The learning path
All 82 grammar topics in the order in which they support one another — numbered from 1 to 82.
Your progress at a glance
Each petal is a category: easy topics on the inside, hard ones on the outside. Tap a petal to see only its topics.
Where are you right now?
- A1Introducing yourself, asking questions, saying everyday things.
- Vowels and vowel signsEvery vowel has two shapes: a full letter at the start of a word and a small sign after a consonant.
- The consonants, row by rowFive rows of five, ordered from the back of the mouth to the lips, and eight more that stand outside the grid.
- The hidden a, and when it falls silentEvery consonant carries a written a, but at the end of a word and often in the middle it is not said.
- Consonant clusters and the halantWhen two consonants meet with no vowel between them, the first loses its stroke and leans on the second.
- Nasal vowels: the dot and the moonA dot above the line is a nasal before a consonant or a nasal vowel; the moon with a dot is a nasal vowel.
- The dot below: z, f, q and the flapped ṛA dot under a letter marks a sound from Persian, Arabic or English, or the flapped r of लड़का.
- Two t’s and two d’sHindi has a t and a d with the tongue on the teeth and another pair with the tongue curled back.
- With and without a breath: aspirated soundsA puff of breath after a consonant turns one Hindi word into another: पल is a moment, फल a fruit.
- The verb comes lastSubject, then object, then the verb — and whatever else moves, the verb stays at the end.
- In and on: में and परHindi says “room in” and “table on”, and the noun before the postposition changes its form.
- Numbers to 100, learnt one by oneEvery number from 11 to 99 is a word of its own, and the ones ending in nine look ahead to the next ten.
- Every noun is masculine or feminineHindi has two genders and no neuter: a book is feminine, a house masculine, and the words around them follow.
- I, we, you, he, she, it: मैं, हम, तुम, आप, यह, वहHindi pronouns say near or far, not he or she; the verb shows the gender.
- The everyday present: बोलता हैStem + ता, ती or ते, then हूँ, है, हो or हैं: मैं हिंदी बोलता हूँ, “I speak Hindi”.
- Telling a friend: जाओ, and the blunt जाFor तुम add ओ to the stem: बैठो, आओ, लिखो. For तू the bare stem is the command: बैठ, आ.
- नहीं, and the है that drops awayनहीं stands before the verb; in the habitual present the है usually goes: मैं चाय नहीं पीता.
- हूँ, है, हैं: “to be” in the presentहूँ for I, हो for तुम, है for one person or thing, हैं for several and for anyone you respect.
- का, की, के: “of”, agreeing with what followsThe owner comes first, then का, की or के, then the thing owned — and का agrees with the thing owned.
- था, थी, थे, थीं: “was” and “were”The past of “to be” changes with gender and number, not with the person: था, थी, थे, थीं.
- Telling the time: बजे, सवा, साढ़े, पौने, डेढ़, ढाईबजे gives the hour; सवा adds a quarter, साढ़े a half, पौने takes a quarter away, and 1.30 and 2.30 have words of their own.
- को: to, for, and the definite objectको marks the person who receives, the person you see or call, and the day something happens.
- Plurals: लड़के, लड़कियाँ, किताबेंFour kinds of plural, decided by gender and ending — and one kind that does not change at all.
- तू, तुम or आप: choosing your “you”आप for strangers and elders, तुम for friends, तू for almost no one — and each with its own verb forms.
- Adjectives that agree, and those that never changeAn adjective in -ā has three forms, -ā, -e and -ī; every other adjective has only one.
- And, but, or: और, लेकिन, याऔर joins, लेकिन (also पर, मगर) sets against, या offers a choice — between two words or two clauses, as in English.
- Yes–no questions with क्याPut क्या in front of a statement, keep the order, and let your voice rise.
- से: from, with, by, sinceसे is from, with a tool, by a means of transport, since a time, and the partner of ask, talk and meet.
- Happening now: बोल रहा हैStem + रहा, रही or रहे, then हूँ, है, हो or हैं: मैं खा रहा हूँ, “I am eating”.
- Asking politely: बैठिए, कीजिए, दीजिएFor आप add इए to the stem: बैठिए, आइए; and four verbs have their own form: कीजिए, दीजिए, लीजिए, पीजिए.
