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Script, basic sentences and numbers

Devanagari and the sounds of Hindi

The basic sentence

Numbers, time and dates

Nouns, pronouns and adjectives

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The present

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Moods, modal and compound verbs

Requests, wishes and conditions

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Joining clauses

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Small words with a big job

A1 · Numbers, time and dates

Days, months, dates, and first, second, third

the calendar and the ordinal numbers

Days and dates take को, months take में, and only the first few ordinal numbers are irregular.

At a glance

Remember: Days and dates take ko, months take mein, and only the first few ordinals are irregular.
Form: सोमवार, मंगलवार, बुधवार, गुरुवार, शुक्रवार, शनिवार, रविवारMonday … Sunday
Signal words: को
में
पहला
दूसरा
तीसरा
-वाँ
Trap: Wrong:हम रविवार पर मिलेंगे।
Right:हम रविवार को मिलेंगे।

Start practising · 10 exercisesabout 5 minutesRead the full explanation

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The form

The patterns at a glance

Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Hindi.

Monday … Sunday	सोमवार, मंगलवार, बुधवार, गुरुवार, शुक्रवार, शनिवार, रविवार
on Monday	सोमवार को
in June	जून में
15 August	पंद्रह अगस्त
first, second, third, fourth, sixth	पहला, दूसरा, तीसरा, चौथा, छठा
fifth, seventh, tenth	पाँचवाँ, सातवाँ, दसवाँ

The rules one by one

The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it

A day or a date takes को where English says “on”.
हम रविवार को मिलेंगे।We will meet on Sunday.
A date is the plain number, then the month.
मेरा जन्मदिन बारह मई को है।My birthday is on 12 May.
The first four ordinals and the sixth are irregular; the rest add -वाँ.
यह मेरा तीसरा हफ़्ता है।This is my third week.
Ordinals agree like adjectives in -ā.
मेरा दफ़्तर पाँचवीं मंज़िल पर है।My office is on the fifth floor.

Example sentences

आज सोमवार है।Today is Monday.

आज कौन-सी तारीख़ है?What is the date today?

हमारी छुट्टियाँ जून में हैं।Our holidays are in June.

पंद्रह अगस्त को स्वतंत्रता दिवस है।Independence Day is on 15 August.

वह दूसरी मंज़िल पर रहती है।She lives on the second floor.

यह मेरी पहली यात्रा है।This is my first trip.

6 more example sentences

मैं शुक्रवार को घर जाऊँगा।I will go home on Friday.

परीक्षा दस मार्च को है।The exam is on 10 March.

मेरा जन्म 1998 में हुआ।I was born in 1998.

पहली जनवरी को नया साल शुरू होता है।The new year begins on the first of January.

यह उसका छठा जन्मदिन है।It is his sixth birthday.

हम हर मंगलवार मिलते हैं।We meet every Tuesday.

The trap English speakers fall into

Watch out

English “on” suggests पर, which means “on top of”. A day or a date takes को: रविवार को, दस मार्च को.

Wrong:हम रविवार पर मिलेंगे।

Right:हम रविवार को मिलेंगे।

The full explanation

Read it all · about 1 min

The days of the week end in -वार: सोमवार (Monday), मंगलवार, बुधवार, गुरुवार, शुक्रवार, शनिवार, रविवार (Sunday). Sunday also has an everyday name, इतवार. The months are the English ones in Hindi spelling: जनवरी, फ़रवरी, मार्च, अप्रैल, मई, जून, जुलाई, अगस्त, सितंबर, अक्तूबर, नवंबर, दिसंबर.

English “on Monday” is सोमवार को, and “on 15 August” पंद्रह अगस्त को: days and dates take को, never पर. Months and years take में: जून में, 2020 में. A date is said as in British English, day first, with an ordinary number: दस मार्च.

The ordinal numbers — first, second, third — are irregular for the first four and the sixth: पहला, दूसरा, तीसरा, चौथा, छठा. All the others add -वाँ to the number: पाँचवाँ, सातवाँ, दसवाँ, बीसवाँ.

Ordinals are adjectives in -ā and agree with their noun: पहला दिन, पहली बार(the first time)पहले दिनbefore a postposition The -वाँ ones become -वीं and -वें: पाँचवीं मंज़िल, the fifth floor.

A closer look

Two names for two days

Sunday is रविवार in writing and often इतवार in speech. Thursday is गुरुवार, with a longer form बृहस्पतिवार in formal use. The day names come from the sun, the moon and the planets, just as Sunday and Monday do in English.

Writing a date

On paper the date is written day first: 15/08/2025 or 15 अगस्त 2025. The year is read as a number: दो हज़ार पच्चीस. The traditional Hindu calendar with its own months is used for festivals; ordinary life runs on the calendar shown here.

Worth knowing (2)

हर with a day: no को

“Every Monday” is हर सोमवार, without को.

मैं हर सोमवार तैरने जाता हूँ।I go swimming every Monday.
Feminine ordinals

मंज़िल (floor), तारीख़ (date) and बार (time, occasion) are feminine, so the ordinal before them ends in -ी.

लिफ़्ट चौथी मंज़िल तक जाती है।The lift goes up to the fourth floor.

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