Hindi Vocabulary — Build Your Word Bank by Topic
Building vocabulary by topic, rather than memorising random word lists, makes Hindi stick faster because you learn words in the groups you'll actually use together in real conversation. Below are the essential categories every beginner should master, organised from the most immediately useful through to the practical everyday categories that round out a working vocabulary. For audio pronunciation of every word, use our free Hindi Dictionary, and once you're comfortable with vocabulary, see our Hindi Grammar guide to start combining words into full sentences.
Your Head Start: English and Persian-Arabic Loanwords in Hindi
Hindi has absorbed an enormous number of words from English, particularly in modern, urban, and technical contexts — a genuine advantage for Australian learners that few guides mention. स्कूल (skool — school), बस (bas — bus), टीचर (teechar — teacher), मोबाइल (mobail — mobile phone), कंप्यूटर (kampyootar — computer), होटल (hotal — hotel), टैक्सी (taxi — taxi), डॉक्टर (doctor — doctor), and दफ़्तर (daftar — office, originally Persian but used identically to how you'd expect) are all immediately recognisable. Modern spoken Hindi, especially in cities, freely mixes English vocabulary into everyday sentences — a phenomenon often called "Hinglish" — which means your existing English vocabulary is more useful in Hindi conversation than it would be in almost any other non-European language.
Hindi also carries centuries of vocabulary from Persian and Arabic, woven so deeply into the language that most speakers don't think of these words as "borrowed" at all: किताब (kitaab — book), दुनिया (duniya — world), ज़िंदगी (zindagi — life), and मुश्किल (mushkil — difficult) are all everyday Hindi words with Persian or Arabic roots, existing alongside Sanskrit-derived equivalents for the same concepts. Recognising this layered history helps explain why Hindi sometimes has two or three different words for similar ideas — each carries a slightly different register or origin.
Essential Vocabulary by Category
Greetings and Social Phrases
नमस्ते (namaste — hello/goodbye, all-purpose and works at any time of day), धन्यवाद (dhanyavaad — thank you), शुक्रिया (shukriya — thanks, slightly more casual), कृपया (kripaya — please), माफ़ कीजिए (maaf kijiye — excuse me/sorry), हाँ (haan — yes), नहीं (nahin — no), आपसे मिलकर खुशी हुई (aapse milkar khushi hui — nice to meet you), कैसे हैं आप? (kaise hain aap? — how are you, formal), ठीक हूँ (theek hoon — I'm fine), फिर मिलेंगे (phir milenge — see you again)
Pronouns
मैं (main — I), तुम (tum — you, informal), आप (aap — you, formal), वह (vah — he/she/it), यह (yah — this/this person), हम (ham — we), वे/ये (ve/ye — they)
Numbers 1–20
एक (ek, 1), दो (do, 2), तीन (teen, 3), चार (chaar, 4), पाँच (paanch, 5), छह (chhah, 6), सात (saat, 7), आठ (aath, 8), नौ (nau, 9), दस (das, 10), ग्यारह (gyaarah, 11), बारह (baarah, 12), तेरह (terah, 13), चौदह (chaudah, 14), पंद्रह (pandrah, 15), सोलह (solah, 16), सत्रह (satrah, 17), अठारह (atharah, 18), उन्नीस (unnees, 19), बीस (bees, 20). Larger numbers: सौ (sau, 100), हज़ार (hazaar, 1,000), लाख (laakh, 100,000 — a distinctly South Asian numbering unit used constantly in everyday speech and prices), करोड़ (karod, 10,000,000).
