Hindi · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 10 of 12
Describing people
वे कैसी दिखती हैं?ve kaisee dikhtee hain?
Describe people in Hindi: what they look like, what they wear, what they used to be like, and “the one who…” with जो (jo).
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Say what someone looks like
- Say what someone wears
- Say what someone was like in the past
- Describe someone with जो (jo), who
Listen
At home in Kanpur, Anita asks her son Kunal to meet his aunt at the station. He hasn't seen her for years. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Anita
कुणाल, आज शाम तुम्हें स्टेशन जाना है। नीलम मौसी आ रही हैं।
Kunaal, aaj shaam tumhen steshan jaanaa hai. Neelam mausee aa rahee hain.
Kunal, you have to go to the station this evening. Aunt Neelam is coming.
Kunal
नीलम मौसी? मैंने उन्हें दस साल से नहीं देखा। वे कैसी दिखती हैं?
Neelam mausee? Mainne unhen das saal se naheen dekhaa. Ve kaisee dikhtee hain?
Aunt Neelam? I haven't seen her for ten years. What does she look like?
Anita
वे लंबी हैं और उनके बाल छोटे हैं। वे चश्मा पहनती हैं।
Ve lambee hain aur unke baal chhote hain. Ve chashmaa pahantee hain.
She's tall and has short hair. She wears glasses.
Kunal
और आज वे क्या पहनेंगी?
Aur aaj ve kyaa pahnengee?
And what will she be wearing today?
Anita
वे लाल साड़ी पहनेंगी।
Ve laal saaree pahnengee.
She'll be wearing a red sari.
Kunal
ठीक है। मेरे बचपन में वे बहुत मज़ेदार थीं न?
Theek hai. Mere bachpan men ve bahut mazedaar theen na?
OK. She was great fun when I was little, wasn't she?
Anita
हाँ। वे तुम्हारे साथ हर शाम क्रिकेट खेलती थीं। उनकी बेटी पिंकी भी आ रही है।
Haan. Ve tumhaare saath har shaam kriket kheltee theen. Unkee betee Pinkee bhee aa rahee hai.
Yes. She used to play cricket with you every evening. Her daughter Pinky is coming too.
Kunal
पिंकी? जो हमेशा रोती थी?
Pinkee? Jo hameshaa rotee thee?
Pinky? The one who was always crying?
Anita
अब वह छोटी नहीं है। वह बीस साल की है।
Ab vah chhotee naheen hai. Vah bees saal kee hai.
She isn't little any more. She's twenty.
Kunal
ठीक है। मैं छह बजे स्टेशन पहुँच जाऊँगा।
Theek hai. Main chhah baje steshan pahunch jaaoongaa.
OK. I'll be at the station at six.
Understand
What someone looks like
To ask what someone looks like, say (vah kaisaa dikhtaa hai?) about a man and (vah kaisee dikhtee hai?) about a woman; (dikhnaa) means “to look, to appear”. For hair, Hindi says “his or her hair is …”: (uske baal chhote hain), he or she has short hair. (baal) is masculine plural, so the adjective ends in -e.
(ve chashmaa pahantee hain) means “she wears glasses”, as a habit. For what someone has on right now, Hindi says “has put on”, with (ne): (usne laal saaree pahnee hai), she's wearing a red sari.
| Hindi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| / (lambaa / lambee) | tall; long |
| / (chhotaa / chhotee) | short, small |
| / (patlaa / patlee) | slim |
| (lambe baal) | long hair |
| (safed baal) | grey or white hair |
| (daadhee), feminine | beard |
| (shaant) | quiet, calm |
What someone was like: था and करता था
To describe someone in the past, use / / / (thaa / thee / the / theen): (mere bachpan men ve bahut mazedaar theen), she was great fun when I was a child. For what someone used to do, use the past habitual from chapter 5: (ve kriket kheltee theen), she used to play cricket.
Kunal and his mother use the respectful (ve) for Aunt Neelam, so every verb is plural: (ve aa rahee hain), (theen), (pahnengee). The matching forms are (unhen), her, and / / (unkaa / unkee / unke), her: (unke baal), her hair. (unhen) means the same as (unko). With (ne), the verb doesn't agree with an object that has (ko); it stays masculine singular: (mainne unhen das saal se naheen dekhaa), I haven't seen her for ten years.
- बचपन में मैं बहुत शांत था।Bachpan men main bahut shaant thaa.I was very quiet as a child. (a man speaking)
- मेरे दादा जी हर सुबह अख़बार पढ़ते थे।Mere daadaa jee har subah akhbaar padhte the.My grandfather used to read the newspaper every morning.
- पिंकी हमेशा रोती थी।Pinkee hameshaa rotee thee.Pinky was always crying.
The one who…: जो
(jo) means “who” or “which” and adds a description: (Pinkee? jo hameshaa rotee thee?), Pinky? The one who was always crying?
In a full sentence, Hindi usually puts the part first, then picks it up again with (vah): “which girl is in the red sari, she is my sister”. It sounds long, but it's the normal pattern.
- जो लड़की लाल साड़ी में है, वह मेरी बहन है।Jo larkee laal saaree men hai, vah meree bahan hai.The girl in the red sari is my sister.
- जो आदमी चश्मा पहनता है, वह मेरा भाई है।Jo aadmee chashmaa pahantaa hai, vah meraa bhaaee hai.The man who wears glasses is my brother.
More in the grammar: Adjectives: changing and unchanging · To be: am, is, are, was, were · The past habitual: करता था (used to) · Relative clauses: जो … वह, जब … तब, जहाँ … वहाँ
New words
- मौसीmauseeaunt (your mother's sister) · feminine; (Neelam mausee), Aunt Neelam
- वेvethey; he, she (with respect) · You know it from A1. (unhen), them, him, her; (unkaa), their, his, her
- कैसी दिखती हैं?Kaisee dikhtee hain?What does she look like? (with respect) · (dikhnaa), to look, to appear
- लंबाlambaatall; long · / / (lambaa / lambee / lambe)
- बालbaalhair · masculine plural
- चश्माchashmaaglasses · masculine; (chashmaa pahannaa), to wear glasses
- पहननाpahannaato wear, to put on
- बचपनbachpanchildhood · masculine; (bachpan men), as a child; (mere bachpan men), when I was a child
- मज़ेदारmazedaarfun, funny · never changes
- तुम्हारे साथtumhaare saathwith you (friendly) · (tumhaaraa, your) becomes (tumhaare) before (saath), like (mere saath), with me.
- जोjowho, which
- हमेशाhameshaaalways
- रोनाronaato cry
- अबabnow · … (ab … naheen), not any more
Practise
1.How do you say “She has long hair”?
2.Anita describes Aunt Neelam. Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.She wears glasses.
3.Match the Hindi with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
4.Kunal asks what his aunt looks like. He uses the respectful plural. What does he say?
5.Which sentence means “She used to play cricket”?
0 of 5 exercises done.
Say it out loud
वह कैसा दिखता है?
Vah kaisaa dikhtaa hai?
What does he look like?
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.