Learn how to talk about your ethnicity using the verb meaning "to be"
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| INTRODUCTION | |
| Manasi: [Namaste hindipod101.com mein swagat hai] | |
| Maya: Hi everyone, welcome to Basic Bootcamp Lesson 2. Talking About Nationality in Hindi. | |
| Manasi: This is the second in a five-part series that will help you ease your way into Hindi. | |
| Maya: We will go over all the basics so you can get started right away. | |
| Manasi: In this lesson, you will learn how to talk about nationality. | |
| Maya: You will also learn a little more about [Hai] the equivalent of the verb to be in English and this is really going to help you make simple sentences. So Manasi, where does this conversation take place? | |
| Manasi: It could take place anywhere between two people who are meeting for the first time. | |
| Maya: And the speakers are strangers. | |
| Manasi: So they will be using polite language. | |
| Maya: Let’s listen to the conversation. | |
| DIALOGUE | |
| A: नमस्ते|मेरा नाम आरती है|मै भारतीय हूँ| | |
| B: नमस्ते|मेरा नाम ऐना है|मै अमरीकन हूँ| | |
| Maya: Now let’s hear it one time slowly. | |
| A: नमस्ते|मेरा नाम आरती है|मै भारतीय हूँ| | |
| B: नमस्ते|मेरा नाम ऐना है|मै अमरीकन हूँ| | |
| Maya: And one more time with the translation. | |
| Manasi: नमस्ते|मेरा नाम आरती है|मै भारतीय हूँ| | |
| Maya: Hello, my name is Aarthi, I am Indian. | |
| Manasi: नमस्ते|मेरा नाम ऐना है|मै अमरीकन हूँ| | |
| Maya: Hello, my name is Anna, I am American. | |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER | |
| Maya: One of the most incredible things about learning Hindi is that you are bound to meet other people studying the language who come from all parts of the world. | |
| Manasi: Yeah it’s really amazing. There are so many people from all over the world who study Hindi. | |
| Maya: So that’s where being able to talk about where you come from is really handy. | |
| Manasi: That’s right. Not only for introducing yourself to Indian people but also to your fellow learners. | |
| Maya: It’s funny. If you are studying at a Hindi language school, probably most of the Hindi you use is going to be spoken with other foreigners. Another thing that’s interesting is, finding out all of the reasons that people are learning Hindi. | |
| Manasi: So what are some of the reasons? | |
| Maya: I think a really big one today is for traveling. Many foreigners found that if they can speak Hindi, they can learn and see more. They can touch and feel the real India. | |
| Manasi: I also think that some people study it because of more traditional culture like Yoga or Indian Ayurveda. | |
| Maya: Yeah Yoga has become a part of daily life for people everywhere in countries as diverse as Japan and the United States. | |
| Manasi: So how about you Maya? What was your reason for studying Hindi? | |
| Maya: Well I enjoyed watching Bollywood movies with their dances and songs and became interested in Hindi. | |
| Manasi: Wow! That’s really great. | |
| VOCAB LIST | |
| Maya: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary used in this lesson. First we have, | |
| Manasi: [Bhartiya] | |
| Maya: Indian. | |
| Manasi: [Bhar-tiya] | |
| Maya: Next word. | |
| Manasi: [Amrikan] | |
| Maya: American. | |
| Manasi: [Am-ri-kan] | |
| Maya: And next | |
| Manasi: [Mein] | |
| Maya: I. | |
| Manasi: [Mein] | |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE | |
| Maya: Let’s take a look at this lesson’s dialogue line by line. First we have, | |
| Manasi: [Namaste] | |
| Maya: Remember, Namaste means hello. We learned this greeting Namaste in Bootcamp 1. | |
| Manasi: [Mera naam Bharti hai] | |
| Maya: As we learned in Basic Bootcamp 1, you can introduce yourself by using the structure | |
| Manasi: [Mer naam Manasi hai] | |
| Maya: My name is Manasi. What’s new in this lesson is, | |
| Manasi: [I am Indian] | |
| Maya: I am Indian. | |
| Manasi: The basic word order of a Hindi sentence is subject, then a compliment and then the verb. This is different from English sentence order. | |
| Maya: I for male or female is [Mein] | |
| Manasi: [Hoon] is equivalent to the verb to be in English. | |
| Maya: Manasi, so how do we say an Indian person? | |
| Manasi: [Bhartiya] | |
| Maya: This word [Bhartiya] is the name of the country modified. | |
| Manasi: It became [Bhartiya] from Bharat which means India. In the next line, Anna said, Namaste | |
| Maya: Hello. | |
| Manasi: [Mera naam Anna hai] | |
| Maya: My name is Anna. | |
| Manasi: [Mein Amrikan hoon] | |
| Maya: I am American. In Hindi, America is | |
| Manasi: [Amrika] So American becomes [Amrikan] | |
| Maya: How about England? | |
| Manasi: We call English people as Angrez. | |
| Maya: Angrez. | |
| Manasi: So the English language is known as [Angrezi] in Hindi and now, I am going to say a nationality. So Maya, can you guess the meaning? | |
| Maya: I can do that. | |
| Manasi: [Japani] | |
| Maya: That would be Japanese. | |
| Manasi: Right and the next [Russi] | |
