How to learn to read Hindi

Hindi is an Indo-Aryan language, with approximately 182 million speakers. According to Ethnologue, most people who speak Hindi live in India, but there are also important Hindi-speaking communities in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Uganda. Hindi is written with a script called Devanagari, which is also used to write related languages, such as Marathi, Nepal and the ancient Sanskrit language. Learning to read Hindi will take time, but there are many resources available to help beginners cope with this challenge.

You will need to:

Computer with Internet access

Steps to follow:

one

Familiarize yourself with the Hindi alphabet . Print a copy of the Hindi alphabet and stick it on the wall in a prominent place in your home. Look at your board with the alphabet on a regular basis throughout the day and try to recognize the differences between the different letters. Note that there is no distinction between uppercase and lowercase in Hindi, so you only need to learn one form for each letter.

two

Study the Hindi vowels. Hindi vowels have two forms, dependent and independent. Use independent forms when the vowels should be pronounced in an isolated context, detached from any consonant. Dependent forms are always linked to a consonant. Listen to audio tracks of the Hindi vowels by repeating them aloud, while looking at the corresponding character in the alphabet table. This will help you associate the sound and the form of the vowels in your mind.

3

Manage the Hindi consonants . There are five types of consonants that are grouped according to where they are pronounced in the mouth. There are some specific sounds of Hindi consonants that are very difficult to pronounce for native English speakers. If you are only going to read Hindi instead of talking, do not spend too much time trying to master these sounds.

4

Practice drawing the Hindi letters on a piece of paper. The physical action of doing this will help you to memorize the shape of the characters. Speak the letters out loud as you draw them. Try to set a time each day to study Hindi letters, preferably at some time when your brain is active for the most part. Begin each study session by reviewing the letters you practiced the previous day to reinforce in your mind.

5

Look for simple texts to read in Hindi. Start by reading basic phrases. Hindi is a phonetic language, so even if you do not understand the words, now that you have mastered the alphabet you can read aloud with reasonable accuracy. As you trust your abilities, try to read more complex texts, such as news websites in Hindi. The greater the practice, the quicker your ability to read fluently Hindi, will develop.

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