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50 Words To Get Started

50 Words
To Get You
Started
July 2010

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50 Words To Get Started

Table of Contents

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Hindi Vowels/Matras
Independent form

Transliteration

a
aa
i
ii
u
uu
ri
e
ei
o

Dependent form
illustrated with

Transliteration example
with k.

ka
kaa
ki
kii
ku
kuu
kri
ke
kei
ko

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Independent form

Transliteration

ou
n
h

Dependent form
illustrated with

Transliteration example
with k.

kou
kan
kah

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Hindi consonants
Group 1

ka
kha
ga
gha

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Group 2

cha
chha
ja
jha

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Group 3

TTa
TTha
DDa
DDha

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Group 4

ta
tha
da
dha
na

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Group 5

pa
pha
ba
bha
ma
ya
ra
la
va
sha
sha

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sa
ha

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Group 6

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Word 1

(na-mas-te)
greetings
- na
- ma
- sa
- ta
-e
- te
- ste

na-mas-te
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Word 2

(mein)
I

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Word 3

(huun)
am
Nathan:
Sandeep:
Nathan: This completes the basic sentence that we started on with the previous word. Now instead of
saying "I Nathan", we can say the complete sentence "I am Nathan." Sandeep, can you explain how to
say the Hindi word for "am"?
Sandeep: "am" is in Hindi. is made of three sounds: + + . The "uu" is the .
Together with it sounds "huu". The other "u" sound will sound "hu". Mixed with
sound from the nose, a nasal sound. "n" This makes . This sentence can be said by both male and
female. There is no difference, unlike some sentences that we will be going over later.
Nathan: This is a good time to talk about our first grammar point regarding word order. In English I
say, "I am Nathan." But if you look at a literal translation of the Hindi words in it would be
"I Nathan am". The verb "am" is at the end of the sentence. This is common in Hindi sentences.
Sandeep: Now you try introducing yourself by replacing "Sandeep" in the sentence with
your name.
Grammar Rule 1: Basic Sentence Order
In English I would say, "I am Nathan." "I am tired." "I am OK." In Hindi, the word order is different. In
most cases, the very goes at the end of the sentence. If I were to write these sentences in the word order
as in Hindi, it would go "I Nathan am." "I tired am.", "I OK am."

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Now you can introduce yourself. "I am [your name]." [your name]

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Word 4

(Ttiik)
OK/fine
I am OK.

Sandeep: The sentence " " provides a pattern that you can use to create many other sentences
by just changing one word. For example you can replace your name with to make the sentence
Which means "I am fine."
Nathan: In a normal conversation you would ask "How are you?" before coming to "I am fine". But the
phrases "How are you?" and "I am fine" have nothing in common. It is easier to introduce the answer at
this point than the question.
Sandeep: In a few more episodes we will learn the question "How are you?". Right now, listeners need
to become comfortable with use the sentence pattern . That is why we are introducing the word
which means "fine" or "Okay" this time. Try saying it

Nathan: Can you go over how to say ?

Sandeep: is made of 3 symbols which is a hard "TTh". The tongue should touch the top of the
mouth and there should be a breath of air. is combined with the long "ee" ( ) to make
. followed by the k producing
Nathan: I am fine.

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Sandeep: I am fine.

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Word 5

(bii-maar)
sick/ill
Nathan: We have learned the word for Okay, but sometimes you may not be OK. You might actually
get sick. How do you say "sick/ill" in Hindi?
Sandeep:
Nathan: Can you explain how to say it?
Sandeep: " - "
Nathan: Now using what we already have learned, we can say, "I am sick."
Sandeep:

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Word 6

(tei-yaar)
ready
Nathan: Sandeep are you ready for the next word?
Sandeep:
Nathan: What? is is it anything like ?
Sandeep: is our next word. means "ready". When you asked "Are you ready for the next
word?" I said that "I am ready." by saying .
Nathan: Very good use of this word. Can you break down how to say it?
Sandeep: is made of two syllables. which is made with the consonant and a matra. Matra
refers to vowels in Hindi. There are two vowels that sound similar. There is and . In order to be clear
about which one we are talking about, we call the the first one a "little" vowel, or in Hindi
. The one we are talking about here we call the "big" vowel, or in Hindi we say .
When combining with you get .
The second syllable is It is made of the consonant with the Together this makes the sound
. And we put a on the end to make .
All together we have .
Nathan:
Sandeep: Very good.

