Learn about the names of colors
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| INTRODUCTION | |
| Neha:"Namaste," I'm Neha. and welcome to the Absolute Beginner Series, Lesson 18, All the Colors of the Indian Rainbow). | |
| Maya: "Namaste," I'm Maya In this lesson you'll learn how to name colors in Hindi. | |
| Neha:The conversation takes place in a street. | |
| Maya:This conversation is between two friends, Parvati and Aditi who are window shopping. | |
| Neha:They know each other very well so they will be speaking informal Hindi. | |
| Maya:Let's listen to their conversation. | |
Lesson conversation |
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|---|---|
| पार्वती:यह लाल साड़ी बहुत सुंदर है। | |
| अदिति:हाँ। वह सोने पैटर्न की काली साड़ी भी सुंदर है। | |
| पार्वती:सब कुछ अच्छा है! | |
| अदिति:बिल्कुल! | |
| Let's listen to the conversation one time slowly. | |
| पार्वती:यह लाल साड़ी बहुत सुंदर है। | |
| अदिति:हाँ। वह सोने पैटर्न की काली साड़ी भी सुंदर है। | |
| पार्वती:सब कुछ अच्छा है! | |
| अदिति:बिल्कुल! | |
| Let's listen to the conversation with English translation.पार्वती:यह लाल साड़ी बहुत सुंदर है। | |
| Maya:This red sari is very beautiful. | |
| अदिति:हाँ। वह सोने पैटर्न की काली साड़ी भी सुंदर है। | |
| Maya:Yes. That black saree with gold pattern is also beautiful. | |
| पार्वती:सब कुछ अच्छा है! | |
| Maya:Everything is great! | |
| अदिति:बिल्कुल! | |
| Maya:Totally! | |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER | |
| Maya:You know Neha, one of my favorite festivals in India is Holi. | |
| Neha:Oh yes, Holi, the festival of colors. | |
| Maya:And music and dancing too! It's so much fun. Everyone fills up water balloons and throws them at one another. | |
| Neha:Young people often start celebrating this a couple of weeks in advance by throwing water balloons at unsuspecting passerbies. | |
| Maya:Which as you can imagine, is sometimes frowned upon, but mostly it is taken with a good spirit. | |
| Neha:On the day of the Holi festival, people mix water with colored powder while some just use the powder and rub it all over each other's faces and bodies. | |
| Maya:Actually, it can be quite difficult to clean off all the colors from your body. But that's also the fun part. | |
| Neha:And you can even find people indulging in the bhang, you know, that intoxicating substance... they mix it with sweets and snacks and munch on it during the day. | |
| Maya:All right, now let's move onto the vocab. | |
| VOCAB LIST | |
| Maya:Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. | |
| :The first word we shall see is: | |
| Neha:यह [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:this | |
| Neha:यह [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:यह [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:लाल [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:red | |
| Neha:लाल [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:लाल [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:साड़ी [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:sari | |
| Neha:साड़ी [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:साड़ी [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:बहुत [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:very/ a lot | |
| Neha:बहुत [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:बहुत [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:सुंदर [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:beautiful | |
| Neha:सुंदर [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:सुंदर [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:सोने [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:gold | |
| Neha:सोने [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:सोने [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:पैटर्न [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:pattern | |
| Neha:पैटर्न [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:पैटर्न [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:की [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:of | |
| Neha:की [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:की [natural native speed] | |
| :Next is: | |
| Neha:सब कुछ [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:everything | |
| Neha:सब कुछ [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:सब कुछ [natural native speed] | |
| :Last is: | |
| Neha:बिल्कुल [natural native speed] | |
| Maya:totally/ absolutely | |
| Neha:बिल्कुल [slowly - broken down by syllable] | |
| Neha:बिल्कुल [natural native speed] | |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES | |
| Maya:Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. | |
| Neha:The first word we'll look at is पैटर्न… | |
| Maya:Means "pattern" and actually comes from the English word itself. | |
| Neha:It has been so well integrated into the Hindi language that even though it comes from English, it can be understood anywhere in India. | |
| Maya:But as you can hear, it has a slightly different pronunciation. Usually, English words with the "aa" pronunciation as in "paa" for "pattern" turn into "ai" in Hindi. | |
| Neha:Yes, so "pattern" becomes पैटर्न. Another example would be "Tablet computer" that turns into टैबलेट, "computer" in Hindi. | |
| Maya:Next we have the postposition की, which means "of." | |
| Neha:It is used to show possession and is used only if the thing being possessed is of feminine gender. | |
| Maya:For example, "hers" in Hindi would be… | |
| Neha:उसकी, which literally means, "her of." | |
