Hindi Language Blog

Every year people in Nepal, India and even the UK celebrate holi (होली). Holi (होली) is the festival of colors. It’s a joyous festival where people throw colored powder at each other.

There are several stories as to how holi (होली) came to be celebrated by Indians. One story tells of how Holika (होलिका) a female demon, was burnt to death by the god Brahma (ब्रह्मा). The fight between Holika (होलिका) and Brahma (ब्रह्मा) is symbolic of the fight between good and evil. As a result, Indians celebrate Holi (होली) to honor the defeat of evil forces.

A more comical story is how Lord Krishna (कृष्ण) complained to his mother about his dark skin. To make her son feel better, his mother painted his face with colored powder, and thus this became the inspiration for holi (होली).

I gotta warn you though that in some villages, the colored powder is synthetic and can contain some toxic elements. If you see a rash on your skin or if you feel faint or dizzy in any way, go see a doctor. In some villages the powder is made from natural herbs that are actually healthy for you.

I actually found a funny BBC video on Youtube where a journalist gets pummeled with powder. It’s hard to take him seriously when he has a mass of pink powder on his face, but it’ll give you an idea of what the holi (होली) festival is like.

The Hindi alphabet is very long, especially the consonants. So without further delay let’s continue:

प – is pronounced like the p in sPin. The Hindi word for kite contains this sound (पतंग).

फ – is like the uph in UP Hill. Fruit = (फल).

ब – like the b in Bee. Duck = (बतख).

भ – like bh in aBHor. Bear = (भालू).

म – like the m in Mare. Fish = (मछली).

य – like the y in Yes. Yoga = (योग).

र – is kind of like the r in Roll. Chariot = (रथ).

ल – like the l in Lend. Girl = (लड़की).

व – is sort of like the sound in between an English w and an English v. Forest = (वन).

श – is the sh in SHell. Sherbet = (शरबत). Sherbet (शरबत) is a Indian beverage served cold.

ष – is almost pronounced like an sh, but with more aspiration. Hexagon = (षदकोण).

स – like the s in Sea. Vegetables = (सब्जी).

ह – like the h in Him. Hammer = (हथौड़ा).

I’m back! We’re going to start where we left off with the Hindi consonants (व्यंजन):

ट – Is a hard English t like Trick. The Hindi word that contains this sound is the Hindi word for tomato (टमाटर)

ठ – is like the th in lighTHouse. The Hindi words for blacksmith = (ठठेरा)

ड – is like the d in Dorm. The Hindi words for robber or bandit is (डकैती)

ढ - is like the dh in muDHut. Cattle = (ढोर)

ण – is a nasal sound and like the n in turNing. The sound is made with the tip of your tongue. This letter is only used for Sanskrit loan words, not for actual Hindi words.

त – there’s really no comparable English word that contains this sound. The best I can do is explain it as a th sound with a soft English t sound. The word for scale = (तराजू)

थ – It’s kind of like the t in Tin. It’s like a t sound, but with more aspiration. Police Station = (थाना)

द - Kind of like the d in Din, but make the sound with your teeth. Frog = (दादुर)

ध – Kind of like a d that’s murmured. Bow = (धनुष)

न – Kind of like the n in No, pronounced through the teeth. Faucet = (नल)