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Learning Hindi

Keys to Learning Hindi: 2. Learning to Speak

There are two places I recommend you to start at when you are beginning to learn to speak Hindi (after you’ve learnt to read). There’s another book by Rupert Snell called Complete Hindi, and there’s the Hindi University YouTube channel. When I first started learning how to speak, I used Complete Hindi, and once I […]

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Learning Hindi

Keys to Learning Hindi: 1. Learn to Read First!

This was the biggest mistake I made in my Hindi learning journey: I took advice from “experts” who said, “Always learn to speak first, then write.” This advice is fine for most languages, but most languages don’t have an alphabet where 8 letters sound incredibly similar to each other! The letters ड (Da) ढ (Dha) […]

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Learning Hindi

Can You Be Fluent in Hindi in 3 Months? Hindi’s 5 Challenges

Don’t believe the hype. There’s no such thing as becoming fluent in 3 months. Even if you moved to the country and studied the language full-time for 3 months, you still would not be fluent, especially with a complex language like Hindi. However, in 3 months you can learn a lot. In this post, I […]

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Learning Hindi

Before Learning Hindi, Find Your Motivation

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of how you can avoid all the pain I went through learning Hindi, we need to identify your passion and motivations behind learning Hindi. Without these, it’s impossible to learn a language. Languages are notoriously hard to learn because they require commitment and discipline. But when you have a […]

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Blacklist

पिछले २६९ दिनों में मैं अपनी पत्नी से क्यों नहीं मिला #ब्लैकलिस्ट

मेरा नाम कार्ल रॉक है और भारत सरकार ने मुझे मेरी पत्नी और मेरे परिवार से अलग करते हुए मुझे भारत लौटने से रोक दिया है। तो, मैं कौन हूँ? क्या हुआ? और ऐसा क्यों हुआ? This post is also available in English. मैं कौन हूँ? मैं एक कंटेंट क्रिएटर हूँ। मैं भारत के अविश्वसनीय […]

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Learning Urdu

How I Learnt Urdu Script (and How You Can Too!)

Over the last few years, I’ve been slowly learning Hindi to help me assimilate into my home in North India. If you can’t speak Hindi in North India, you’ll always be on the outside and won’t be able to interact with the common man on the street. And in my case, if I can’t speak […]

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Learning Urdu

Best Videos for Learning the Urdu Alphabet

Out of the frustration of not being able to read signs and menus in Pakistan, I decided to expand my language learning from Hindi into its relative, Urdu. The biggest difference between Hindi and Urdu is just the script they’re written in. Hindi is written in Devanagari and Urdu in Nastaliq. Below are the best […]

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Learning Hindi

How to Hire a GOOD Language Teacher Online & AVOID TORTURE!

I’ve met my share of teachers who are uninspired and made the lessons torture because they weren’t teachers and weren’t passionate about teaching. And I’ve met my share of teachers who engage me, care about me, and make the class time flash by with their teachings style and personality. When it comes to hiring a […]

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Learning Hindi

How to Learn Hindi According to a Hindi School for Foreigners

I found this section from the Landour Language School’s Course Book really interesting, it details their Hindi learning philosophy for foreigners. Introduction to the Language of Northern India There is a language, based largely on Sanskrit, which is spoken throughout the area covering Bihar Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Central India, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. […]

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Accommodation Learning Hindi

Landour Language School Accommodation Guide for Hindi & Urdu Students

Landour is a stunning place to live in. You really feel lucky to be up in the mountains surrounded by snow-capped peaks and lush forest. It’s a quiet retreat from the bustling Mussoorie main market a few kilometres away. Because Landour is a cantonment area and no more houses or hotels can be built there, […]