Great work on Lesson 1! Now that you can greet people, it's time to introduce yourself. In this lesson, you'll learn to say your name, ask others theirs, and express pleasure at meeting someone. These phrases are used every single day in India — from classrooms to chai stalls. By the end, you'll be able to have a basic introduction conversation. Let's go!
Learning tips
- The phrase आपसे मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई [āpse milkar khuśī huī] ('pleased to meet you') is a must-know. It literally translates as 'meeting you, happiness happened' — a beautifully poetic way to say 'nice to meet you.'
- Hindi uses क्या [kyā] for both 'what' and to form yes/no questions. Context tells you which meaning is intended.
- Possessives in Hindi must match the gender of the thing possessed, not the speaker: मेरा [merā] (my, masculine) vs. मेरी [merī] (my, feminine).
- यह [yah] means 'this/he/she (nearby)' and वह [vah] means 'that/he/she (far away).' In spoken Delhi Hindi, वह [vah] is often pronounced 'vo.'
Warm-up & Active Recall
Recap: In Lesson 1.1, you learned the three-level formality system: आप [āp] (formal), तुम [tum] (informal), तू [tū] (intimate). The verb 'to be' changes with each: हैं [haĩ], हो [ho], है [hai]. Remember: when in doubt, use आप [āp]!
| Word | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| नमस्ते | namaste | hello, greetings |
| नमस्कार | namaskār | greetings (formal) |
| आप | āp | you (formal) |
| कैसे | kaise | how |
| हैं | haĩ | are (formal/plural) |
| अच्छा | acchā | good, nice |
| ठीक | ṭhīk | fine, okay |
| धन्यवाद | dhanyavād | thank you (formal) |
| शुक्रिया | śukriyā | thank you, thanks |
| अलविदा | alvidā | goodbye |
Dialog
Sita is starting her first day at Delhi University. She meets a new classmate (Ravi) outside the classroom, introduces herself, and then they run into a friend at the canteen. Notice the phrase आपसे मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई [āpse milkar khuśī huī] — this is the standard way to say 'nice to meet you' in Hindi. Also notice how Sita uses यह [yah] ('this') to introduce someone nearby, and वह [vah] ('that') to refer to someone further away. The possessives मेरा [merā] and आपका [āpkā] are used frequently.
📚 सुबह — दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय, कक्षा के बाहर
subah — dillī viśvavidyālay, kakṣā ke bāhar
Sita
नमस्ते! मेरा नाम सीता है। आपका नाम क्या है?
namaste! merā nām sītā hai. āpkā nām kyā hai?
(Hello! My name Sita is. Your name what is?)
Hello! My name is Sita. What is your name?
Ravi
नमस्ते! मेरा नाम रवि है। आपसे मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई!
namaste! merā nām ravī hai. āpse milkar khuśī huī!
(Hello! My name Ravi is. You-with meeting happiness happened!)
Hello! My name is Ravi. Nice to meet you!
Sita
मुझे भी ख़ुशी हुई! आप क्या पढ़ते हैं?
mujhe bhī khuśī huī! āp kyā paṛhte haĩ?
(Me-to also happiness happened! You what study are?)
Nice to meet you too! What do you study?
Ravi
मैं अर्थशास्त्र पढ़ता हूँ। और आप?
maĩ arthaśāstra paṛhtā hū̃. aur āp?
(I economics study am. And you?)
I study economics. And you?
☕ दोपहर — कैंटीन में
dopahar — kaiṇṭīn mẽ
Sita
रवि जी, यह मेरी सहेली प्रिया है।
ravī jī, yah merī sahelī priyā hai.
(Ravi ji, this my friend Priya is.)
Ravi ji, this is my friend Priya.
Ravi
नमस्ते, प्रिया जी! आपसे मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई।
namaste, priyā jī! āpse milkar khuśī huī.
(Hello, Priya ji! You-with meeting happiness happened.)
Hello, Priya ji! Nice to meet you.
Sita
वह हमारे प्रोफ़ेसर हैं। उनका नाम डॉ. गुप्ता है।
vah hamāre profesar haĩ. unkā nām ḍŏ. guptā hai.
(That our professor are. Their name Dr. Gupta is.)
That is our professor. His name is Dr. Gupta.
🚶 शाम — कैंपस गेट पर
śām — kaimpass geṭ par
Ravi
सीता जी, आपका फ़ोन नंबर क्या है?
sītā jī, āpkā fon nambar kyā hai?
(Sita ji, your phone number what is?)
Sita ji, what is your phone number?
