Hindi · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 3 of 12
At the tea stall
चाय की दुकान परchaay kee dukaan par
Order tea politely in Hindi, ask what it costs, and learn when to say तुम (tum) and when to say आप (aap).
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Order a drink politely with दीजिए (deejiye)
- Ask how much you have to pay
- Choose between तुम (tum) and आप (aap)
- Know that every noun is masculine or feminine
Listen
Amit stops at a tea stall near his office, and his friend Rohan joins him. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Shopkeeper
नमस्ते! क्या चाहिए?
Namaste! Kyaa chaahiye?
Hello! What would you like?
Amit
एक कप चाय दीजिए।
Ek kap chaay deejiye.
A cup of tea, please.
Shopkeeper
और कुछ?
Aur kuchh?
Anything else?
Amit
नहीं, धन्यवाद। कितने पैसे हुए?
Naheen, dhanyavaad. Kitne paise huye?
No, thanks. How much is it?
Shopkeeper
पंद्रह रुपये।
Pandrah rupaye.
Fifteen rupees.
Amit
यह लीजिए। और भैया, चाय में चीनी कम डालिए।
Yah leejiye. Aur bhaiyaa, chaay men cheenee kam daaliye.
Here you are. And, bhaiya, not too much sugar in the tea, please.
Shopkeeper
ठीक है। यह लीजिए।
Theek hai. Yah leejiye.
All right. Here you are.
Amit
रोहन! तुम कैसे हो?
Rohan! Tum kaise ho?
Rohan! How are you?
Rohan
मैं ठीक हूँ। भैया, एक गिलास दूध दीजिए।
Main theek hoon. Bhaiyaa, ek gilaas doodh deejiye.
I'm fine. Bhaiya, a glass of milk, please.
Understand
तुम or आप: two words for “you”
You met the three words for “you” in chapter 1. Two of them are used every day. Use (tum) with close friends, people your age in relaxed situations, and children. Use (aap) with strangers, shopkeepers, older people and anyone you want to show respect to. When in doubt, choose (aap).
Remember that the verb changes too: (tum kaise ho?) but (aap kaise hain?). The third one, (too), is very intimate, used with small children or very close family. Don't use it with adults you don't know: it can sound rude.
| Word | Use it with | “How are you?” (to a man) |
|---|---|---|
| (tum) | close friends, people your age, children | (tum kaise ho?) |
| (aap) | strangers, shopkeepers, older people | (aap kaise hain?) |
Asking politely: दीजिए
Hindi rarely uses a separate word for “please”. The politeness is in the verb. With (aap), the verb ends in -iye: (deejiye) means “please give”. That's why (ek kap chaay deejiye) is a polite way to order.
With (tum), the verb ends in -o instead: (do), give. In the dictionary, verbs end in -ना (-naa): (baithnaa), to sit. Take off -ना and add -iye or -o: (baithiye), (baitho). (denaa, to give) and (lenaa, to take) are a little irregular. You already know (yah leejiye), here you are: literally “please take this”.
| Verb | With (aap, polite) | With (tum, friendly) |
|---|---|---|
| (denaa), to give | (deejiye) | (do) |
| (lenaa), to take | (leejiye) | (lo) |
| (daalnaa), to put in | (daaliye) | (daalo) |
| (baithnaa), to sit | (baithiye) | (baitho) |
The verb comes at the end
As you saw in chapter 1, the verb comes at the end of the sentence, after everything else. In English you say “give me a cup of tea”; in Hindi you say “a cup tea please-give”. Little words like (men, in) also come after the noun: (chaay men), in the tea.
- एक कप चाय दीजिए।Ek kap chaay deejiye.A cup of tea, please. (a cup tea please-give)
- चाय में चीनी कम डालिए।Chaay men cheenee kam daaliye.Not too much sugar in the tea, please. (tea in sugar little please-put)
- एक गिलास दूध दीजिए।Ek gilaas doodh deejiye.A glass of milk, please.
Every noun is masculine or feminine
Every Hindi noun is either masculine or feminine, even for things. (chaay, tea) and (cheenee, sugar) are feminine; (doodh, milk) and (gilaas, glass) are masculine. The word lists always tell you which.
The ending often helps: most nouns ending in -aa are masculine, like (kamraa, room), and many ending in -ee are feminine, like (cheenee). But there are exceptions, such as (paanee, water), which is masculine, so learn each noun with its gender.
Gender matters because words that go with a noun change to match it, like / (achchhaa / achchhee) in chapter 1.
- दूध अच्छा है।Doodh achchhaa hai.The milk is good.
- चाय अच्छी है।Chaay achchhee hai.The tea is good.
More in the grammar: Gender of nouns: masculine and feminine · Pronouns and politeness · Word order: the verb goes last · Commands and requests: आ, आओ, आइए
New words
- क्या चाहिए?Kyaa chaahiye?What would you like? · Literally “what is needed?”; (kyaa) means “what”.
- चायchaaytea · feminine
- दीजिएdeejiyeplease give · The polite form, used with (aap).
- और कुछ?Aur kuchh?Anything else?
- नहींnaheenno; not
- धन्यवादdhanyavaadthank you · (shukriyaa) is just as common in everyday speech, and many people simply say “thank you”.
- पैसेpaisemoney · masculine plural; (kitne paise huye?), How much is it?
- मेंmenin · Comes after the noun: (chaay men), in the tea.
- चीनीcheeneesugar · feminine
- कमkamless, not much · (cheenee kam), with not much sugar
- डालिएdaaliyeplease put in · The polite form, used with (aap).
- तुमtumyou (friendly)
- गिलासgilaasglass · masculine
- दूधdoodhmilk · masculine
Practise
1.You're speaking to an older shopkeeper. Which “you” do you use?
2.Put the words in order to order a cup of tea.
Tap the words below in the right order.A cup of tea, please.
3.You meet your close friend Rohan. How do you ask how he is?
4.Match the Hindi with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
5.Put the words in order to ask how much you have to pay, as Amit does in the dialogue.
Tap the words below in the right order.How much is it?
6.An older man is standing near the bench at the tea stall. How do you say “please sit”?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
एक कप चाय दीजिए।
Ek kap chaay deejiye.
A cup of tea, please.
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.