, but they all really have much deeper grammar, i could write a complete book on it.

Something that helps me, is to remember that (generally) "main" goes with "hoon" and "mujhe" goes with "hai." For example: Main Roxanne hoon - I am Roxanne Mujhe chaval pasand hai - I like rice, or literally, to me rice is nice. This is obviously very simplistic, but I found it helped when I was starting to learn Hindi.

If you want to learn Hindi script, try the computer flashcard system by Transparent Language called Byki. You can get it for free, or to get more vocab you can buy the full version for under $100. The flashcards help you learn the Hindi letters because you have to recognize them and type them. That's one of the ways I learned, besides learning from a book. Another good source is http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/plc/hindi/alphabet/ with easy-to-follow videos for how to draw each letter and how it sounds. I found it fun to learn the letters because I'm artistic.

Thanks, Shari. I was wondering where to get videos of writing script, and I'm glad to find it.

Namaskaar Elijah, I found the easiest way to learn was to start with the words for numbers (in the writing lessons) I enlarged them and printed them out so I was sure I was copying it correctly, then I would keep copying them on to a white board. this way you can keep rubbing them out and you don't use too much paper. Then I learnt the vowels using the same method. I would test my self each day. Now I have added the consonants and can sound most words I come across. you will soon find you can recognise the 'shapes' of the different letters. don't give up you will suddenly find you can understand. All the best with your studies Anjaani

Try using interactive audio and compare your voice to the tutor's.

answers to madhavi! to start slowly: ka=का is the" 's " which marks possession :"Ram ka kutta"(Ram's dog)राम का कुत्ता ko=को imeans to. Ram ko bolie(speak to ram)राम को बोली ki=की means "that" .Ram ko bataie ki hindi mushkil hai.(tells Ram that hindi is difficult).रामको बताइए की हिंदी मुश्किल है ki can also marks possession with a feminine ownership.Ram ki bahin(ram's sister).राम की बहिन Hope that i have helped you.आशा है कि मैं तुम्हारी मदद की है. Julienji.

hey Julien I can see that you are great in Hindi but I would just like to make a small correction in "आशा है कि मैं तुम्हारी मदद की है." It should be आशा है कि मैंne तुम्हारी मदद की है (Sorry i didnt know how to write in hindi using my keyboard )

the Avashy script tutor is really great and so helpful. However, to really get it set in my mind, I've been using worksheets meant to teach kids how to write the Devanagari script (one worksheet per character). For me, this repetitive kind of exercise, while saying the sound of the character each time I write it, really works. I like http://www.studyvillage.com/resources/ViewAttachment.aspx?AttachmentId=2773

devanargari bahut mushkil hai yah samay bahut leti hai sikhne mai.mai samajdaar nahi hu sikhne mai.devenardari is time consuming to learn. i am not smart enough anyway.

jhuuth hai bhai | tin dino ke baad, aapko hindi ki lipi aa sakte hain, sach mem! agar aap asia bolte hain to hindi ki lilp appko kabhi nahi aaenge | aap baar baar likhe, bolte bhi! hindi ki lipi sikhne mem, maz aa sakte bhi! bevkuuf koi nahi hai, yaa bahut kam hoshiyar! It is a lie brother. After three days, you can learn the hindi script, really! If you speak like this then you will never learn the hindi script. You should write it over and over again, speak it too! Learning the hindi script can be fun. No one is stupid, or not smart enough! (Not an exact translation as some (if not many) phrases are stated differently in both languages).

mujhe khushi nahi hai chinku t.

Thank you all very much for the links to learn and practice the devanagari script. I want to learn it very much, as I don't think you can learn a language without knowing to read and write, and those practice sites will help me.

Hi Debora, I totally agree with you. I learned Devanagari script first before I take this course. Here is the link for Devanagari Keyboard. It also has Devanagari script and transliteration. I use this keyboard a lot. You also can click on dictionary. In order to use dictionary, you must know how to read Devanagari script. http://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/devanagari.htm Have fun learning Hindi! John

Thanks. I found online flashcards and also tests to learn the Hindi script: http://quizlet.com/319768/flashcards A very nice and helpful site.

Namaste Debora, Thank you for sharing the link. If you would like to purchase a book, I recommend 'Read and Write Hindi Script: A Teach Yourself Guide' (TY: Language Guides) by Rupert Snell. You can purchase from Amazon.com Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Read-Write-Hindi-Script-Yourself/dp/0071759921/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381244607&sr=8-2&keywords=rupert+snell