Hindi grammar · Upper intermediate (B2)
Register: everyday and formal Hindi
When to use everyday words like मदद and इस्तेमाल, and when formal ones like सहायता and प्रयोग; तू, तुम, आप and the language of letters and the news.
Two layers of vocabulary
Hindi has two layers of words for many ideas. Many everyday words came from Persian and Arabic, the words Hindi shares with Urdu: (madad), (istemaal), (zarooree). News, official notices, speeches and formal letters often use words from Sanskrit instead: (sahaayataa), (prayog), (aavashyak).
Both are correct Hindi; the choice shows the register. In conversation the formal words can sound stiff, and in a report the everyday ones can sound too casual. The Delhi Hindi of this course uses the everyday words and adds English ones freely; learn to recognise the formal ones for reading and writing.
| Everyday | Formal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| (madad) | (sahaayataa) | help |
| (istemaal) | (prayog) | use |
| (zarooree) | (aavashyak) | necessary |
| (dikkat) | , (samasyaa, kathinaaee) | problem, difficulty |
| (vajah) | (kaaran) | reason |
| (sirf) | (keval) | only |
| (jaldee) | (sheeghr) | soon, quickly |
| (afsar) | (adhikaaree) | officer |
| (log) | (naagrik) | people; citizens |
| (paanee) | (jal) | water |
| (chitthee) | (patr) | letter |
| (meyar) | (mahaapaur) | mayor |
Five ways to ask
Register is also about the verb. The same request changes with the person you speak to. (too) is only for very close friends and family, and sounds rude to anyone else; formal writing uses the -एँ (-en) form and phrases like (kaa kasht karen).
| Register | Hindi | Use it with |
|---|---|---|
| (too) | (apne nots de de.) | very close friends |
| (tum) | (apne nots de do.) | friends, family, younger people |
| (aap) | (apne nots de deejiye.) | colleagues, older people, strangers |
| , extra polite | (apne nots de deejiyegaa.) | a request for later, at work |
| formal writing | (kripyaa apne nots dene kaa kasht karen.) | letters, notices |
The language of the news
News reports use formal words, the passive (with , dvaaraa, for the doer) and precise reporting verbs, most of them a noun + (karnaa): (ghoshnaa karnaa), to announce; (daavaa karnaa), to claim; (vaadaa karnaa), to promise; (inkaar karnaa), to deny. (ke anusaar) and (ke mutaabik) mean “according to”.
- महापौर ने घोषणा की है कि शहर में नई बसें चलाई जाएँगी।Mahaapaur ne ghoshnaa kee hai ki shahar men naee basen chalaaee jaayengee.The mayor has announced that new buses will be introduced in the city.
- यह फ़ैसला सरकार द्वारा लिया गया।Yah faislaa sarkaar dvaaraa liyaa gayaa.This decision was taken by the government.
- पुलिस के अनुसार कोई घायल नहीं हुआ।Pulis ke anusaar koee ghaayal naheen huaa.According to the police, no one was injured.
Formal letters and emails
A formal letter to an office follows a fixed pattern: (sevaa men), to, then the office; (vishay), subject; the greeting / (mahoday / mahodayaa), Sir / Madam; the opening … (savinay nivedan hai ki …), I respectfully wish to inform you that …; the request … (atah aapse anurodh hai ki …), I therefore request you to …; and at the end (bhavdeey), or (bhavdeeyaa) for a woman, before your name. Emails to companies often use the softer (aadarneey), respected, and (saadar), with respect.