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The Hindi Particle “Hi” Explained Posted by Rachael on Jan 1, 2019
In my previous blog, I explained the Hindi particle “bhi.” In this blog, I will explain a related concept – the particle “hi.” Like “bhi,” this particle needs to be placed with care directly behind the word or phrase it is modifying. While “bhi” can mean “also, too, even, as well as,” “hi” lends a…
The Hindi Particle “Bhi” Explained Posted by Rachael on Dec 30, 2018
As you progress in your Hindi studies, you will come upon a pesky little particle – “bhi” (भी) – that may threaten to send you into a tailspin of confusion. But, fear not, it is not as complex as it first appears. This blog is dedicated to an explanation of this particle – or minute…
Hindi Pronunciation Posted by Rachael on Dec 20, 2018
As you will have realized in your studies of Hindi thus far, there are certain sounds in the Hindi language that prove a challenge for English speakers and those more well-acquainted with Romance and/or other Germanic languages. In this blog, I’ll be going over a few of those sounds that usually prove challenging to non-native…
Parallel Vocabulary in Hindi Posted by Rachael on Dec 12, 2018
As you may know, Hindi is composed of a vast array of other languages. This multifaceted quality gives Hindi its richness and complexity. In this blog, we’ll explore the diversity of Hindi vocabulary through concrete examples from Hindi’s major source languages: Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit. Although Arabic and Persian are not related languages (Arabic is…
What’s Bollywood Without a Grand Wedding? Posted by Rachael on Dec 6, 2018
क्या है बॉलीवुड, बिना धूम धाम-वाली शादी के? And there it is – the million dollar question. With this blog, we’ll get a bit frivolous and discuss one of the most publicized weddings (शादी/shaadi, विवाह/vivaah) the Bollyworld has witnessed in recent memory (besides that of Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas, of course): that of Ranveer Singh…
South Asia Shines on The Great British Bake Off Posted by Rachael on Nov 26, 2018
Some of you may be familiar with the wildly popular (लोकप्रिय/lokpriya, adj) British show, The Great British Bake Off (or, as it’s known in North America, The Great British Baking Show), which has achieved even greater fame (प्रसिद्धि/prasiddhi, fem. or शोहरत/shohrat, fem.) since it was released in the US and Canada. Unlike most “reality competition” shows…
Indirect Verb Constructions, Revisited Posted by Rachael on Nov 21, 2018
I thought I would take this opportunity to revisit indirect verb constructions in Hindi, which are particularly useful in this language as they are so plentiful. In fact, if you learn other South Asian languages as well, you will find that this type of verb construction is extremely prevalent. Now, what do I mean by…