Sita
जी, बताइए — मेरा नंबर है नौ-आठ-एक-…
jī, batāie — merā nambar hai nau-āṭh-ek-…
(Ji, tell — my number is nine-eight-one-…)
Sure, let me tell you — my number is nine-eight-one-...
Ravi
शुक्रिया! फिर मिलेंगे, सीता जी!
śukriyā! phir milẽge, sītā jī!
(Thanks! Again will-meet, Sita ji!)
Thanks! See you again, Sita ji!
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| नाम | nām | /naːm/ | name | One of the first words you'll use in any introduction — masculine noun |
| क्या | kyā | /kjaː/ | what | Also used to form yes/no questions: क्या आप ठीक हैं? [kyā āp ṭhīk haĩ?] = 'Are you okay?' |
| मेरा | merā | /meː.raː/ | my (masculine) | Changes to मेरी [merī] for feminine nouns: मेरा नाम [merā nām] but मेरी किताब [merī kitāb] |
| आपका | āpkā | /aːp.kaː/ | your (formal, masculine) | Changes to आपकी [āpkī] for feminine nouns |
| है | hai | /hɛː/ | is | Used with यह [yah], वह [vah], and singular third person — different from हैं [haĩ] (formal/plural) and हूँ [hū̃] (I) |
| मिलकर | milkar | /mil.kər/ | having met, upon meeting | From मिलना [milnā] (to meet) — used in the set phrase मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई [milkar khuśī huī] |
| ख़ुशी | khuśī | /kʰʊ.ʃiː/ | happiness, pleasure | Feminine noun — note the nuqta (dot) under ख़ [kh] indicating the Urdu/Persian 'kh' sound |
| हुई | huī | /hʊ.iː/ | happened (feminine) | Past tense of होना [honā] — feminine because ख़ुशी [khuśī] is feminine |
| यह | yah | /jəh/ | this / he, she (nearby) | Used for people or things close by — in spoken Hindi, often shortened to 'ye' |
| वह | vah | /vəh/ | that / he, she (far away) | Used for people or things at a distance — in spoken Hindi, often pronounced 'vo' |
Passive words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| तुम्हारा | tumhārā | /t̪ʊm.haː.raː/ | your (informal, masculine) | The informal version of आपका [āpkā] — use with तुम [tum] |
| बताइए | batāie | /bə.t̪aː.i.e/ | please tell (formal) | Polite imperative of बताना [batānā] — commonly used in requests |
| कहिए | kahie | /kə.hi.e/ | please say (formal) | Polite imperative of कहना [kahnā] — another way to ask someone to speak |
| भी | bhī | /bʰiː/ | also, too | Placed right after the word it modifies: मुझे भी [mujhe bhī] = 'me too' |
| और | aur | /ɔːr/ | and | One of the most common Hindi words — used exactly like English 'and' |
| से | se | /seː/ | from, with, by | A versatile postposition with many uses — here: आपसे [āpse] = 'with you' |
Useful chunks
| Word | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| मेरा नाम ... है | merā nām … hai | My name is ... |
| आपका नाम क्या है? | āpkā nām kyā hai? | What is your name? (formal) |
| मिलकर ख़ुशी हुई | milkar khuśī huī | Nice to meet you / Pleased to meet you |
Pronunciation: Pay attention to the nuqta (dot under a letter) in ख़ुशी [khuśī]. The ख़ [kh] with a dot is the Urdu/Persian 'kh' sound — like the 'ch' in Scottish 'loch' or German 'Bach.' Without the dot, ख [kh] is the regular aspirated Hindi 'kh.' Many Hindi speakers use them interchangeably, so don't stress — but hearing the difference will help your listening skills. Also note: वह [vah] is written with a व [v] but in Delhi Hindi, it's almost always pronounced 'vo.'
Grammar: Possessive pronouns (मेरा/मेरी [merā/merī], आपका/आपकी [āpkā/āpkī]) and होना [honā] (to be)
| Subject | Possessive (masc.) | Possessive (fem.) | होना [honā] form | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| मैं [maĩ] (I) | मेरा [merā] | मेरी [merī] | हूँ [hū̃] | मेरा नाम सीता है। [merā nām sītā hai.] |
| आप [āp] (you-formal) | आपका [āpkā] | आपकी [āpkī] | हैं [haĩ] | आपका नाम क्या है? [āpkā nām kyā hai?] |
| तुम [tum] (you-informal) | तुम्हारा [tumhārā] | तुम्हारी [tumhārī] | हो [ho] | तुम्हारा नाम क्या है? [tumhārā nām kyā hai?] |
| यह/वह [yah/vah] (this/that) | इसका/उसका [iskā/uskā] | इसकी/उसकी [iskī/uskī] | है [hai] | उसका नाम रवि है। [uskā nām ravī hai.] |
Hindi possessive pronouns must agree with the gender of the noun they describe, not the gender of the speaker:
- मेरा नाम [merā nām] = 'my name' (नाम [nām] is masculine, so मेरा [merā])
- मेरी किताब [merī kitāb] = 'my book' (किताब [kitāb] is feminine, so मेरी [merī])
This is different from English where 'my' never changes.