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Nathan:
Sandeep: That's great work. Keep it up.
Nathan: no,
Sandeep: What are you read for?
Nathan: The next word.
Sandeep: Oh, ok..

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Word 7

boy

girl

Nathan: Here are some examples using the words for boy and girl. Sandeep what is the word for boy?
Sandeep: Hear each sound as I say it slowly: -. Let us look at the first syllable, it is made of
the letter "" and the letter This second letter can be hard for English speakers to pronounce. It is a
very hard "r" sound with the tongue touching the top of the mouth, and it is said with very little air. Try
saying it.
Nathan:
Sandeep: And together with the first letter it make . Try saying that.
Nathan:
Sandeep: Now let us look at the last syllable. It is made of a consonant and a matra, a vowel. The
consonant is . This is the first consonant in the Hindi alphabet. It is mixed with the matra and
together it makes . Let's try saying that.
Nathan:
Sandeep: put the two syllables together.
Nathan:
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Sandeep: Now you can use the other words we have learned so far and say "I am a boy." by saying "
"
Nathan:
Sandeep: The word for girl is slightly different. Everything is the same except for the last matra.
Instead of an it has a . To say, girl you would say, .
Nathan: The ending of some words change depending upon the gender of the noun.
Sandeep: The next word is an example of this.

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Word 8

(ach-chhaa)
good
Nathan: Good.
Sandeep:
Nathan: ?
Sandeep: good.
Nathan: Great! What's the next word?
Sandeep:
Nathan: That's good.
Sandeep: It is good.
Nathan: What is?
Sandeep: The next word.
Nathan: Oh, the next word is which means good.
Sandeep: Now you are getting it!

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Nathan: Good.
Sandeep:
Nathan: Can you break down how to say it?
Sandeep: is made of two syllables. and .
Nathan: Can I use it in a sentence? ?
Sandeep: Yes, you can, but there is a grammar rule you need to know. You and I can use since we
are both guys. But girls will need to use . See how the ending changes?
Grammar Rule 2: Endings of adjectives in "ah" change depending on the gender of the person it refers
to
After learning the words for "I", "am", and "good", and also having seen the example "I am OK"
you might be motivated to create the sentence "I am good." . This would be perfectly
fine if you are a male. But if you are a female, you will have to change the ending of the word
changing the ending sound from "ah" to "ii".
A man would say, " " but A woman would say, " "
This only applies if the "dictionary" form of the adjective ends in "ah". It does not apply otherwise.
Notice that the adjective means "OK", but it does not end in an "ah" sound. There is no difference
in the way this is said when a man says it vs. a woman.
A man would say, " " and A woman would say, " " (the same phrase)

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Word 9

(tha-kaa)
tired

Nathan: I am ready for the next word.

Sandeep:
Nathan: What is ?
Sandeep: is the next word and it means "tired".
Nathan: means "I am tired?"
Sandeep: That's right.
Nathan: Why are you tired?
Sandeep: I'm not really. Hindi will keep anyone awake. But I wanted to show how to use this this word.
Nathan: Can you break down how to say it?
Sandeep: is made of two syllables. which is similar to but has a lot of air. And then with
to make .
Nathan:
Sandeep: That is right, but just like there is a rule you need to know. If you are a girl the ending
will change from to to make .
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(This is an "ah" ending adjective, therefore it changes if the subject of the sentence is male or female.
A man would say " "
A woman would say " " )

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Word 10

/
(lam-baa)
tall

Nathan: How do you say "tall" in Hindi?

