Numbers

1. एक, दो, तीन

   Ek, do, teen

   One, two, three

   Usage

   Basic numbers. Hindi numbers are derived from Sanskrit and have their own written forms

   Grammar Note

   Devanagari numerals: १ २ ३ ४ ५ ६ ७ ८ ९ ०. International Arabic numerals (1,2,3...) are also widely used in India.

2. चार, पाँच, छह

   Chaar, paanch, chhah

   Four, five, six

   Usage

   Continuation of basic numbers

   Grammar Note

   "Paanch" uses the chandrabindu (ँ) diacritic, indicating nasalization of the vowel. Hindi has nasalized vowels.

3. सात, आठ, नौ, दस

   Saat, aath, nau, das

   Seven, eight, nine, ten

   Usage

   Completing 1-10. Knowing these numbers helps greatly with shopping and negotiation

   Grammar Note

   Hindi numbers 11-20 have irregular forms: 11=gyarah, 12=baarah, 13=terah, 14=chaudah, 15=pandrah, 16=solah, 17=satrah, 18=atharah, 19=unnis, 20=bees.

4. बीस, तीस, चालीस, पचास

   Bees, tees, chaa-lees, pa-chaas

   Twenty, thirty, forty, fifty

   Usage

   Tens. These help express approximate prices

   Grammar Note

   Higher tens: 60=saath, 70=sattar, 80=assi, 90=nabbe, 100=sau. Hindi number forms are more irregular than English.

5. सौ, पाँच सौ, हज़ार

   Sau, paanch sau, ha-zaar

   One hundred, five hundred, one thousand

   Usage

   Numbers needed for larger purchases. "Paanch sau rupaye" = 500 rupees

   Grammar Note

   Indian units: 1 lakh (लाख) = 100,000; 1 crore (करोड़) = 10,000,000. These units are commonly used in India for prices and statistics.

6. कितने बजे हैं?

   Kit-ne ba-je hain?

   What time is it?

   Usage

   Asking for the current time

   Grammar Note

   "Do baje hain" = it is 2 o'clock. "Aadha" (half) and "pandrah minute" (15 minutes) add detail. "Dhaai baje" = 2:30.

7. पहला, दूसरा, तीसरा

   Peh-laa, doo-sa-raa, tee-sa-raa

   First, second, third

   Usage

   Ordinal numbers for expressing order. Useful for hotel floors and queuing

   Grammar Note

   Ordinal adjectives agree with noun gender. Feminine forms: pehli, doosri, teesri. Fourth onwards: chautha, paanchvaan, chhatha...

8. आज तारीख़ क्या है?

   Aaj taa-reekh kyaa hai?

   What is today's date?

   Usage

   Useful when checking dates at tourist sites or hotel checkouts

   Grammar Note

   English month names (January=जनवरी, February=फ़रवरी...) are commonly used. Dates are said as "teen march" (3rd March).

9. पचास रुपए

   Pa-chaas ru-pa-e

   Fifty rupees

   Usage

   Basic expression for amounts. India's currency is the rupee (₹)

   Grammar Note

   "Rupaya" is singular, "rupaye" is plural. "Paisa" is the subunit (1/100 of a rupee). 100 paisa = 1 rupee.

10. कितना

    Kit-naa

    How many / How much

    Usage

    Question word for quantity/amount. Can be used alone to mean "how much?"

    Grammar Note

    "Kitna" is masculine singular. Use "kitni" with feminine nouns and "kitne" with plurals. Example: "Kitne log?" = How many people?

11. आधा

    Aadh-aa

    Half

    Usage

    Used in contexts like "aadha kilo" (half a kilo) or "aadha ghanta" (half an hour)

    Grammar Note

    "Aadha" is masculine, "aadhi" is feminine. "Dedh" means 1.5 and "dhaaee" means 2.5 — special words in Hindi for these fractions.

12. मेरी उम्र सत्ताईस साल है

    Me-ri um-ra sat-taa-ees saal hai

    I'm 27 years old

    Usage

    How to answer when asked your age; the reply to "aapki umra kya hai?"

    Grammar Note

    "Umr" is feminine, so the possessive agrees as "meri". "Sattaaiis" is a fused form of "saat" (7) + "biis" (20); it is irregular and cannot be built by juxtaposing the tens and the units. 28 is "aṭṭhaaiis".

13. इस साल मेरी उम्र अट्ठाईस हो जाएगी

    Is saal me-ri um-ra at-thaa-ees ho jaa-e-gi

    I turn 28 this year

    Usage

    Saying what age you will reach this year, for example when talking about birthdays

    Grammar Note

    "Ho jaanaa" is a compound verb of change ("to become"). The subject "umr" is feminine, so the future is "ho jaayegi", the same form as in "mujhe thoRaa der ho jaayegi".

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