100+ Basic Phrases to Start Speaking Hindi Quickly

By Sanket Maheshwari • 5 minute read

Learn Hindi fast with these phrases.

Hindi Phrases Help You Learn the Language Quickly

Learning Hindi phrases won’t just boost your vocabulary. It also lets you gain an insight into Hindi linguistics and culture. But, most importantly, it’s your key to learning Hindi quickly.

Locals who speak Hindi use 20% of their vocabulary 80% of the time. This is called the 80/20 rule. If you only focus on the most common Hindi words and phrases (aka the 20%), you can speak the majority of everyday Hindi easily.

Whether you’re learning for travel or just understand more from Bollywood movies, these phrases will surely get you started on learning Hindi and speaking fluently.

Hindi Phrases to Introduce Yourself

First impressions matter. So, if you’re learning Hindi, these phrases are excellent in starting conversations with locals.

  • Hello – नमस्ते (na-ma-sté)
  • Good Morning/ Afternoon/ Evening/ Night – शुभ प्रभात (Shubh-pra-bhaat)/ नमस्कार (namaskaar)/ शुभ रात्रि (shubh-raa-tree)
  • How are you? – आप कैसे हैं (aap kaisé hain)
  • I am good. How are you? – ठीक हनु। आप कैसे हैं? ( thik hu. aap kaise hain?)
  • I am not well – मैं ठीक नहीं हूँ (main theek nahi hoon)
  • What is your name? – आपका नाम क्या है? (aapka naam kya hai?)
  • My name is _____ –  मेरा नाम _____ है। (mera naam _____ hai.)
  • I am from _city_ and _country_ – मैं _____ and _____ से हूँ (main _______  and ____ se hoon)
  • Where are you from? – आप कहाँ से हैं? (aap kahan se hain?).
  • I am Indian/America/ English – मैं भारतीय / अमेरिकी / अंग्रेजी हूं(main bhaarateey / amerikee / angrejee hoon)
  • I am pleased to meet you – आप से मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई (aap sé milkar khushee hooee)
  • Goodbye/ see you again – अलविदा (alavida)/ फिर मिलेंगे (phir milenge)

Asking Basic Questions in Hindi

  • What are you doing? – तुम क्या कर रहे हो? (tum kya kar rahe ho)
  • Where is ___? – कहाँ है ___?– (kahaan hai)
  • How many? – कितने? (kitane)
  • What’s the price? – कीमत क्या है? (keemat kya hai)
  • Who are you – तुम कौन हो? (tum kaun ho)
  • Who? – कौन? (kaun?)
  • How much does this cost? – यह कितने का है? (yeh kitné ka hai?)
  • Where is the washroom? –  शौचालय कहाँ है? (shauchalay kahan hai?)
  • What? – क्या? (kya?)
  • Which? – कौन कौन से? (kaun kaun se)
  • I want this – मैं यह चाहता हूँ (main yahi chahta hoon)
  • I would like to have___ – मुझको _____ चाहिए (mujhko _____ chaahiyé).
  • I want to go to the market – मैं बाज़ार जाना चाहता हूँ (main bazar jana chahta hoon)
  • I want to make a phone call – मैं फोन करना चाहता हूं (main phone karan chahta hoon)
  • When? – कब? (kab) 

Learn how to be polite in Hindi.

Polite Phrases in Hindi

Respect is universally important. Knowing Hindi words and phrases to reflect that is crucial to be polite.

  • Please – कृपया (krip-ya) 
  • Thank You/ Thank you so much – धन्यवाद (dhanyavad)/ बहुत धन्यवाद (bahut dhanyavaad)
  • You are welcome – आपका स्वागत है (aapka swagat hai)
  • Yes/ No – हाँ / नही (haan/ nahi)
  • Excuse me – सुनिए (Suniyé)
  • It’s fine – यह ठीक है (yeh theek hai)
  • I am sorry – माफ़ कीजिए (maaf keejiyé)
  • Do you speak English? – क्या आप अंग्रेज़ी बोलते हैं? (kya aap angrezee bolate hain)
  • I don’t speak Hindi – मैं हिंदी नहीं बोलता हूँ (main hindi nahin bolta hoon)
  • I don’t understand – मुझे समझ नहीं आया (mujhe samajh nahi aaya)
  • Maybe –  शायद (shaayad)
  • I don’t know – मुझको मालूम नहीं  (mujhe maloom nahi)

How to Pronounce the Days of the Week in Hindi

Learning to get the days right is essential for any language, especially if you’re a new learner.

  • Monday – सोमवार (somvaar)
  • Tuesday – मंगलवार (mangalvaar)
  • Wednesday – बुधवार (budhwar)
  • Thursday – गुरुवार (guruvaar)
  • Friday – शुक्रवार (shukrawar)
  • Saturday – शनिवार (shanivaar)
  • Sunday – रविवार (ravivaar)

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Hindi Phrases to Ask for Help

Hopefully, you won’t be in a situation to use these Hindi phrases. But, you should definitely learn them just in case.