The verb होना [honā] ('to be') has three present-tense forms:
- हूँ [hū̃] — used with मैं [maĩ] (I): मैं सीता हूँ [maĩ sītā hū̃]
- है [hai] — used with यह/वह [yah/vah] (this/that, he/she): वह रवि है [vah ravī hai]
- हैं [haĩ] — used with आप [āp] (formal you) and plurals: आप छात्र हैं [āp chātr haĩ]
Notice that है [hai] and हैं [haĩ] sound very similar — the difference is a nasalization (a slight nasal quality) on हैं [haĩ]. This distinction is important because it signals formality.
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing Hindi word.
- नाम सीता है।(possessive pronoun — 'my')
- आपका नाम है?(question word — 'what')
- आपसे ख़ुशी !(upon meeting / happened)
- मेरी सहेली है। नाम प्रिया है।(this / his/her)
- नाम है? — मेरा नाम रवि ।(your / what / is)
Grammar Application
Fill in the correct possessive or verb form.
- 'My name' (masculine noun नाम [nām]) → नाम [ nām](masculine possessive for मैं [maĩ])
- 'Your book' (feminine noun किताब [kitāb], formal) → किताब [ kitāb](feminine possessive for आप [āp])
- मैं रवि (am) → fill the correct form of होना [honā](form of होना [honā] for मैं [maĩ])
- आप डॉक्टर (are, formal) → fill the correct form of होना [honā](form of होना [honā] for आप [āp])
- वह सीता (is) → fill the correct form of होना [honā](form of होना [honā] for वह [vah])
Translation (English → Hindi)
Translate each sentence into Hindi.
- My name is Ravi.
- What is your name?
- This is my friend.
- Nice to meet you!
- That is my friend.
Creative Construction
Write a short introduction conversation (2-3 lines) using the words from this lesson. Imagine meeting a new classmate at Delhi University.
Writing: Vowels continued — ए ऐ ओ औ अं अः
ए
e
ऐ
ai
ओ
o
औ
au
अं
aṃ
अः
aḥ
Practice words
| Word | Romanization |
|---|---|
| ऐसा | aisā |
| और | aur |
| एक | ek |
ए [e] और ऐ [ai] में फ़र्क़ देखिए — ऐ [ai] में ऊपर एक अतिरिक्त रेखा है। ओ [o] और औ [au] में भी यही पैटर्न है।
e aur ai mẽ farq dekhie — ai mẽ ūpar ek atirikt rekhā hai. o aur au mẽ bhī yahī paiṭarn hai.
Today we continue with the remaining Devanagari vowels. You already know अ [a], आ [ā], इ [i], ई [ī], उ [u], ऊ [ū] from Lesson 1.1.
Today's vowels:
- ए [e] — like the 'a' in 'may' (without the 'y' glide)
- ऐ [ai] — like the 'ai' in 'aisle' — wider and more open than ए [e]
- ओ [o] — like the 'o' in 'go' (without the 'w' glide)
- औ [au] — like the 'ou' in 'caught' — wider and more open than ओ [o]
- अं [aṃ] — adds nasalization (the anusvara dot above)
- अः [aḥ] — adds a brief aspiration (the visarga, two dots — rare in everyday Hindi)
Notice the pattern: ए [e] / ऐ [ai] and ओ [o] / औ [au] follow the same short/open pairs as the vowels from Lesson 1.1. The difference between ए [e] and ऐ [ai] is like English 'ay' vs. 'eye.'
Takeaway
मेरा नाम ... है [merā nām … hai] is the simplest and most essential sentence for introducing yourself. Remember that possessives must match the gender of the noun — not the speaker!
Culture note: In India, it's very common for people to ask your full name, where you're from, and what you do within the first few minutes of meeting. This isn't considered nosy — it's genuine curiosity and a way to find common ground. Indians often share information about their family, hometown, and education freely. In Delhi specifically, university students typically introduce themselves with their name, department, and hometown — it's a great icebreaker in a city where people come from all over India.
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