Now you can greet people and introduce yourself — excellent! In this lesson, you'll learn to talk about where you're from and where you live. India is incredibly diverse, and asking someone's hometown is one of the most common conversation starters. You'll learn the key postpositions से [se] (from) and में [mẽ] (in), which are building blocks for many Hindi sentences. Let's explore!
Learning tips
- Hindi postpositions work like English prepositions but come AFTER the noun: दिल्ली से [dillī se] = 'from Delhi' (literally 'Delhi from').
- से [se] has many meanings (from, with, by) — context tells you which one. For now, focus on its 'from' meaning.
- यहाँ [yahā̃] (here) and वहाँ [vahā̃] (there) are very useful location words. The nasal sound (represented by the chandrabindu ~) is important.
- When talking about where you live, the verb रहना [rahnā] changes for gender: रहता [rahtā] (masculine) vs. रहती [rahtī] (feminine).
Warm-up & Active Recall
| Word | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| नाम | nām | name |
| क्या | kyā | what |
| मेरा | merā | my (masculine) |
| आपका | āpkā | your (formal, masculine) |
| है | hai | is |
| मिलकर | milkar | having met, upon meeting |
| ख़ुशी | khuśī | happiness, pleasure |
| हुई | huī | happened (feminine) |
| यह | yah | this / he, she (nearby) |
| वह | vah | that / he, she (far away) |
Dialog
Ravi is at Dilli Haat, a famous cultural market in Delhi where artisans from all over India sell their crafts. He runs into Sita and they talk about their hometowns. Notice how से [se] is used to express origin ('I am from...') and में [mẽ] is used to express current location ('I live in...'). Sita is originally from Jaipur but now lives in Delhi — a very common story in India's capital, where people come from every state. The question आप कहाँ से हैं? [āp kahā̃ se haĩ?] is probably the most common conversation starter after नमस्ते [namaste].
Vocabulary
Active words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| कहाँ | kahā̃ | /kə.haː̃/ | where | A question word — always used with a postposition: कहाँ से [kahā̃ se] (from where), कहाँ में [kahā̃ mẽ] (where in) |
| से | se | /seː/ | from, with, by | A postposition that comes AFTER the noun — दिल्ली से [dillī se] = 'from Delhi' |
| भारत | bhārat | /bʰaː.rət̪/ | India | The Hindi name for India — from Sanskrit भारतवर्ष [bhāratavarṣa] |
| दिल्ली | dillī | /d̪ɪl.liː/ | Delhi | India's capital — also called दिल्ली [dillī] in Hindi (never 'New Delhi' in everyday speech) |
| देश | deś | /d̪eːʃ/ | country | Masculine noun — used in विदेश [videś] (foreign country, abroad) |
| शहर | śahar | /ʃə.hər/ | city | Masculine noun — शहर [śahar] is Urdu-origin, the Sanskrit word is नगर [nagar] |
| में | mẽ | /mẽː/ | in, inside | A postposition — दिल्ली में [dillī mẽ] = 'in Delhi' |
| रहना | rahnā | /rəh.naː/ | to live, to stay | Changes for gender: रहता [rahtā] (masc.), रहती [rahtī] (fem.) — irregular: रहना [rahnā], not रहाना [rahānā] |
| यहाँ | yahā̃ | /jə.haː̃/ | here | The nasal mark (chandrabindu) is important — यहाँ [yahā̃] vs. यह [yah] (this) |
| वहाँ | vahā̃ | /və.haː̃/ | there | Similarly, वहाँ [vahā̃] (there) vs. वह [vah] (that) |
Passive words
| Word | Romanization | IPA | Translation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| मुंबई | mumbaī | /mʊm.bəiː/ | Mumbai | India's financial capital — formerly known as Bombay |
| जयपुर | jaipur | /d͡ʒəi.pʊr/ | Jaipur | The 'Pink City' — capital of Rajasthan, famous for forts and handicrafts |
| अमेरिका | amerīkā | /ə.meː.riː.kaː/ | America / USA | Hindi uses अमेरिका [amerīkā] — borrowed from English |
| विदेश | videś | /vi.d̪eːʃ/ | abroad, foreign country | वि- [vi-] (different) + देश [deś] (country) = विदेश [videś] (foreign land) |
| घर | ghar | /gʰər/ | home, house | Masculine noun — one of the most common Hindi words |
| कौन | kaun | /kɔːn/ | who | Question word for people — कौन है? [kaun hai?] = 'who is it?' |
Useful chunks
| Word | Romanization | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| आप कहाँ से हैं? | āp kahā̃ se haĩ? | Where are you from? (formal) |
| मैं दिल्ली से हूँ | maĩ dillī se hū̃ | I am from Delhi |
| मैं दिल्ली में रहता/रहती हूँ | maĩ dillī mẽ rahtā/rahtī hū̃ | I live in Delhi (masc./fem.) |
Grammar: Postpositions से [se] (from) and में [mẽ] (in)
| Postposition | Meaning | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| से [se] | from | Subject + Place + से [se] + होना [honā] | मैं दिल्ली से हूँ। [maĩ dillī se hū̃.] |
| में [mẽ] | in | Subject + Place + में [mẽ] + verb | मैं दिल्ली में रहता हूँ। [maĩ dillī mẽ rahtā hū̃.] |
| कहाँ [kahā̃] + से [se] | from where | कहाँ से [kahā̃ se] + होना [honā] | आप कहाँ से हैं? [āp kahā̃ se haĩ?] |
| कहाँ [kahā̃] + में [mẽ] | where (in) | कहाँ [kahā̃] + verb | आप कहाँ रहते हैं? [āp kahā̃ rahte haĩ?] |
Hindi uses postpositions instead of prepositions. They work the same way, but come AFTER the noun:
से [se] (from)
- मैं दिल्ली से हूँ [maĩ dillī se hū̃] = I am from Delhi
- आप कहाँ से हैं? [āp kahā̃ se haĩ?] = Where are you from?
