Introduction to Hindi Language and Devanagari Script

• "Hindi ka notes" translates to "Hindi notes" in English.
• This suggests the need for study notes about the Hindi language.
• The notes likely cover various aspects of the language.

Hindi Language Basics

• Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in India
• It is the official language of the Union government of India
• Hindi is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India
• Modern Standard Hindi is based on the Khariboli dialect
• It is mutually intelligible with Urdu; both are often referred to as Hindustani

Devanagari Script

• Hindi is typically written in the Devanagari script.
• Devanagari is an abugida script, meaning each consonant has an inherent vowel.
• Vowels can be written as independent letters or as diacritics modifying consonants.
• The script is written from left to right.
• It has distinctive horizontal line above the letters.

Hindi Alphabet (Vowels)

• अ (a) – like the 'u' in 'but'
• आ (aa) – like the 'a' in 'father'
• इ (i) – like the 'i' in 'bit'
• ई (ee) – like the 'ee' in 'feet'
• उ (u) – like the 'u' in 'put'
• ऊ (oo) – like the 'oo' in 'boot'
• ऋ (ri) – a retroflex vowel, similar to 'ri' in 'rhythm' (though pronunciation varies)
• ए (e) – like the 'a' in 'late'
• ऐ (ai) – like the 'ai' in 'aisle'
• ओ (o) – like the 'o' in 'note'
• औ (au) – like the 'ow' in 'cow'
• अं (am) – nasalized 'a'
• अः (ah) – a voiceless breath after 'a'

Hindi Alphabet (Consonants)

• क (ka) – like 'k' in 'kite'
• ख (kha) – aspirated 'ka' (like 'kh' in 'khan')
• ग (ga) – like 'g' in 'goat'
• घ (gha) – aspirated 'ga'
• ङ (nga) – like 'ng' in 'sing'
• च (cha) – like 'ch' in 'chat'
• छ (chha) – aspirated 'cha'
• ज (ja) – like 'j' in 'jam'
• झ (jha) – aspirated 'ja'
• ञ (nya) – like 'ny' in 'canyon'
• ट (tta) – retroflex 'ta'
• ठ (ttha) – aspirated retroflex 'ta'
• ड (dda) – retroflex 'da'
• ढ (ddha) – aspirated retroflex 'da'
• ण (nna) – retroflex 'na'
• त (ta) – like 't' in 'tap'
• थ (tha) – aspirated 'ta'
• द (da) – like 'd' in 'dig'
• ध (dha) – aspirated 'da'
• न (na) – like 'n' in 'nap'
• प (pa) – like 'p' in 'pat'
• फ (pha) – aspirated 'pa' (like 'ph' in 'phone')
• ब (ba) – like 'b' in 'bat'
• भ (bha) – aspirated 'ba'
• म (ma) – like 'm' in 'mat'
• य (ya) – like 'y' in 'yes'
• र (ra) – like 'r' in 'run'
• ल (la) – like 'l' in 'lap'
• व (va) – like 'v' in 'van' or 'w' in 'wet'
• श (sha) – like 'sh' in 'shop'
• ष (ssha) – retroflex 'sha'
• स (sa) – like 's' in 'sap'
• ह (ha) – like 'h' in 'hat'
• क्ष (ksha) – a conjunct, approximately 'ksha'
• त्र (tra) – a conjunct, approximately 'tra'
• ज्ञ (gya) – a conjunct, approximately 'gya'

Numbers in Hindi

• ० (0) – shunya
• १ (1) – ek
• २ (2) – do
• ३ (3) – teen
• ४ (4) – chaar
• ५ (5) – paanch
• ६ (6) – chhah
• ७ (7) – saat
• ८ (8) – aath
• ९ (9) – nau
• १० (10) – das

Basic Hindi Grammar

• Hindi generally follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order.
• Nouns have grammatical gender (masculine or feminine).
• Verbs conjugate according to tense, aspect, mood, gender, and number.
• Postpositions are used instead of prepositions.
• There are direct and oblique cases for nouns and pronouns.

Common Hindi Phrases

• नमस्ते (Namaste) – Hello/Greetings
• आप कैसे हैं? (Aap kaise hain?) – How are you? (formal)
• मैं ठीक हूँ (Main theek hoon) – I am fine.
• धन्यवाद (Dhanyavaad) – Thank you.
• आपका स्वागत है (Aapka swagat hai) – You are welcome.
• जी हाँ (Ji haan) – Yes.
• जी नहीं (Ji nahin) – No.
• मेरा नाम ... है (Mera naam ... hai) – My name is ...
• यह क्या है? (Yah kya hai?) – What is this?
• कितना? (Kitna?) – How much?
• कहाँ? (Kahaan?) – Where?
• कब? (Kab?) – When?

Hindi Verb "to be" (होना - honaa)

• मैं हूँ (Main hoon) – I am
• तू है (Tu hai) – You are (informal, singular)
• आप हैं (Aap hain) – You are (formal, singular or plural)
• यह है (Yah hai) – This is / He is / She is (close proximity)
• वह है (Vah hai) – That is / He is / She is (farther away)
• हम हैं (Hum hain) – We are
• ये हैं (Ye hain) - These are
• वे हैं (Ve hain) - Those are

Noun Gender

• Hindi nouns are either masculine or feminine, influencing verb agreement and adjective usage.
• There are no strict rules; gender is often learned through usage and memorization.
• Masculine nouns often end in आ (aa), but this is not always the case.
• Feminine nouns often end in ई (ee), but this is also not a hard rule.

Case System

• Hindi has a complex case system with direct and oblique forms.
• The direct case is used for the subject of a verb.
• The oblique case is used with postpositions and sometimes as the subject of a transitive verb in the perfect tense.

Postpositions

• Postpositions follow the noun or pronoun they modify, unlike prepositions in English.
• का (kaa), की (kee), के (ke) – of (possessive, agrees with the gender/number of thing possessed)
• में (mein) – in
• पर (par) – on
• को (ko) – to, for (marks the direct object)
• से (se) – from, with, by

Tenses

• Hindi has three main tenses: present, past, and future.
• Each tense can have different aspects (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous).
• Tense and aspect are marked by verb endings and auxiliary verbs.

Sample Sentences

• मैं हिंदी सीख रहा हूँ (Main Hindi seekh raha hoon) – I am learning Hindi.
• वह बाज़ार जा रहा है (Vah bazaar jaa raha hai) – He is going to the market.
• मैंने खाना खा लिया है (Maine khana kha liya hai) – I have eaten food.
• यह किताब मेरी है (Yah kitaab meri hai) – This book is mine.
• राम एक अच्छा लड़का है (Ram ek achha ladka hai) – Ram is a good boy.