Time Expressions
आज (aaj — today), कल (kal — tomorrow or yesterday, context-dependent — Hindi uses the same word for both), परसों (parson — day before yesterday or day after tomorrow, also context-dependent), अभी (abhi — now), बाद में (baad mein — later), सुबह (subah — morning), दोपहर (dopahar — afternoon/midday), शाम (shaam — evening), रात (raat — night), हर रोज़ (har roz — every day), अगले हफ़्ते (agle hafte — next week), पिछले महीने (pichhle mahine — last month)
Family
परिवार (parivaar — family), माँ (maa — mother), पिता/पापा (pita/papa — father), भाई (bhai — brother), बहन (bahan — sister), बेटा (beta — son), बेटी (beti — daughter), दादा/दादी (dada/dadi — paternal grandfather/grandmother), नाना/नानी (nana/nani — maternal grandfather/grandmother), पति (pati — husband), पत्नी (patni — wife), चाचा/मामा (chacha/mama — uncle, paternal/maternal — Hindi has distinct words for relatives on each side of the family, reflecting their cultural importance)
Essential Verbs
जाना (jaana — to go), आना (aana — to come), करना (karna — to do), होना (hona — to be/happen), खाना (khaana — to eat), पीना (peena — to drink), देखना (dekhna — to see/watch), सुनना (sunna — to listen/hear), बोलना (bolna — to speak), पढ़ना (padhna — to read/study), लिखना (likhna — to write), समझना (samajhna — to understand), जानना (jaanna — to know), चाहना (chaahna — to want), लेना (lena — to take), देना (dena — to give), काम करना (kaam karna — to work), सोना (sona — to sleep), उठना (uthna — to wake up/rise), रहना (rahna — to stay/live)
Essential Adjectives
अच्छा (achha — good), बुरा (bura — bad), बड़ा (bada — big), छोटा (chhota — small), नया (naya — new), पुराना (puraana — old), गरम (garam — hot), ठंडा (thanda — cold), सस्ता (sasta — cheap), महंगा (mahanga — expensive), सुंदर (sundar — beautiful), लंबा (lamba — tall/long), मोटा (mota — fat/thick), पतला (patla — thin), तेज़ (tez — fast), धीमा (dheema — slow), खुश (khush — happy), दुखी (dukhi — sad)
Food and Drink
खाना (khaana — food), पानी (paani — water), चाय (chai — tea), दूध (doodh — milk), रोटी (roti — bread/flatbread), चावल (chaaval — rice), दाल (daal — lentils), सब्ज़ी (sabzi — vegetable/vegetable curry dish), फल (phal — fruit), मीठा (meetha — sweet), मसालेदार (masaaledaar — spicy), नमक (namak — salt), चीनी (cheeni — sugar), नाश्ता (naashta — breakfast), खाना खाओ (khaana khao — eat food, a common warm invitation)
Colours
Colour vocabulary appears constantly in everyday Hindi — describing clothing, food, and especially the vivid palette of Indian festivals and textiles — yet it's frequently skipped in beginner materials. Here are the essentials:
लाल (laal — red), नीला (neela — blue), हरा (hara — green), पीला (peela — yellow), काला (kaala — black), सफ़ेद (safed — white), नारंगी (naarangi — orange), गुलाबी (gulaabi — pink), भूरा (bhoora — brown), बैंगनी (baingani — purple), सुनहरा (sunehra — golden — a colour word that appears constantly in Bollywood lyrics and descriptions of jewellery and saris), चांदी का रंग (chaandi ka rang — silver-coloured)
Like other Hindi adjectives ending in आ, most colour words change form to agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe: काला कुत्ता (kaala kutta — black dog, masculine) but काली बिल्ली (kaali billi — black cat, feminine). Colours that don't end in आ — like गुलाबी, नारंगी, and बैंगनी — stay the same regardless of gender.
Animals
Animal vocabulary is genuinely practical in Hindi — for everyday conversation, children's stories, idioms that reference animals constantly, and simply describing the world around you, whether at home in Australia or travelling in India. कुत्ता (kutta — dog), बिल्ली (billi — cat), गाय (gaay — cow, an animal with particular cultural and religious significance across much of India), घोड़ा (ghoda — horse), हाथी (haathi — elephant), बंदर (bandar — monkey), शेर (sher — lion), बाघ (baagh — tiger), चूज़ा/मुर्गी (chooza/murgi — chick/chicken), बकरी (bakri — goat), भेड़ (bhed — sheep), साँप (saamp — snake), चिड़िया (chidiya — bird, general term), मछली (machhli — fish), तोता (tota — parrot), चूहा (chooha — mouse/rat)
Several of these words appear constantly outside purely "animal" contexts — हाथी (elephant) features heavily in Hindu iconography and idiom, शेर (lion/tiger, often used loosely for both) is a common term of praise for someone brave or impressive, and गाय (cow) carries weight in everyday cultural conversation well beyond agriculture. Learning animal vocabulary in Hindi therefore opens doors into cultural understanding, not just a standalone word list.
Body Parts
Body part vocabulary is essential for describing health, injuries, and physical sensations — genuinely useful for travel, and a category surprisingly often left out of beginner materials despite how frequently it comes up in real conversation. सिर (sir — head), आँख (aankh — eye), नाक (naak — nose), मुँह (munh — mouth), कान (kaan — ear), बाल (baal — hair), हाथ (haath — hand/arm — Hindi uses one word for both), पैर (pair — foot/leg — similarly one word covers both), पेट (pet — stomach), पीठ (peeth — back), उंगली (ungli — finger), गला (gala — throat/neck), दिल (dil — heart — also used constantly in the emotional/figurative sense, just like English "heart"), दांत (daant — tooth)
Knowing this vocabulary set is especially practical for travel — being able to say मेरे पेट में दर्द है (mere pet mein dard hai — "I have a stomach ache") or सिर दर्द (sir dard — headache) is far more useful in a real situation than most phrasebook content, and these words combine easily with दर्द (dard — pain) to describe almost any ache or injury.