- मत and न: “don’t”, and न with the subjunctiveमत makes a command negative: मत जाओ. न goes with the subjunctive and polite requests: कृपया धूम्रपान न करें.
- Days, months, dates, and first, second, thirdDays and dates take को, months take में, and only the first few ordinal numbers are irregular.
- The oblique: the form before a postpositionBefore any postposition a noun takes its oblique form: कमरा becomes कमरे में, and every plural ends in -ों.
- मेरा, तुम्हारा, आपका: possessives that agreeMy, your, his and her agree with the thing owned, not with the owner — like an adjective in -ā.
- Who, what, where, when, why, how, how muchAlmost every question word starts with क, and it stands where the answer will stand.
- Having things: मेरे पास … हैHindi has no verb “to have”: things are “near” you, relatives are “yours”, and illnesses are “to” you.
- A2Talking about what happened and saying what comes next.
- सकना: canBare stem + सकना in any tense: मैं तैर सकता हूँ, “I can swim”; मैं नहीं आ सका, “I couldn’t come”.
- The simple past: वह आया, वह गईStem + ा, ी, े or ीं, with no auxiliary: वह आया, “he came”; वह आई, “she came”.
- Because and so: क्योंकि and इसलिएक्योंकि introduces a reason, इसलिए a result; a noun as a reason takes की वजह से or के कारण.
- तक: until, as far as, evenतक marks where something stops: until a time, as far as a place — and, as an extra, “even”.
- Shall I, let’s, may: the subjunctiveThe future without गा: मैं जाऊँ?, “shall I go?”; चलें, “let’s go”; आप ख़ुश रहें, “may you be happy”.
- मुझे, तुम्हें, उसे: pronouns with कोमुझे is “to me”, and it is the form behind I like, I need, I know and I have to.
- The infinitive as a noun: पढ़ना, पढ़ने के लिएThe -ना form is a masculine noun: it can be a subject or an object, and before a postposition it becomes -ने.
- Also and only: भी and हीभी (also, even) and ही (only, exactly) stand directly after the word they stress — and moving them changes the meaning.
- चाहना: to want toInfinitive + चाहना: मैं घर जाना चाहता हूँ, “I want to go home”; for someone else, चाहना कि + subjunctive.
- The past with ने: agreeing with the objectWith a transitive verb in the past, the subject takes ने and the verb agrees with the object: मैंने चाय पी.
- Hundreds, thousands, lakhs and croresAbove a thousand, Indian counting goes on in lakhs of a hundred thousand and crores of ten million.
- The future: जाऊँगा, जाएगी, and होगा for “probably”Stem + ऊँ, ए, ओ or एँ, then गा, गी or गे: मैं करूँगा, वह करेगी, हम करेंगे.
- Never, nobody, nothingकभी नहीं, कोई नहीं, कुछ नहीं, कहीं नहीं: the indefinite word plus an ordinary नहीं.
- चाहिए: should, needमुझे पानी चाहिए, “I need water”; मुझे जाना चाहिए, “I should go” — the person takes को.
- Noun + करना or होना: इंतज़ार करना, शुरू होनाA noun or adjective plus करना (someone does it) or होना (it happens): काम शुरू करना, काम शुरू होना.
- Bigger, smaller, the biggest: से and सबसेThan is से after the thing compared with, the most is सबसे, and the adjective itself never changes its ending for it.
- That: the conjunction किकि introduces what is said, thought or known; it follows the main clause and, unlike English “that”, stays in the sentence.
- Irregular pasts: गया, किया, दिया, लिया, हुआFive everyday verbs have their own past: जाना → गया, करना → किया, देना → दिया, लेना → लिया, होना → हुआ.
- जाना है: having to, as a planमुझे जाना है, “I have to go / I’m to go”: the person takes को, the infinitive is followed by है or था.
- के लिए, के साथ, के बाद, से पहले, के बारे मेंMost longer postpositions begin with के, a few with की, and “before” takes से.
- If … then: अगर … तोअगर opens the condition, तो opens the result: अगर बारिश हुई, तो हम घर पर रहेंगे.
- अपना: one’s ownWhen the owner is the subject of the sentence, the possessive is अपना — for I, you, he and they alike.