  • Help! –  मदद कीजिए (madad keejiyé)
  • Please call an ambulance – कृपया एम्बुलेंस बुलाएं (kripaya ambulans bulan)
  • There’s a fire – यहाँ आग लगी है (yahaa aag lagi hai)
  • Call the police – पुलिस को बुलाओ (pulis ko bulao)
  • I am in pain – मुझे दर्द हो रहा है (mujhe dard ho raha hai)
  • Someone is in danger – किसी को खतरा है (kisi ko khatra hai)
  • I am in danger – मैं खतरे में हूं (main khatre mein hoon)
  • Watch out! – सावधान (savdhaan)
  • I lost my passport –  मेरा पास्पोर्ट खो गया (mera passport kho gaya)
  • I am lost –  हम खो गये हैं (hum kho gaye hain)
  • Hold on, please – एक मिनट ( ek minute)
  • Can I help you? – क्या मैं आपकी मदद कर सकता /सकती हुँ?– {kya mein aapki madad kar sakta (male) / sakti (female) hoon?}

Phrases to Count in Hindi

Learning Hindi numbers is essential to everyday life. From counting money to telling the time, counting in Hindi will have many uses.

  •  0 –  शून्य (shoonye/ zero)
  • 1 – एक (ek)
  • 2 – दो (do)
  • 3 – तीन (teen)
  • 4 – चार (chaar)
  • 5 – पाँच (paanch)
  • 6 – छः (cheh)
  • 7 – सात (saat)
  • 8 – आठ (aath)
  • 9 – नौ (nau)
  • 10 – दस (das)
  • 11 – ग्यारह (gyarah)
  • 12 – बारह (baarah)
  • 13 – तेरह (terah)
  • 14 – चौदह (chaudah)
  • 15 – पन्द्रह (pandrah)
  • 16 – सोलह (solah)
  • 17 – सत्रह (satrah)
  • 18 – अट्ठारह (ataarah)
  • 19 – उन्नीस (unnis)
  • 20 – बीस (bees)
  • 30 – तीस (tees)
  • 40 – चालीस (chaalees)
  • 50 – पचास (pachaas)
  • 60 – साठ (saath)
  • 70 – सत्तर (sattar)
  • 80 – अस्सी (assi)
  • 90 – नबे (nabé)
  • 100 – सौ (sau)
  • 500 – पाँच सौ ( pach so)
  • 1000 – हज़ार (hazaar)
  • 2000 – दो हज़ार ( do hazaar)

Phrases to Tell the Time in Hindi

  • What is the time? –  कितने बजे हैं? (kitné bajé hai?)
  • It’s 1 o’clock – एक बजा है (ek baja hai)
  • Today is a good day – आज अच्छा दिन है (aaj acha din hai)
  • Yesterday I saw him – कल मैंने उसे देखा था (kal maine use dekha tha)
  • Tomorrow – कल (kal)
  • Yesterday – बिता हुआ कल (bita hua kal)
  • The day after tomorrow – परसों  (parson)
  • I saw in the morning – मैंने सुबह देखा (maine subah dekha)
  • I saw in the afternoon – मैंने दोपहर को देखा (maine dopahar ko dekha)
  • I saw at night – मैंने रात को देखा (maine raat ko dekha)
  • Come soon/fast – जल्दी आ (jaldi aa)
  • Come later – बाद में आना (baad mein aana)

Telling the time in Hindi with Hindi numbers.

Ask for Directions with these Hindi Phrases

It’s easy to get lost. But, with these Hindi phrases, you can ask for directions just as easily.

  • Left – बायाँ (bayaan])
  • Right –  दायाँ (daayan])
  • Straight ahead – सीधा (seedhaa)
  • Behind – पीछे (peeché)
  • Under – नीचे (neeché)
  • Before –  पहले/ सामने (saamné /pahelé)
  • Turn-  मुड़िए (moodiyé)
  • Toward this – यह की तरफ़ ( yah kee taraf)
  • This is close by – यह पास है (yeh paas hai)
  • Past this –  यह के आगे (yah ké aagé)

Other Tools and Methods to Learn Hindi Quickly

These 100+ Hindi phrases will certainly help you get started on speaking the language. But, you need other tools and methods to truly master the language.

Gain Hindi fluency with these useful tools:

  • Download OptiLingo to Speak Hindi Fluently: OptiLingo’s language learning app offers you hundreds more of these useful Hindi phrases. If you want to learn Hindi quickly, without wasting time on unnecessary vocabulary, OptiLingo’s your best choice.
  • Learn the Hindi Alphabet: Reading Devanagari is the best way to learn Hindi. If you only rely on English letters, you won’t be able to pronounce Hindi authentically.
  • Download a Hindi Keyboard App: If you need a Hindi dictionary in your phone keyboard, this app is a good option. You can also download Hindi-themed stickers to boost your texting.
  • Use Hindi Typing Software: Read our handy guide on how to install Hindi typing software on Windows 10.

With these tips, you can learn Hindi quickly and easily!

Sanket Maheshwari

Sanket Maheshwari is a passionate digital marketer who specializes in SEO and different aspects of content marketing and consulting at HonkWeb. Currently, he is working with Bobble AI.