Sandeep: This is made of two syllables and . Try saying the first one:
Nathan:
Sandeep: The second syllable is just the consonant with the matra They mix together to make
Nathan:
Sandeep: All together you have
Nathan:
Sandeep: You will often see the half "" represented as a bindi, dot, on top of the . The dot on top
usually represents a "nasal" sound, however in this case, it represents a half .
Nathan: Be on the look out for the word written either way.
Sandeep: This is an "ah" ending adjective, therefore it changes if the subject of the sentence is male or
female.
A man would say " "
A woman would say " "
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Nathan: I would say, " " but my wife would say " "
Sandeep: You got it. This is a common transformation that is good to become comfortable with.

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Word 11

(aap)
you (formal)
Nathan: How do you say "you" in Hindi?
Sandeep: There are several ways to say "you". Now we will look at the most formal word for "you".
This will always sound polite. The formal way of saying "you" in Hindi is . It is made of one vowel
and one consonant. with on the end to make .
Nathan:
Sandeep: That's right.
Nathan: Does it change depending on if I am talking to a guy or girl?
Sandeep: No, does not change. It can be used to talk to a man or a woman.
Nathan: I can say, " " when talking to you and say when talking to my wife.
Sandeep: That is true. However, just like in English, those sentences are missing something. "You
Sandeep" and "You Sonia" need to have a verb.
Nathan: That is going to be our next word.

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Word 12

(hein)
are
Nathan: What is the word for "are"?
Sandeep: This is a short word, made of three parts. The consonant with the matra and the bindi to
create a nasal sound. All together it is .
Nathan:
Sandeep: Now you can take the two examples from the last lesson and create complete sentences.
Nathan: You are Sandeep. You are Sonia.
Sandeep: That is correct. Notice how the verb comes at the end of the sentence in Hindi where as it is
in the middle of the sentence in English.
Nathan: We also saw this with the "I am" sentences. And it is common in all Hindi sentences.

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Review 1:Change "I am" to "You are"

I am OK.
You are OK.

I am a vegetarian.
You are a vegetarian.

I am meat eater.
You are a meat eater.

I am ill.
You are ill.

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Word 13

(aap-kaa)
your

Nathan: Now let us go over the words that are in the phrase "What is your name?" Let us first start with
the word for "your".
Sandeep: In Hindi there are several ways to say "your". Here we will look at the most polite way which
is . You are already familiar with the sounds in this word. It starts with the word for you, and
the last syllable is which is the same as the last syllable in .
Nathan:

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Word 14

(naam)
name

Nathan: What is the word for "name"?

Sandeep: It is made of two consonants and one matra. with the matra to make and then the
consonant on the end. Altogether it is .
Nathan:
Sandeep: Now you can use which means "your" with to say "your name"
Nathan:

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Word 15

(hai)
is
Nathan: We know the word for "am" is as in " " "I am". And we know the word for "are" is as in
" " "you are". But what is the word for "is"?
Sandeep: It is very close to the word for "are" but it does not have the bindi on top, and does not have
the nasal sound on the end.
Nathan:

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Word 16

(kyaa)
what

Nathan: We are missing only one word for the phrase "what is your name?" That is the word for
"what".
Sandeep: In Hindi the word for "what" is . This is made of a half with and the matra .
Together it makes one syllable,
Nathan:
Sandeep: Now we can say the full phrase "What is your name?" by saying " ?"
Nathan: ?
Sandeep: is a very important word. It not only means "what", but it can also turn a statement into a
question. You do this by placing in the front of the statement.
Nathan: For example the phrase "Your name is Sandeep." is " " But I can turn this
into the question "Is your name Sandeep?" by just placing at the front of it ?
Sandeep: That's right.