में [mẽ] (in)
- मैं दिल्ली में रहता हूँ [maĩ dillī mẽ rahtā hū̃] = I live in Delhi
- वह भारत में है [vah bhārat mẽ hai] = He/She is in India
When you use रहना [rahnā] (to live), the verb changes for gender:
- Male speaker: मैं दिल्ली में रहता हूँ [maĩ dillī mẽ rahtā hū̃]
- Female speaker: मैं दिल्ली में रहती हूँ [maĩ dillī mẽ rahtī hū̃]
To ask 'where from?' combine कहाँ [kahā̃] + से [se]: आप कहाँ से हैं? [āp kahā̃ se haĩ?]
Think of Hindi word order as Subject + Place + Postposition + Verb: मैं [I] + दिल्ली [Delhi] + में [in] + रहता हूँ [live].
Exercises
Fill in the Blanks
Complete each sentence with the missing Hindi word.
- आप से हैं?(question word — 'where')
- मैं से हूँ।(a country — 'India')
- मैं दिल्ली रहता हूँ।(postposition — 'in')
- बहुत सुंदर है।(country or city / city or country)
- मैं दिल्ली में रहती हूँ, लेकिन जयपुर से हूँ।(here / there)
Grammar Application
Fill in the correct postposition or word.
- I am from India → मैं भारत हूँ [maĩ bhārat hū̃](postposition for 'from')
- I live in Delhi → मैं दिल्ली रहता हूँ [maĩ dillī rahtā hū̃](postposition for 'in')
- Where are you from? → आप हैं? [āp haĩ?](where + from)
- She lives there → वह रहती है [vah rahtī hai](location word — 'there')
- This city is beautiful → यह सुंदर है [yah sundar hai](noun — 'city')
Translation (English → Hindi)
Translate each sentence into Hindi.
- Where are you from?
- I am from India.
- I live in Delhi.
- This is my city.
- It's very beautiful there.
Creative Construction
Write 2-3 sentences about where you're from and where you live now, using words from this lesson. Imagine you're at a Delhi cultural festival.
Writing: Consonants — ka-group (क ख ग घ ङ)
Practice words
| Word | Romanization |
|---|---|
| कहाँ | kahā̃ |
| घर | ghar |
| गाँव | gā̃v |
Today we begin the Devanagari consonants! Hindi consonants are organized in groups of five by the position in your mouth where the sound is made. The first group is the ka-group (कवर्ग [kavarga]) — all sounds made at the back of the throat (velar consonants).
Today's consonants:
- क [ka] — like 'k' in 'kite' (unaspirated)
- ख [kha] — like 'k' in 'kite' with a puff of air (aspirated)
- ग [ga] — like 'g' in 'go'
- घ [gha] — like 'g' in 'go' with a puff of air
- ङ [ṅa] — like 'ng' in 'sing' (rare as a standalone letter)
The pattern in each group is always: unvoiced → unvoiced aspirated → voiced → voiced aspirated → nasal. This 5-letter pattern repeats for all consonant groups in Devanagari.
Takeaway
से [se] means 'from' and में [mẽ] means 'in' — these two tiny postpositions will appear in almost every Hindi conversation. Remember: postpositions come AFTER the noun in Hindi, the opposite of English.