Places and Transport
घर (ghar — house/home), स्कूल (skool — school), दुकान (dukaan — shop), बाज़ार (baazaar — market), स्टेशन (station — station), हवाई अड्डा (havaai adda — airport), अस्पताल (aspataal — hospital), बैंक (bank — bank), होटल (hotal — hotel), रेस्तरां (restaraan — restaurant), बस (bas — bus), ट्रेन (train — train), रिक्शा (rikshaa — auto rickshaw), गाड़ी (gaadi — car, also used loosely for any vehicle), शहर (shahar — city), गाँव (gaanv — village)
Vocabulary Learning Strategies That Actually Work
Spaced Repetition Systems (SRS)
The most scientifically validated method for vocabulary retention is spaced repetition — reviewing words at progressively increasing intervals based on how well you already know them. Anki is the most powerful free SRS tool available, and pre-made Hindi vocabulary decks are easy to find online, or you can build your own directly from words you encounter in our Hindi Dictionary. Studies consistently show SRS learners retain vocabulary at dramatically higher rates than learners relying purely on linear, one-pass study methods.
Learning Through Bollywood and Music
Hindi has a genuinely unusual advantage among "difficult" languages for English speakers: an enormous, accessible, and enjoyable body of media specifically designed for mass entertainment. Watching Bollywood films with English subtitles first, then Hindi subtitles as your listening improves, exposes you to vocabulary in natural emotional and narrative context far more effectively than isolated word lists. Hindi film songs in particular repeat vocabulary in memorable, melodic form — many learners find that song lyrics they've half-memorised without trying become a genuine vocabulary anchor.
Vocabulary Through the Hindi-Speaking Community
Australia's large and active Hindi-speaking community offers something many learners of other "difficult" languages don't have easy access to: regular, low-pressure opportunities to hear and use real vocabulary with native speakers. Community events, Hindu temples, Indian cultural associations, and language exchange apps like HelloTalk all provide natural settings to put vocabulary into practice — and Hindi speakers are almost universally warm and encouraging toward learners, however imperfect their grammar.
Setting Vocabulary Goals
A useful framework for Hindi vocabulary milestones: around 300–500 words gets you through basic transactional situations (greetings, shopping, simple questions); 1,000–1,500 words supports comfortable everyday conversation on familiar topics; 3,000+ words allows engagement with Hindi news media, simpler literature, and films without heavy reliance on subtitles. Setting incremental, measurable targets — "200 new words this month," "finish the family and food vocabulary sets by the end of the week" — keeps motivation high and progress visible.
Words That Look Similar but Mean Very Different Things
Hindi has several pairs of words that are easy to confuse for beginners, either because they sound similar or because the same word changes meaning depending on context. कल (kal) means both "yesterday" and "tomorrow" — context (along with verb tense) tells you which is meant, which can feel disorienting at first but becomes intuitive quickly. आम (aam) means "mango" in one context and "common/ordinary" in another — these are simply two separate words that happen to share the same spelling and pronunciation. पर (par) as a postposition means "on," but as a standalone conjunction it means "but" — विद्यार्थी पढ़ता है पर समझता नहीं (the student studies but doesn't understand) uses पर in the second sense. Being aware that Hindi, like every language, has its share of these near-homophones and dual-meaning words helps you stay relaxed rather than alarmed the first time context seems to shift mid-sentence — your comprehension will catch up with practice.
Vocabulary for Specific Australian Contexts
As an Australian Hindi learner, certain vocabulary sets are particularly valuable for your specific situation. If you're connecting with an Indian-Australian partner's family, family and relationship vocabulary takes priority — and Hindi's detailed system of distinct words for different relatives (different terms for maternal versus paternal grandparents, for instance) is worth learning properly rather than approximating. If you're planning travel to India, our Travel Hindi guide covers situational vocabulary for transport, food, and shopping in depth. If your motivation is Bollywood and Hindi music, casual and emotionally expressive vocabulary will serve you better than formal textbook Hindi. And if you're studying Hindi for HSC or VCE, see our dedicated HSC & VCE Hindi guide for vocabulary aligned to the syllabus.
Translating Australian Slang Into Hindi
If you've ever tried explaining "fair dinkum" or "no worries" to a Hindi-speaking friend or family member, you've probably noticed it doesn't always translate directly. See our dedicated guide on translating Australian slang into Hindi, which also covers practical backpacker vocabulary beyond the basics.
Next Steps
Once these categories feel comfortable, move on to our Hindi Grammar guide to start combining vocabulary into full, natural sentences, build situational phrases with our Travel Hindi guide, or test yourself right now with our Hindi flashcard sets.