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Word 17

(shaa-kaa-haa-rii)
vegetarian
I am a vegetarian.
Nathan: What are some other words we can use with ?
Sandeep: Eating preferences are very important in India, and it is very common to be a vegetarian.
Therefore, a common sentence is "I am a vegetarian"
Nathan: Just like in the previous example with , you only need to change one word to create this
sentence. You have to know the word for vegetarian, . Sandeep, can you explain how to say this
word? It seems very complicated.
Sandeep: It is longer than and the symbols may look difficult for new Hindi learners, but when you
break it down into parts, it is not so difficult. is made of 5 syllables

Let's look at each of these syllables one at a time.

= +

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we have already seen several examples of in the end of and in the end of

= +

= +
All together it is
Nathan:
Sandeep: You can say "I am a vegetarian." by saying
Nathan: And you can say "You are a vegetarian."
Sandeep: And this can be turned into a question by adding at the front ? Are you a
vegetarian?
Nathan: In fact we can have a little conversation. I can ask you if you are a vegetarian and you can tell
me that you are. ?
Sandeep:

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Word 18

(maan-saa-haa-rii)
non-vegetarian/meat eater
Nathan: What is the opposite of a vegetarian?
Sandeep: The opposite of is a meat eater. The word in Hindi is . This is a long word,
but when you look at a syllable at a time, it is simple to say. = + +
= +
= +
= +
All together it is .
Nathan: This can be used in many different sentences. I am a meat eater. Are you a meet
eat eater? ?
Sandeep: You can also create sentences using people's names. Sonia is a meat eater. would be
And you can create the question by adding in the front. ? Is Sonia a
meat eater?
Nathan: In this lesson we learned the word for meat eater:
Sandeep:
Nathan: And we saw it used in several sentences. ?

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Sandeep:

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Word 19

(yah)
this/he/she/it
Nathan: What is the word for "he"?
Sandeep:
Nathan: What is the word for "she"?
Sandeep:
Nathan: So is the word for she and he?
Sandeep: Yes, but it is also the word for the "this" and "it", and it indicates something or somebody that
is close to you in physical distance or in relationship.
Nathan: If I were referring to someone that was sitting right next to me, I could say: ?
Sandeep: You could, but it would probably be better to turn to them and ask ? instead
of referring to them in the third person.
Nathan: But it would be OK if I was talking about a baby? ? Is he a vegetarian?
(referring to a baby that is seated right next to me)
Sandeep: That would be OK. And likewise maybe you want to ask ? Is he sick?

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Nathan: And someone could answer He is OK.

Sandeep: The word refers to someone or something near by. It can be used in place of the word for
he, she, it, and this.

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Word 20

(vah)
that/he/she/it
Nathan: What is the word for "that"?
Sandeep: It is also the word for "he", "she", and "it" when referring to someone further away from
you.
Nathan: I can say, is he a meat eater by saying ?
Sandeep: And someone can reply saying "He is a meat eater" by saying " "
Nathan: And it might be more useful, when referring to someone that is not next to you, to say "Is she
ill?" by saying ?
Sandeep: And someone can answer
Nathan: And a really good expression to learn is "What is that?" ?
Sandeep: That is true. You can learn the names for things by pointing to them and asking ?

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Word 21

(me-raa)
my
Nathan: Wouldn't it be nice to answer the question: ? "What is your name?" by saying
"My name is Nathan."
Sandeep: To do this we just need to learn one word. The word for "my". In Hindi you say "my" by
saying . This is made of two syllables and .
Nathan:
Sandeep: Let's try it out
Nathan: ?
Sandeep:
Grammar Rule 3: "ah" ending adjectives change when used in the plural
Nathan: This would be good time to learn about a grammar rule. Do you remember how and
changed their ending when used to refer to a female?
Sandeep: That's right. A man would say, " " but a woman would say .
Nathan: And in the case of a man would say but a woman would say
In both of these cases, we are referring to a singular subject. But in the case of this is
grammatically a plural subject. That is way you say "You are" and not "You is" in English.
Sandeep: There is different change that is made to the end of "aa" ending adjectives when used with
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when referring to a man. Change the "aa" to "e". You are tall.
Nathan: There is no change between the singular and plural forms of the adjective when referring to a
woman. I can tell Sonia You are tall.
Sandeep: Are you tired? ?
Nathan: I am good. ?
Sandeep:

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Word 22

(ka-haan)
where
Sandeep: The word for "where" is it is made of two syllables. and . together
Nathan: You can use this to ask questions. ? Where is Sonia?
Sandeep: Where are you? ?
Nathan: Where am I? ?
Sandeep: Notice that the question word "where" comes right before the verb. This is a different order
than in English which has it in the front of the sentence.

