How do I start to learn Hindi or impress my Hindi speaking friends and start conversations with them?
Answer
Wikipedia is always a great place to start, especially with languages. I have copied the list here.
Let's make up sentence.
I was resting in a cot wearing my pyjamas and had shampoo in my hair when my guru arrived, just back from the jungle, to teach me yoga. I quickly put on my bandanna, my bangle and my cummerbund, and a pashmina, in a bungalow in India, so unlike Blighty, where my guru used to teach me yoga. He wears dungarees, and a khaki top. He chants a mantra and we reach nirvana. Afterwards we sat on the veranda where I offered him punch and a hot toddy. Then I finish with a poori and chutney. But he had to take a dinghy to a gymkhana. He hurried off because we were expecting a typhoon.
I know at least forty words from the list below. How many would you use and recognize?
A[edit]
Avatar
From Hindi अवतार, from Sanskrit, descent of a deity from a heaven
B[edit]
Bandanna
from bandhna (बांधना) to tie.
Bangle
from bāngṛī बांगड़ी, a type of bracelet.
Blighty
"Britain" (as a term of endearment among British troops stationed in Colonial India): from Hindi-Urdu vilāyatī (विलायती, ولايتى) "foreign", ultimately from Arabo-Persian ولايتى "provincial, regional".
Bungalow
from बंगला banglA and Urdu بنگلہ banglA, literally, "(house) in the Bengal style".[1]
C[edit]
Cheetah
from cītā, चीता, meaning "variegated".
Chit
from चिट्ठी Chitthi, a letter or note.
Chutney
from चटनी chatni, meaning "to crush"
Cot
from Khāt, खाट, a portable bed.
Chowkat
from Shokat, Urdu, a door frame.
Cummerbund
from kamarband , cf. कमरबन्द - Urdu کمربند, meaning "waist binding" [ultimately from Persian کمربند]
Cushy
probably from khushi, cf. Hindi ख़ुशी - Urdu خوشی "easy, happy, soft" [ultimately from Persian];[2] but some sources prefer an origin from "cushion"[3]
D[edit]
Dacoit
from Daku, meaning a member of a class of criminals who engage in organized robbery and murder. Hence also dacoity(banditry)
Dekko
(UK slang for 'a look') from देखो Dekho, the imperative 'look', (دیکھو देखो ) meaning look at or study something.
Dinghy
from Dinghi, small boat, wherry-boat
Dungaree
Heavy denim fabric, also referring to trousers made thereof, from Hindi डूंगरी (ḍūṅgrī, “coarse calico”), the name of a village.
G[edit]
Garam masala
from Hindi and Urdu गरम मसाला گرم مصالح garam masālā, literally "hot ( = spicy) mixture",[4] from Persian گرم garm 'warm, hot' and Arabic مصالح maṣāliḥ 'benefits, requirements, ingredients'.
Guru
from Hindi guru "teacher, priest," from Sanskrit गुरुः guruḥ "one to be honored, teacher," literally "heavy, weighty."[5]
Gymkhana
A term which originally referred to a place where sporting events take place and referred to any of various meets at which contests were held to test the skill of the competitors. In English-speaking countries, a gymkhana refers to a multi-game equestrian event performed to display the training and talents of horses and their rider [-khānā from Pers. khānāh خانه "house, dwelling"]
J[edit]
Jaconet
modification of Sanskrit jagannaath, from Jagannath (Puri), [India], where such cloth was first made.[6]
Jodhpurs
Full-length trousers, worn for horseback riding, that are close-fitting below the knee and have reinforced patches on the inside of the leg. Named after Jodhpur , where similar garments are worn by Indian men as part of everyday dress.
Juggernaut
from Jagannath (Sanskrit: जगन्नाथ jagannātha), a form of Vishnu particularly worshipped at the Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha where during Rath Yatra festival thousands of devotees pull temple carts some 14m (45 feet) tall, weighing hundreds of tons through the streets. These carts seat three images of the deity, meant to be brothers for a 'stroll' outside after the ritual worship session. They are fed by thousands and thousands of worshipers with holy food, as if the icons were living. Early European visitors witnessed these festivals and returned with—possibly apocryphal—reports of religious fanatics committing suicide by throwing themselves under the wheels of the carts. So the word became a metaphor for something immense and unstoppable because of institutional or physical inertia; or impending catastrophe that is foreseeable yet virtually unavoidable because of such inertia.
Jungle
from जङल् jangal, another word for wilderness or forest.
K[edit]
Khaki
from खकि khākī "of dust colour, dusty, grey", cf. Hindi ख़ाकी - Urdu خاکی [ultimately from Persian].
Karakul
A hat shaped like a fez but made of real or imitation karakul and worn by Pakistani Muslims on occasion.[7] It is called a "Karakulli topi" (Topi meaning cap).
Karma
from Sanskrit, the result of a person's actions as well as the actions themselves. It is a term about the cycle of cause and effect.
L[edit]
Loot
from LooT लूट, meaning 'steal'. Robbery
M[edit]
Multan
from Multan, Pakistan: A kind of rug prevalent there.[8]
Mogul
from Hindi and Urdu: An acknowledged leader in a field, from the Mughal rulers of India like Akbar and Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal.
Maharaja
from Hindi and Sanskrit: A king.
Mantra
from Hindi and Sanskrit: a word or phrase used in meditation.
N[edit]
Nirvana
(in Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.
Nehru jacket
a kind of sleeveless jacket that worn buttoned up to neck - formal and often worn by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.
P[edit]
Pashmina
from Hindi पश्मीना, Urdu پشمينه, ultimately from Persian پشمينه.
Poori
from Hindi poori, from Sanskrit पुर (pura) or "cake".[9]
Punch
from Hindi and Urdu panch پانچ, meaning "five". The drink was originally made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices.[10][11] The original drink was named paantsch.
Pundit
from पण्डित Pandit, meaning a learned scholar or Priest.
Pukka
(UK slang: "genuine") from Pakkā पक्का,پکا cooked, ripe, solid.
Pyjamas
from Hindi, पैजामा (paijaamaa), meaning "leg garment", coined from Persian پاى "foot, leg" and جامه "garment" .[12]
R[edit]
Raita
from Hindi and Urdu रायता ریتا rayta.[13] yogurt based dish, some add sliced/chopped/diced, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, pineapples, pomegranate or other salads to complement rice or roti meals.
Roti
from Hindi and Urdu रॊटी روٹی roti "bread"; akin to Prakrit रॊट्ट rotta "rice flour", Sanskrit रोटिका rotika "kind of bread".[14]
S[edit]
Shampoo
Derived from Hindustani chāmpo (चाँपो [tʃãːpoː]) (verb imperative, meaning "rub!"), dating to 1762.[15]
T[edit]
Thug
from Thagi ठग, meaning "thief or con man".
Toddy (also Hot toddy)
from Tārī ताड़ी, juice of the palmyra palm.
Typhoon
from Urdu طوفان toofaan.[16] A cyclonic storm.
V[edit]
Veranda
from Hindi baramdaa बरामदा or another Indian language, but ultimately probably from Portuguese or Spanish.[17]
Y[edit]
Yoga
I tried this exercise once before and wrote a blog post about Indian words, using 33.
See my post:
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/33-indian-words-used-in-english-and.html
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. Please share my posts.
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