| Maya: Russian. | |
| Manasi: Correct. And next [Chinni] | |
| Maya: Chinese. | |
| Manasi: That’s right Maya. So now, let’s get on to the grammar section. | |
Lesson focus |
|
|---|---|
| Maya: Let’s take a look at the word order. In the dialogue, we had | |
| Manasi: [Mein Amrikan hoon] | |
| Maya: I am American. Just remember that the basic word order of a Hindi sentence is, subject, object, verb or subject, compliment and then the verb which is different from the English order. So first, the subject here is... | |
| Manasi: [Mein] which means I in English. | |
| Maya: Then we have the nationality American. | |
| Manasi: [Amrikan] | |
| Maya: And after that we have | |
| Manasi: [Hoon] which is the equivalent of the verb to be. | |
| Maya: I am American. | |
| Manasi: [Mein Amrikan hoon] There you have it. You’ve made a full sentence. | |
| Maya: Now we can try out this structure in other sentences. Manasi, how would you say, we are American. | |
| Manasi: I is [Mein] and [Hum] is we. | |
| Manasi: [Hum] | |
| Maya: That’s right. So we would say... | |
| Manasi: [Hum Amrikan hai] | |
| Maya: We are American. Can you say I am American again? | |
| Manasi: [Mein Amrikan hoon] | |
| Maya: Now we are American. | |
| Manasi: [Hum Amrikan hoon] | |
| Maya: Please notice that there are two differences here. | |
| Manasi: [Mein] | |
| Maya: I | |
| Manasi: [Hum] | |
| Maya: We. And also [hoon] becomes [hain] changing the same way as m and r. | |
| Manasi: Right. If you notice, Hindi verbs change according to the subject. | |
| Maya: In English, I am or we are. | |
| Manasi: So the verb to be in Hindi would be [Hoon] | |
| Maya: With I and with we is | |
| Manasi: [Hai] | |
| Maya: So it’s kind of like, I am American, we are American. The subject changes and the verb does too. So Manasi, how would you say, I am Indian? | |
| Manasi: [Mein Bhartiya hoon] | |
| Maya: How about we are Indian? | |
| Manasi: [Hum Bhartiya hain] | |
Outro |
|
| Maya: All right. We hope that this lesson has helped to get a grasp on basic Hindi sentence structure. | |
| Manasi: Stick with us as we get into more of the basics in this basic bootcamp series. Want a free way to build your Hindi vocabulary. | |
| Maya: Follow our Hindi word of the day at hindipod101.com | |
| Manasi: See and hear the word of the day | |
| Maya: Plus sample phrases and sentences. | |
| Manasi: Get these daily vocabulary alerts on Facebook, Twitter and the hindipod101.com blog. | |
| Maya: And add this widget to your own website or blog. They are available in 35 languages. | |
| Manasi: Get these easy instructions at hindipod101.com/hindi-phrases | |
| Maya: See you next time | |
| Manasi: [fir milenge] Goodbye. |
60 Comments
HideNamaste and welcome back! Now that you know how to express your nationality, May I know where are you from in Hindi?
Hi Ellysia,
Thanks for your post!
You said it correctly. Just don't forget to add that nasal sound at the end of "mai", like this, "main". We will get this corrected in the lesson as soon as possible.
"Name" in Hindi is pronounced as "Naam" and "American" can be both "amariikii" or "ameriikii" or "amerikaN". We will try to adjust the romanization so that there is no confusion.
If you have any other questions, feel free to let us know.
All the best!
Roohi
Team HindiPod101.com
Namaste! Mera nam Ellysia hai. Mai aastreliyan hoon.
Did I say that correctly? Can you tell what nationality I am? Also, I have a question. How come nam and amerikan are different to naam and amareeka, which both mean name and American. Why are there two different ways of spelling it, do they mean different things?
Hi Phyllis,
Thanks for your post!
I know it can be confusing for a learner. Please do go through the various lessons available and keep practicing, and it will surely get easier.
In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, please do contact us.
All the best!
Roohi
Team HindiPod101.com
This is too confusing...do you just have a verb chart for the verb "to be" showing how it changes. This is much too wordy.
Hi Risari,
Thanks for your post!
You can either just say Sri Lankan or say "Srii Lankaaii" (श्रीलंकाई)
Any questions, do contact us.
All the best!
Roohi
Team HindiPod101.com
Hi Jovita,
Welcome! We hope you enjoy the lessons here.
Few suggestions for the sentences you tried:
Mera naam Jovita hai. Main Indonesian huun. Aapse milkar khushi huyii. Aap kaise hain?
Keep learning and all the best!
Roohi
Team HindiPod101.com
Hi,
May you please let me know how to say "Sri Lankan" in Hindi?
Is it "Main Shree Lankan hun"?
By the way, bahut dhanyavaad!
Hi I just start on this website yesterday... but I would like to try speak the hindi I learn from movie to introduce my self. Please correct me if i wrong. Thanks.
Namaste 🙏🏻
Mera naam Jovita hai. Me Indonesian hai. Aapse milkar judaa hue. Aap kaise hu?
Dhanyavaad.
Hi Laureen,
Thanks for sharing that you are from Germany!
If you have any questions, feel free to let us know.
All the best!
Roohi
Team HindiPod101.com
Mai german huun.