What to focus on...

Hello! Just starting out with learning Hindi, and I would like the best way to begin to tackle it. Is it benificial to only concern myself with Hindi (In english letters) and how to say each word/phrase (and ignore the Hindi script for now), or, will it help to learn the Hindi script characters first (So what each character actually means etc) and learn how they fit together at the same time as the rest?

I'm also wondering the same thing...

Hi there! Thanks for the post. As you know, everyone learns differently. So my suggestions may not be the best for you. However, I would suggest that starting with all of it right from the beginning will be beneficial to you. It would probably be easiest to learn Hindi script while learning how to speak it. Then you won't have to go back to the beginning and try and tackle the script. And also, not everyone uses English characters in the same way when writing in Hindi, so knowing the Hindi script will give you consistency. You may be learning Hindi to only be able to speak it in which case you could just focus on that. If you want the full experience (speaking, reading, writing) I would suggest doing it all at the same time. I hope this helps. All the best for your Hindi learning! :) Nikita

Hi Nikita, How can I learn Hindi script ? When the videos to learn Hindi script will be available ? Thanks a lot ! Fantastic course !

Thought I should reply, the hindi script is actually really really easy, and more logical! Its not just a bunch of random letters put together in a sequence. However, learning it was rather annoying, as it required a ton of repetition... Hopefully this is allowed, (if not just delete my comment, but the following really helped me and I am able to use this course more efficently) Ok, so a quick google search brought me to this website, http://www.avashy.com/hindiscripttutor.htm NOTE: This is not a replacement for this course, it rather helps and should be used in conjunction with! You can learn the script in 2-7 days depending on how dedicated you are, I learnt it in 2. I recommend you do learn it though, it will help MASSIVLY with pronounciation! The only thing you would have to worry about, is the conjuncts, most of these are fine, as they just half the first (ill call it a symbol just to make it easy) and it connects to the next one, however there are a few that are completly different, just learn these as you come across them. (Its how I did it).

thank you very much Nathan, I am going to follow your advice.

Not a problem mate! Feel free to ask questions when needed, its better to completly understand something, than to just guess and it ends up hindering the rest of your language learning.

Hello everyone i am not learning HIndi...yet but, i am 12 years old...and my dad just now telling me i am mix of Indian!:) which is a good thing because i like being mix with other stuff and i was wondering should i learn Hindi since i am mix with Indian. should i learn Hindi?

Hey Keyatta! Learning any language is always good, especially if you only know the one. It will open your mind to different possibilities and a new way of thinking, even if you are not fluent in the 2nd language. I have been learning hindi for some time now, I am actually going to India later this year for 3 months. I have several friends over there as well. Also, it is awesome you have Indian blood in you, I have about 24 different nationalities within me. Learning any language is a journey in itself, it has ups and downs, but the most important thing to remember, is to understand you wont learn it all instantly, it will take time, but it is worth it! The earlier you start, the sooner you will be able to speak and understand the language! So, the short answer is, of course you should! Even if you had no Indian blood in you (like me), it is worth it, you learn more than just the language!

Thank you Nathan I feel Proud!!!

Hi Nikita I am a little confused as to when to use 'mein' and when to use 'mujhe'. Another question is, in the lesson 'talking about yourself' the word 'waqt' was mentioned. Is this a Hindi word or Urdu?

yes, i too found the hindi script tutor very helpful.

Nathan That was a great idea posting http://www.avashy.com/hindiscripttutor.htm I've just had a look at it and it really helps with trying to understand that there seem to be so many more sounds in Hindi than in English e.g k, kha, etc It is difficult for a lazy English speaker like me BUT I just don't get the difference between the RETROFLEX and DENTAL consonants - they look and sound exactly the same to me. Any idea how you can help me make the breakthrough? I have quite a good Hindi vocabulary, especially food but absolutely no grammar so finally have to come to grips with it because all that rahee ... rahaa hai .. in Hindi movies was confusing me!!!

Oh what I would give to have a larger vocabulary! I am the opposite, I have a fair bit of grammar, but vocabulary is rather lacking, since I more enjoy learning why a certain phrase does what is does, over simply learning words etc. There are more consonants and vowles in hindi, however, English joins many of our sounds together to make strange sounds that you cant really study without being expossed to it. Hindi is very simple when it comes to this, they do join different sounds together, however they dont really change, they just drop a little off and add something (so saying dhy instead of dha etc) So once you get the sounds under your belt, its a piece of cake! At first the dental and retroflux may seem kinda similar, depending on the speaker! Firstly, Dental is really really light, used on your front teeth with your tongue. With the retroflux, your tongue is curled back to the roof of your mouth and is VERY hard. When you use dental, don't put a lot of effort into it, so it is light, but with the retroflux, push your tongue up hard and then make the required sound. You will hear a difference. Just doing this will greatly improve your accent, (In my dialect - Australian English - we don't even really use our tongue, so its a nice change.) In response to your rahaa and rahee, that is the present continuous tense and the slight difference is only showing a gender and number, aa being singular male and ee being multiples (With AT LEAST one male - if they were all female it would be ii.) However, in reality, this isn't always followed, Ive spoken to people who use whatever, whenever they want!

Thanks for that Nathan. Can you give some examples of words with dental and retroflux sounds that are otherwise similar? With vocab I find grouping words that are similar together helps like (apologies for spelling) mirchi, murghi, muchlee ..... but of course I may have simplified the sounds of those so much that they don't make sense to a Hindi speaker [chilli, chicken, fish ???] haddi, chadhi (bone, vest/undershirt) charvee, charvil (key, rice) Lassan, lassi (garlic, buttermilk) Ladoo, kaddu (type of desert ball, pumpkin) dubah, kubah (box, news)

No need to apologies for spelling, there really isn't any one way to spell a hindi word with English letters, all comes down to interpretation of the sound. I use what most my Indian friends use, so I don't seem as distant. Examples of dental and retroflux are as follows, the first will be a dental while the second will be the retroflux, I will also capitalize the retroflux for ease of use. daal (daal), Daal (branch) moti (pearl), moTi (fat (f)) mor (peacock), moR (turn,bend) - Something to note here, is the R is just a another form of the D retroflux (kinda makes an R sound), however, many speakers simply use D instead of the R (As do I, since all my Indian friends use the D and forget about the R), I just put it here as an example. Just a few examples I can think of off the top of my head, there are more of course (also others which have aspirated differences such as saat (seven) and saath (with - in company of). Its interesting when you accidentally say the wrong word due to pronunciation . Big difference between saying turn or bend and peacock. Also, thanks for the tip with vocabulary, I will use it and see how I go.

bilkul nahi ap tin din me devanagri nahi sikh sakte.kya ap hindi adhyapak hai.

mai lachy hu mujhe sirf points gitna hai.