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Word 23

(se)
from
Sandeep: You may want to ask where someone is from. We know the word for "where". In this lesson
we learn the word for "from" which is .
Nathan: Be careful here, in English you say "Where are you from?" but in Hindi you say "You where
from are?" ?
Sandeep: You can also see this in the answer: " " I am from Panjaab. ?
Nathan: I am from Houston.
Grammar Rule 4: English prepositions and Hindi postpositions
Nathan: Time for another grammar rule. In English we have words that tell the relationship between
things. This words come before the word that they tell us about and they help to "position" the word. So
we call them "prepositions"
Sandeep: In Hindi, we put these words after the thing that they tell the relationship of so we call them
"postpositions".
Nathan: "From" is an example of this. In English we ask "From where are you?" The word for "from"
comes before "where".
Sandeep: In Hindi we ask " ?" Notice that comes after the word for "where" .
Nathan: In the next few lessons you will see examples of this.

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Word 24

(ghar)
house/home
Nathan: What is the word for house?
Sandeep: this is made of two consonants. which is the second "g" sound in the Hindi alphabet and
it is said with a lot of air. The last letter is together it makes .
Nathan: Now we can use this in some sentences: ? Is that your house?
Sandeep: That is my house.
Nathan: ? What is that?
Sandeep: That is a house.

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Word 25

(par)
at/on

Nathan: Let's learn another postposition. How do you say "at" in Hindi.
Sandeep: This is made of two consonants. and . Together this makes
Nathan: How do you say "at home"?
Sandeep: Notice how in English you say "at home" but in Hindi we say "home at" is
home and is "at". It is backwards in Hindi compared to the English version..
Nathan: So, to say I am at Home I would say:
Sandeep: To say "You are at home."
Nathan: And you can ask, "Is he at home?"
Sandeep: He is at home.
Nathan: Are you at home?
Sandeep: I am at home.
Nathan: In this lesson you saw how to use the postposition . Try creating some sentences of your
own.

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Word 26

(ka)
of/'s

Nathan: Sandeep, How would you say "of" in Hindi.

Sandeep: , It is made of one consonant "" and . Together it makes .
Nathan: This word acts sort of like "'s" in English.

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Word 27

(paa-nii)
water

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Word 28

(chaa-hi-ye)
want/need

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Word 29

(mu-jhe)
to me

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Word 30

(khaa-naa)
food/to eat

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Word 31

(chaay)
tea

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Word 32

(duudh)
milk

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Word 33

(cham-mach)
spoon

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Word 34

(kaan-TTaa)
fork

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Word 35

(chu-rii)
knife

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Word 36

(roo-TTii)
bread

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Word 37

(aap-ko)
to you

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Word 38

(kur-sii)
chair

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Word 39

(mez)
chair

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Word 40

(pleTT)
plate

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Word 41

(ka-TTo-rii)
bowl

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Word 42

(us-ko)
to him/to her

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Word 43

(chii-nii)
sugar

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Word 44

(na-mak)
salt

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Word 45

(kam)
less

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Word 46

(zyaa-daa)
more

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Word 47

(phal)
fruit

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Word 48

(ta-ki-yaa)
pillow

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Word Group 49
(ek)
(do)
(tiin)
(chaar)
(paanch)

one
two
three
four
five

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Word Group 50

(chah)
(saath)
(oTTh)
(nou)
(dus)

six
seven
eight
nine
ten

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