Punctuation in Hindi Posted by Nitin Kumar on Jun 30, 2011 in Hindi Language
Do you know what kind of Punctuation symbols or marks are commonly used in Hindi?
Just like many other languages, the punctuation symbols are very important in Hindi. They help us to determine the structure and organisation of the written language as well as the intonation during reading.
Let me show you some of the common punctuation marks that are used in Hindi and how to use them.
1. पूर्ण विराम (|) (Full Stop)
This punctuation mark comes after the end of a sentence in Hindi. It is different than English full stop/period (.) and
it is represented by a vertical bar.
Example: मैंने आज बहुत अच्छा खाना खाया था| (Today, I had a good food.)
2. अल्प विराम (,) (Comma)
This punctuation mark is used when a sentence contain two similar clauses or a compound sentence contain similar sub-sentences. It is is used just like its English counterpart.
Examples :
a. १९, सितम्बर, १९५६ (19, September, 1956)
b. राकेश आपनी सारी सम्पति, भूमि और मन-मर्यादा खो गया| (Rakesh had lost all of his property, land and reputation)
c. वो बच्चा, जो कल रो रहा था, आज हस रहा है| (The child, who was yesterday crying, is smiling today)
3. अर्ध विराम (;) (Semicolon)
This punctuation mark is used when sentences in compound and mixed sentences are of opposite nature, or in between similar sentences, or emphasis on particular sentences, or after the main sentence, a example sentences is given etc.
Example:
a. वो मुझे बहुत मानता भी है; वो मेरी बुराई भी करता है| (He respect me a lot; He says also bad about me)
4. प्रशनवाचक चिन्ह (?) (Question Mark)
This punctuation mark is used after a question is asked or a doubt is shown.
Example:
a. क्या आप मेरे साथ चलेंगे? (Would you go with me?)
5. विस्मयादिवाचक चिन्ह (!) (Exclamation Mark)
This punctuation mark is used just like in English, to express surprise, happiness, anger, sigh, to address someone etc.
Examples:
a. अरे! तुम कब आये? (Hey! When did you come?)
b. सुशील! इधर आओ| (Sushil! Come Here.)
6. निर्देशक (—) (Dash)
This punctuation mark is used after something is spoken, written or to represent a pause after name in conversation or to define a word or sentence.
Examples:
a. रमेश – तुम हिंदी पड़ते भी हो या नहीं? (Ramesh: Do you study Hindi or not?)
b. मेहनत से सब कुछ मिल सकता है| – धन-दोलत. सुख, यश आदि| (Through hard work, everything could be gained : Money, happiness, reputation etc)
7. योजक (‐) (Hyphen)
This punctuation mark is used when there is comparison with सा, सी (like) or in opposite words pair, analogy, similar word pair etc.
Examples:
a. हाथी सा मोटा| (Fat like an Elephant)
b. कभी-कभी (Sometime)
8. उद्धरण चिन्ह (” “) (Quotation Mark)
This punctuation mark is used when a quote is given or a particular part of written work is represented in original.
Example:
a. महात्मा गाँधी ने कहा ” सत्य ही ईश्वर है|” (Mahatma Gandhi said “Truth is God” )
9. विवरण चिन्ह (:-) (Sign of Following)
This punctuation mark is used when further information, details, examples etc has/have to follow.
Example:
a. संज्ञा के तीन मुख्य भेद हैं जेसे :- (Noun is of three main types like : )
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About the Author: Nitin Kumar
Nitin Kumar is a native Hindi speaker from New Delhi, India. His education qualification include Masters in Robotics and Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering. Currently, he is working in the Research and Development in Robotics in Germany. He is avid language learner with varied level of proficiency in English, German, Spanish, and Japanese. He wish to learn French one day. His passion for languages motivated him to share his mother tongue, Hindi, and culture and traditions associated with its speakers. He has been working with Transparent Language since 2010 and has written over 430 blogs on various topics on Hindi language and India, its culture and traditions. He is also the Administrator for Hindi Facebook page which has a community of over 330,000 members.
Comments:
karthika suresh:
very informative!!! amazing!!! but i think there are more punctuation marks. please add those too. 🙂
sharon:
thanx a lot.it was really informative.
poorvi:
this is what I really want!!!!
but you could aad more punctuations to it
akshay:
it was very useful to teach these punctuation to my naughty brother who didnt write in his notes…… n more of this
it was day before the exam…:p
Hussain Sonu:
It’s very informative to me to teach my students. I hope I got what I want
Manjeet Kaur:
Your sentence b under 2 comma heading is wrong. Plz pay attention to the spelling as well as grammar.
Carlos:
Hi, I’m looking for the exact hindi phrase by Anthony DeMello, which in English is usually translated as “Nothing has changed but my attitude, therefore, everything has changed.”. I need this as accurate as possible (including punctuation). Could anybody help me?
Mark Mandel:
This page is quite helpful. It would be even more so if you added transliterations of the Hindi names.
syed minhaj ali:
hi how are you i syed minhaj ali from india i saw your website very knowledgeable and very good in explanation . please send me more about the english grammer .
thank you
Nafeesusdin:
Thanks so much…
sonia:
it is very helpful.
Rahul mishra:
Very helpful
jinesh khona:
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jinesh khona:
Thank You So much…..
Preeti:
Thanks a lot
Preeti:
Tysm.
tommy:
thank you
ross:
Because of this site I passed my with grade finals
Thnx✌
~Ross
ross:
Eight grade finals*
Ish:
My understanding of hindi punctuations got pretty much cleared but what is the basic difference between single and double inverted commas in hindi??
Naisha:
Its amazing site. It helps me and my mom in punctuation marks. Thanks for it a lot