Tag Archives: Hindi vocabulary
Learning Hindi through Music Posted by Rachael on Feb 16, 2019
When I first started learning Hindi, I did so informally by listening to music and watching movies. In this blog, I’ll discuss one of my favorite Hindi songs – क्यों? (“Kyoon”) – and translate and explain the lyrics. This song comes from the 2012 movie Barfi (बर्फ़ी), which is about the life of a deaf and…
The Romani: from India to the World, Part 2 Posted by Rachael on Feb 9, 2019
In last week’s blog, we discussed the Romani (Romany or Roma), a group (समूह/samooh) of people from the Northwestern Indian subcontinent (उत्तर-पश्चिमी इंडियन उपमहाद्वीप/uttar-paschimi Indian upmahaadveep) who, about 1,500 years ago, migrated (प्रवास करना/pravaas karnaa) from this region (क्षेत्र/kshetra) and eventually settled (बसना/basnaa) in about 30 countries (देश/desh) worldwide. In this second part of the…
The Romani: from India to the World Posted by Rachael on Feb 3, 2019
Almost everyone has heard the term “gypsy,” but very few know of these people’s origin (मूल/mool), culture (संस्कृति/sanskriti), religion (धर्म/dharm) and language (भाषा/bhaashaa). Indeed, you may be surprised to learn that the origin story of these resilient and resourceful people is inextricably connected to what is now India and the Indian diaspora. Known most often…
The Many Uses of Lagna Posted by Rachael on Jan 29, 2019
Lagna (लगना) is, to put it lightly, a multi-purpose verb that is useful in any kind of conversation. Although the sheer variety of its uses may be somewhat baffling at first, as you dip your feet in further in your Hindi studies, you will come to appreciate its seemingly limitless utility. Below, let’s discuss some…
India’s Siddi Community Posted by Rachael on Jan 19, 2019
India is home to a vast array of ethnicities and cultural and religious groups (सांस्कृतिक और धार्मिक समूह), but among the least well known is the Siddi community (सिदी या शीदि समुदाय), who are of African descent (अफ़्रीकी मूल के) and live throughout India and Pakistan. In this blog, we’ll discuss a recent news article about this group…
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…