Nathan   (asking Sandeep)

क्या आप शाकाहारी हैं?  (kyaa aap shaa-kaa-haa-rii hain?) – Are you a vegetarian?

Sandeep (asking Meenakshi)

नहीं।  मैं शाकाहारी नहीं हूँ। मैं मांस भी खाता हूँ। (na-hiin main shaa-kaa-haa-rii na-hiin huun.  mein maans bhii khaa-taa-huun) – No.  I am not a vegetarian.  I also eat meat.

Meenakshi:

नहीं मैं शाकाहारी नहीं हूँ। (na-hiin mein shaa-kaa-haa-rii na-hiin huun) – No, I am not a vegetarian.

Nathan

क्या आपकी पत्नी शाकाहारी हैं? – (kyaa aap-kii pat-nii shaa-kaa-ha-rii hain?) – Is your wife a vegetarian?

Meenakshi

क्या आपकी सहेली शाकाहारी है? (kyaa aap-kii sa-he-lii shaa-kaa-haa-rii hai) – Is your friend a vegetarian? (सहेली always refers to a lady friend)

Meenakshi

नहीं मेरी शहेली भी शाकाहारी नहीं है। (na-hiin me-rii shaa-kaa-haa-rii na-hiin hai) – No, My friend is also not a vegetarian.

Sandeep

नहीं, मेरी पत्नी शाकाहारी बिलकुल नहीं है।  वो तो मेरे को भी खा जाती है। (na-hiin, me-rii pat-nii bil-kul na-hiin hai। vo to me-re ko bhii khaa jaa-taa hai) – No, my wife is completely not a vegetarian.  She can even eat me.  (“You are eating my head.” is a common expression of aggitation and frustration.  This last sentence “She can even eat me” is said in the same way and is meant to be a humorous play on words.)

I wanted to point out that we have created a special treat for our Paid ISpeakHindi.com subscriber’s related to this.  We have broken up the conversation into 39 parts, which can be played individually.  Each line will be explained giving the text in Hindi, transliterated in the Latin script, and the meanings explained.  This can make it more convenient to understand the audio.  If you are paid subscriber, just follow this link:

http://www.ispeakhindi.com/nathan-with-sandeep-and-meenakshi-line-by-line/

Here is a screenshot to give you an idea of what to expect:

If you are interested in becoming a paid ISpeakHindi.com subscriber, it is only $12 for 6 months.  You can find out more here: http://www.ispeakhindi.com/become-a-member/

Also, I wanted to tell you about a bundle we will be selling.  It includes 3 books:

1. Hindi Phonics and Vocabulary book from HindiGym.com.   Examples words and activities for each of the Hindi consonants.
2. Hindi Alphabet Writing from HindiGym.com.  It shows how to write each of the consonants and gives you lined pages to practice
3. 25 Hindi Word Find Puzzle from ISpeakHindi.com.  You have to find a list of Hindi words in a matrix of Hindi letters.  (Just like an English word find.)  This can be a good way to practice Hindi and have fun at the same time.

All three books are being sold together in a package for $15 plus shipping and handling.

Also, I am working on creating a “line by line” page for the Hindi Phonics and Vocabulary book in the Paid subscriber’s area.  There will be more about this package and the line by line audio in future episodes.

I loved this episode, especially the more ‘advanced’ answers that were given in regards to her girl friend’s reasons for not drinking coffee or tea. I can not wait for the follow-up lesson. Bahut Shukriya!

Vratee left a comment on the Past Tense with Ne episode from September 6, 2009

I noticed a few translations above, which i do not agree with. I am suggesting alternate translation along with your version.

1)I thought a lot for you.
मैंने आपके बारे में बहुत सोचा।  (mein-ne aap-ke baa-re men ba-hut so-chaa) – I thought a lot about you [formal] .  (serious thinking)
मैंने आपके लिए बहुत सोचा। correct  (mein-ne aap-ke li-e ba-hut so-chaa) I thought a lot for you [formal].

6)I spoke to him.
मैं ने उससे बात किया। (mein ne us-se baat ki-yaa) – This is not correct.  In a past tense sentence with ने (ne) the verb agrees with the object of the sentence.  In this case बात (baat) which is feminine.  Therefore, की (kii) is correct.
मैं ने उससे बात की। correct (mein ne us-se baat kii) I spoke to him.

8)He ate breakfast.
वह नाश्ता खाया । (inncorrect… this should be उस ने (us ne) NOT वह (vah).   I have corrected the text of the lesson.  With transitive verbs, the subject of the sentence has the posposition – ने (ne) added to it.  And you have to change the noun that has a postposition from the direct case to the oblique case.  In this case from वह to उस.  However, there is a notable exception.  मैं does NOT change to मुझ when you put ने after it.  मैं ने is correct but मुझ ने is NEVER correct.)
उसने नाश्ता खाया । correct

Raja made the roti
राजा ने रोटी बना दिया । (This is not correct.  It should be दी (dii) because रोटी (roo-Tii) is feminine)
राजा ने रोटी बना दी । OR correct
राजा ने रोटी बनाई । correct

Some of the words in hindi are not written correctly. I have suggested the corrections also. please correct them.
नाहा == नहा   (नहाना (na-haa-naa) to take a bath)
ईक == एक   (एक (ek) – one)

Also one hindi to english translation seems ambiguous.

उन्होने कमरा साफ किया ।
You translated it to “He cleaned the room ” while it could also be translated as “They cleaned the room” .

v.Swamy left a comment on “Hello…How are you? (conversation 1)” which was published on December 4, 2008:

Dear Sir/Madam

I heartily appreciate you & your team members those who are involved in this noble
service of teaching of our national language to all the Indians in very easy mode.May God bless you all and our country for ever.
Thank you
Yours sincerely
swamy

Rachna left the comment on the episode: “#273 – numbers 1-50 – pg.17” which was published on July 9, 2008:

This is a very essential net.I am a student in 7th and I wanted hindi number names from 1 to 50 for a test which was for 50 marks. It helped me a lot

Sanjay left a recommendation for MyDesiGuru at http://www.mydesiguru.com saying:

Really good product which I ordered for my niece from the UK – modern and engaging – she loves it! Helped her alot with the simple basic words. Look at the preview: www.mydesiguru.com

We have not checked out My Desi Guru yet, but if you have feedback about it leave it in the comments here.  Also, if you have found a product or service that you find particularly useful for learn Hindi, let us know so we can pass it on.

Jasmine had the following request:

Hi I’ve been looking for the Hindi words for
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. If you could translate them for me that would be very helpful! Thank you
Jasmine

आज – (aaj) means today

In Hindi, the same word means yesterday and tomorrow.  That is कल (kal).  You have to use the context of the sentence to tell which it refers to.  If it is a sentence referring to something that has already happened, then it means yesterday.  If it refers to something that will happen then it means tomorrow.

We have received several, somewhat, cryptic emails and comments with reference to Tamil.  It seems that there are some of our listeners that would like for us to provide explanations and transliterations in Tamil.  Unfortunately, no one working on the ISpeakHindi.com site knows Tamil, so we are unable to help out with that request.  Also, the focus of the site is to enable English speakers to speak Hindi, so it probably would not work well with that goal to have explanations in Tamil.  If there is someone out there, that knows of a good resource for Tamil speakers to learn Hindi, then please leave it as a comment to this lesson.

If you have any questions or comments please leave them on the site or email nathan@ISpeakHindi.com.   We will adress them in future lessons.