Basic Hindi for Travelers

Oct 1, 2026

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Basic Hindi for Travelers provides a practical introduction to communicating in Hindi while traveling in India. It focuses on pronunciation fundamentals using the Devanagari script, explains vowel and consonant sound patterns including aspirated and retroflex consonants, and notes how word stress is handled. The guide then offers ready-to-use greetings, introductions, everyday etiquette, common phrases, and essential vocabulary for food, locations, shopping, time, and travel questions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time9 min

AccessFree to download

Pronunciation

Vowels and consonant sounds

Aspirated and retroflex consonants

Useful words and phrases

Greetings and introductions

Etiquette and relationships/titles

Food and drinks

Market, locations, and shopping

Time of day and common questions

Basic Hindi for Travelers This is a brief introduction to Hindi, one of the official languages of India. This introduction contains basic instruction about pronunciation and important words and phrases. Anywhere you travel in India, the ability to communicate in Hindi will greatly enhance your experience. Even if you do not plan on studying the language in-depth, we strongly suggest learning and using basic greetings and phrases. The locals will greatly appreciate your efforts and will be all the more welcoming to you during your stay. If you would like to complete a beginning course in Hindi, there are a number of self-study books and tapes. Lonely Planet‟s Hindi, Urdu & Bengali Phrasebook (2005) and Berlitz‟s Hindi Phrase Book and Dictionary (2006) are two very helpful books. Pronunciation Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, which is also the script used for Sanskrit, Nepali, and many other languages. There are 67 characters, each with only one pronunciation. The Devanagari script is not used in this guide; however, a list of the Devanagari characters can be found at the end of this document. Hindi has eleven vowel sounds. a „u‟ as in run aa „a‟ as in father ai „ai‟ as in aisle ay „ay‟ as in day au „ow‟ as in cow e „e‟ as in bed ee „ee‟ as in bee i „i‟ as in bit o „o‟ as in go oo „oo‟ as in fool u „u‟ as in put Generally, Hindi consonants are pronounced the same as in English. b as in bat ng as in finger ch as in chew ny as in canyon d as in dog p as in pin f as in frog r as in rabbit, but slightly trilled g as in go s as in sit h as in hit sh as in ship j as in jaw t as in stop k as in kennel v as in van l as in last y as in yolk m as in mill z as in zero n as in neat [info@villagevolunteers.org](info@villagevolunteers.org) • [www.villagevolunteers.org](www.villagevolunteers.org) There are two special types of consonants: aspirated consonants and retroflex consonants. Aspirated consonants are pronounced much more forcefully and with a puff of air. Below are the proper pronunciations of the aspirated consonants. bh „b‟ as in bus chh „ch‟ + „h‟ as in punch hard dh „d‟ in duck gh „g‟ in go jh „j‟ in jump kh „k‟ in kill ph „p‟ in pit, or like an „f‟ th „t‟ in time Retroflex consonants are pronounced by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth while pronouncing the consonants. Only four consonants can be pronounced this way (d, t, n, dh) . In this guide, we have not distinguished between regular consonants, and the aspirated and retroflex consonants. You will still be understood if you do not use them. In Hindi, word stress is very light, and is determined by a complex set of rules. In this guide, however, the stressed syllable will be in italics. Hello See you later. How are you? I‟m fine, and you? Okay My name is What is your name? Pleased to meet you. I am from America. Where are you from? I am a student. I work in Thank you waad You‟re welcome Please Sorry Excuse me (to get attention) Excuse me (to pass) Greetings na-ma-ste Goodbye na-ma-stepir mi-leng-ge aap kay-se/kay-see hayng (m/f) mayng theek hoong aap su-naa-i-yetheek Introductions me-raa naam … hay. aap kaa naam kyaa hay? aap se mil-kar ba-hut ku-shee he-ee mayng am-ree-kaa kaa/kee hoong (m/f) aap ha-haang ke/kee hayng? (m/f) mayng chaa-tra hoong mayng meng kaam kar-taa/kar-tee hoong (m/f) Etiquette thayn-kyoo; dhan-yako-ee baat na-heeng kri-pa-yaa maaf kee-ji-yesu-ni-ye raas-taa de dee-ji-ye [info@villagevolunteers.org](info@villagevolunteers.org) • [www.villagevolunteers.org](www.villagevolunteers.org) Page 2 of 6 Relationships/Titles I/me You (formal) You (informal) Friend Family Daughter Son Brother Sister Father Mother Husband Wife Doctor Teacher Man Mister/Sir Woman Mrs./Madam Ms./Miss mayngaaptumdost pa-ri-vaarbe-tee be-taabaa-ee be-han pi-taamaang pa-ti pat-needaak-tar tee-charaad-mee shree-man/sarstree shree-ma-t

FAQs

How is Hindi written and what is the script used in this guide?

Hindi is written in the Devanagari script, which is also used for Sanskrit, Nepali, and other languages. The guide notes that a list of Devanagari characters is provided at the end, while pronunciation is explained in the text.

What special consonant types does the guide explain?

The guide distinguishes aspirated consonants and retroflex consonants. Aspirated consonants are pronounced with stronger force and a puff of air, while retroflex consonants are formed by touching the tongue to the roof of the mouth.

What kinds of everyday phrases are included for travelers?

It includes greetings, introductions, etiquette, and relationship titles, plus practical vocabulary and sentences for food and drinks, money and cost questions, important locations, and basic travel inquiries like where, what, and how.

Oct 1, 2026

Upload by Ophelia