Love is universal, just expressed in regional ways. Here we will have a go at learning to say I love you in Hindi. Unlike English, there are several ways in which you can say this in Hindi.
Whether it’s Valentine’s Day or Sweetest Day that’s approaching, you will want to pay attention to this lesson plan: We will learn to say
I love you in Hindi. There are several synonyms for love in Hindi and different ways of saying I love you. Theek hai? Chalo dekhte hai. (Okay? Let’s see).
Subject: Learning to Speak Hindi - to say I love you in Hindi.
Objectives: Students will learn the Hindi words for love and learn to say ‘I love you’ in Hindi.
Prior Knowledge: It will help to know the following in Hindi -
Main - I
AdvertisementTum, Tu (informal) -You
Aap (formal) - You. The formal ‘Aap’ is always used for someone older, an authority figure, and someone you don’t know very well. Some people also use it as a polite address in place of the familiar ’tum’ or ’tu’, so even children can be addressed as ‘aap’.
AdvertisementHindi follows a subject-object-verb sentence structure. So, while you would say ‘I love you’ in English, you would say ‘I you love’ in Hindi; that is, ‘Main tumse pyar karta/karti hoon.’
Hindi verbs change according to subject gender, subject number, tense, action and formal/informal aspects.
AdvertisementHindi has two genders, masculine and feminine; and two numbers, singular and plural.
Hindi is written in the Devanagari script. This is a phonetic script. Words are pronounced as they are written.
AdvertisementDevanagari alphabet - Not essential, but it wouldn’t hurt to know the basics.
It might help to know a bit about Indian culture.
AdvertisementThe ’n’ at the end of ‘main’ and ‘hoon’ is nasal. You don’t pronounce ‘main’ as the English word ‘main’ or ‘hoon’ like the word ’loon’.
Materials:
- Chalkboard
- Chalk
- Worksheets written in Devanagari script
Procedure:
There are several synonyms for love in Hindi. You can write these on the board for everyone to see, in both English and Devanagari. The synonyms are as follows -
- Prem - love
- Pyar - love
- Mohhabbat - love
- Iskh - love
Three other synonyms, which would not generally be used in the ‘I love you’ address form are:
- Kaam - lust
- Sneh - affection/platonic love
- Mamta - affection/platonic love/maternal love
Write and read aloud the following Hindi sentences, all of which mean ‘I love you’:
Main tumse prem karta hoon (masculine)
AdvertisementMain tumse premr karti hoon (feminine)
Main tumse pyar karta hoon (masculine)
AdvertisementMain tumse pyar karti hoon (feminine)
Main aapse pyar karta hoon (masculine)
AdvertisementMain aapse pyar karti hoon (feminine)
Mujhe tumse pyar hai
Mujhe tumse mohhabbat hai
Here are some variations:
- Mujhe tumse iskh huwa hai - I have fallen in love with you
- Main bhi tumse/aapse prem/pyar/mohhabbat karta/karti hoon - I love you too
- Mujhe bhi tumse iskh huwa hai - I have also fallen in love with you
And, of course, if you don’t want the romantic attention, you can say:
- Mujhe akela chod do! - Leave me alone!
A bit melodramatic in the Bollywood style, but it ought to work. If not, here’s another Hindi word -
- Bacchao! - Help or Save me!
Assessment:
Ask the students to say I love you in Hindi out loud and check that they get the pronunciation right.
Extensions:
Use the Devanagari worksheets to practice writing in Hindi.
See these articles on learning Hindi -
Learning Hindi - Means of Transportation
Learning Hindi - Food and Dinner Vocabulary
Learn to Speak Hindi: Visiting the Vegetable Market
Here’s a look at some paintings based on the romantic poetry of the Hindi poet Bihari.