| Maya:If the thing being possessed is a singular masculine gender, you use का. | |
| Neha:And so "his" would be उसका, which literally means "his of." | |
| Maya:If the thing being possessed is a plural masculine then you use के. | |
| Neha:So "theirs" would be उसके, which literally means "their of." | |
| Maya:And the final word we'll talk about is… | |
| Neha:सबकुछ. | |
| Maya:Which means "everything." | |
| Neha:And just like in English, it takes the singular verb "is." Therefore, you'd say सबकुछ अच्छा है।… | |
| Maya:To mean "Everything is good." But, if you wanted to say "everybody," unlike in English it takes the plural verb "are," for example, हैं. | |
| Neha:So सबलोग अच्छे हैं for "Everyone is good." | |
Lesson focus |
|
| Maya:The focus of this lesson is the names of the colors in Hindi. | |
| Neha:We'll say them in English and then give you the Hindi pronunciation, first in natural speed, and then a bit slowly. | |
| Maya:"Black." | |
| Neha:काला, "kaalaa," "kaa-laa," "kaalaa." | |
| Maya:"Red." | |
| Neha:लाल, "laal," "laa-l," "laal." | |
| Maya:"Yellow." | |
| Neha:पीला, "peelaa," "pee-laa," "peelaa," | |
| Maya:"Blue." | |
| Neha:नीला, "neelaa," "neel-aa," "neelaa." | |
| Maya:"Green." | |
| Neha:हरा, "haraa," "ha-raa," "haraa." | |
| Maya:"Pink." | |
| Neha:गुलाबी, "gulaabee," "gu-laa-bee," "gulaabee." | |
| Maya:"Orange." | |
| Neha:नारंगी, "naarangee," "naa-ran-gee," "naarangee." | |
| Maya:"Purple." | |
| Neha:बैंगनी, "baiganee," "bai-ga, nee," "baiganee." | |
| Maya:And lastly, "brown." | |
| Neha:भूरा, "bhoora," "bhoo-raa," "bhooraa." | |
| Maya:Great! Colors are adjectives and so like all other adjectives in Hindi, some colors inflect, that is change, according to the gender and the count of the subjects, while some others don't. | |
| Neha:Lucky for us, it is very easy to spot those colors that inflect! All those that end with an आ are inflecting adjectives. And there are very simple rules for inflection. | |
| Maya:For describing things that are masculine and singular, they don't change and retain आ ("-aa") in the end. For example, काला, which is "black," stays काला. | |
| Neha:For describing masculine plural nouns, आ is replaced by ए . So for example, काला changes into काले. | |
| Maya:And for describing singular and plural feminine nouns, आ is replaced by ई. For example, काला changes into काली. | |
| Neha:Let's try some more examples. | |
| Maya:Okay. How would you say "This book is black" in Hindi? | |
| Neha:Remember, "that book" in Hindi is किताब and it's a feminine noun. So you have to use the feminine case of "black," which is काली. The sentence then is यह किताब काली है. | |
| Maya:How about the sentence, "This dog is black"? | |
| Neha:Well, "dog" in Hindi is कुत्ता and it is a masculine noun. So you have to use काला and the sentence would be यह कुत्ता काला है. Now you try. How would you say "These dogs are black"? | |
| Maya:Okay, so "dogs" in Hindi is कुत्ते and I have to use the plural masculine case for "black," which is काले. So the sentence would be ये कुत्ते काले हैं. | |
| Neha:Perfect! ये कुत्ते काले हैं. | |
| Maya:How about for "These apples are red"? | |
| Neha:See, this is easy because the word "red" in Hindi is लाल and since it doesn't end with an आ it stays the same in all situations. So the sentence would be ये सेब लाल हैं. | |
| Maya:Let's practice saying some of those sentences. How about, the dog is black. | |
| Neha:यह कुत्ता काला है. [pause] | |
| Maya:And now the plural form, these dogs are black. | |
| Neha:ये कुत्ते काले हैं [pause] | |
| Maya:Okay, well, that's all we have for this lesson. | |
| Neha:Please make sure you read the lesson notes for more explanations on this topic! | |
| Maya:Thank you for listening. See you next time! | |
| Neha:"Shukriyaa aur fir milenge!" |
26 Comments
HideHello HindiPod101.com listeners!
What is your favorite color in Hindi?
Hi Meghna,
Thanks for your question.
It can be "hare rang kaa (kapadaa - cloth)", "hare rang kii (sadii - Saree)", "harii (Takiyaa - pillow)", "haraa (ToTaa - parrot)", "hare (paTTe - leaves)".
It won't be "hara ka rang" or "hare ka rang".
All the best!
Roohi
Team HindiPod101.com
Hello!
Is it "hara ka rang" Or "hare ka rang"?
I got this doubt because it's given " Sone pattern ki" instead of "sona pattern ki"
Thanks!
I like very much!
Hi Ian,
You're welcome :)
Cheers,
Udita
Team HindiPod101.com
नमस्ते उदिता Hi Udita
दो संक्षिप्त जवाब के लिए धन्यवाद। Thanks for the two concise answers.
इयन| Ian
Hi Ian,
मुझे नीला रंग पसंद है, और हरा भी| I like the colour blue, and green too.
Yes, you're right - वह बहुत गोरा है। means ‘He is very fair,’ or 'He is very light-skinned.'
In Hindi we tend to use गोरा/गोरी to talk about lighter/paler skin and complexion, rather than "सफ़ेद" (white). Unlike in English skin is not identified as 'white' in colour in Hindi.
Thank you for your questions.
Cheers,
Udita
Team HindiPod101.com
मुझे हरा का रंग पसंद है। हरियाली में हरे और आप?
I like green – green in greenery – and (what about) you?
Lesson notes: वह बहुत गोरा है। "He is very white" translates as 'He is very fair,'doesn't it? Compare: वह बहुत सफेद है। He is (very) white.
Hello Cyberspace,
'Sona' is a noun meaning 'gold' but when used with other nouns it becomes 'of gold' i.e sone ki.
for example 'sone ki choodi' meaning 'bangle of gold'.
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Neha
Team HindiPod101.com
Why do you say "sone pattern?" why not "sona pattern"?
Hi Hans,
Thank you!:grin::heart:
Ofelia
Team HindiPod101.com