- Having done: the -कर form (खाकर, जाकर)Stem + कर joins two actions of the same person: वह खाना खाकर सो गया, “he ate and went to sleep”.
- The one who, the one with: -वाला-वाला after a noun, an adjective or an infinitive makes a describing word: सब्ज़ीवाला, लाल वाली, जाने वाला.
- When: जब … तबजब opens a clause of time, and तब or तो can pick it up in the main clause; कब is only for questions.
- Used to and was doing: जाता था, जा रहा थाThe two presents with था instead of है: वह जाता था, “he used to go”; वह जा रहा था, “he was going”.
- लगना: to seem, to like, to feelमुझे यह गाना अच्छा लगता है, “I like this song”; मुझे भूख लगी है, “I’m hungry”; मुझे लगता है कि …, “I think that …”.
- B1Explaining how things connect, giving reasons, reporting.
- Compound verbs with जानाStem + जाना marks a change completed: सो जाना, “to fall asleep”; भूल जाना, “to forget”; बैठ जाना, “to sit down”.
- Verb pairs: बनना / बनाना, खुलना / खोलनाOne verb for “it happens”, its partner for “someone makes it happen”: दरवाज़ा खुला, but उसने दरवाज़ा खोला.
- While doing: the -ते हुए form (गाते हुए)Stem + ते हुए says what someone is doing at the same time; before a noun it agrees: बहता हुआ पानी.
- Have done and had done: आया है, आया थाThe past form plus है is “has done”, plus था “had done” — with ने where the simple past has it.
- Relative clauses: जो … वहHindi relative clauses come in pairs: the जो clause names someone, and वह picks them up in the main clause.
- Reporting a statement: उसने कहा कि …A reported statement follows कि and keeps the tense the speaker used; the pronouns may stay as they were or change.
- लेना and देना: for yourself, for someone elseStem + लेना when the action comes back to the doer (खा लिया), stem + देना when it goes out to others (बता दिया).
- About to: जाने वाला हैThe oblique infinitive + वाला/वाली/वाले + होना: ट्रेन छूटने वाली है, “the train is about to leave”.
- If only: अगर … होताFor an “if” that is not or was not true, both clauses take the -ता form alone: अगर मेरे पास पैसे होते, तो मैं घर ख़रीदता.
- पड़ना: having to, against your willमुझे जाना पड़ा, “I had to go”: the person takes को, and पड़ना carries the tense.
- Having something done: बनवाना, करवानाStem + वाना: have someone else do it. मैंने बाल कटवाए, “I had my hair cut”; the person who does it takes से.
- Done, made: the -आ हुआ form (बना हुआ, लिखा हुआ)The past form with हुआ describes the state an action has left behind: बना हुआ खाना, खुली हुई खिड़की.
- Then, so, and as for: तोतो picks up a condition (“then”), draws a conclusion (“so”), and after a word sets it against others (“as for”).
- Beginning to: करने लगाOblique infinitive + लगना: वह रोने लगी, “she began to cry” — with no ने, whatever the verb.
- When the verb agrees with nothing: ने with कोIf the subject has ने and the object has को, the verb takes the neutral form in -ा: मैंने उस लड़की को देखा.
- So that and until: ताकि, जब तक … नताकि takes the subjunctive and means “so that”; जब तक with a negative means “until”, without one “as long as”.
- Reporting questions and requests: पूछा कि, कहा कि … आऊँA question is reported with पूछना, से and कि and keeps its question word; a request takes कि with the subjunctive, or -ने को कहना.
- The passive: किया जाता हैPast participle + जाना in any tense: यहाँ हिंदी बोली जाती है, “Hindi is spoken here”.
- As soon as: the -ते ही form (पहुँचते ही)Stem + ते ही means “as soon as”, and the form never changes.
- Already done: कर चुका हैBare stem + चुका है: मैं खा चुका हूँ, “I have already eaten” — never with ने.
The finish: the whole grammar
82 topics, from the first sentences to the finishing touches.
How to read the path. Every dot is a grammar topic; a click opens it. The colour of a dot is its category, the colour of the path is the difficulty — green and easy at the top, berry red and hard at the bottom. Within a level the categories follow one another, but you need not take them in order: you can work on a tense and on a topic from another category side by side.
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