# How can I translate something into Hindi? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 7, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817 "2005-02-07T15:50:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tragically\_Dip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Tragically\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tragically_Dip)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/1 "2005-02-07T15:50:59Z")
My next door neighbors have recently moved here from India. As such, they speak very little broken English. I speak zero Hindi. We communicate with smiles and nodding, hand gestures, and me pronouncing words slower and louder like an idiot. I need to write them a quick note to ask for a favor. Since they would be helping me out, I would like to write it in their native language. Any suggestions on how I could create a note that would make sense to them? Online translators are limited to words only, and I really want to be grammatically correct. I don’t want it to look like I put an English note through Babelfish. Thanks for any ideas! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/2 "2005-02-07T15:58:49Z")
What do they need, I’d love to translate it for you. Are you sure they speak Hindi, though, and not one of the other languages of INdia? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/3 "2005-02-07T16:00:54Z")
I should have added: Feel free to e-mail me if it is private. And if you can wait, and they can read Hindi, I write Hindi quite well & would love to write a little note and mail it to you! ---
**Author:** ![NutMagnet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@NutMagnet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NutMagnet)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/4 "2005-02-07T16:09:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I should have added: Feel free to e-mail me if it is private. And if you can wait, and they can read Hindi, I write Hindi quite well & would love to write a little note and mail it to you! Be sure to include the phrase “My hovercraft is full of eels”. ---
**Author:** ![Tragically\_Dip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Tragically\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tragically_Dip)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/5 "2005-02-07T16:15:12Z")
Fantastic. I sincerely appreciate your offer and will take you up on it. Now, do I know for a fact they speak Hindi? No. From what I read, it looks like there are 18 different dialects of the language. Are these completely different from another, making communication impossible, or is it more of a “New England vs. Texas” regional type of difference? Again, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/6 "2005-02-07T16:49:17Z")
> [@Tragically Dip](#): > > Fantastic. I sincerely appreciate your offer and will take you up on it. > > Now, do I know for a fact they speak Hindi? No. From what I read, it looks like there are 18 different dialects of the language. Are these completely different from another, making communication impossible, or is it more of a “New England vs. Texas” regional type of difference? > > Again, thanks. I have never run across anyone who claims to speak Hindi whom I cannot understand. However, I meant: are they S. Indian? Do they speak Tamil, Malyali, or something else? If you get a chance, ask them what state they are from. And I’ll be awaiting your e-mail. I don’t know how to say “hovercraft” in Hindi though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![noname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@noname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noname)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/7 "2005-02-07T17:00:20Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I don’t know how to say “hovercraft” in Hindi though. 😉 hovercraft is roughly “_Udan.Khatola_” or “_Mandaraa.yaan_” I should know, I do this for a living. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2005, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/8 "2005-02-07T19:57:35Z")
If they only speak Marathi, I can get the better half to translate. But it seems that most Maharashtrians can speak Hindi well, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/9 "2005-02-08T01:32:23Z")
On a similar note, I’m trying to learn how to order a beer in about 12 languages. I’m up to six. Can you please translate, “one beer, please” into Hindi for me? And then you might want to add pronunciation hints. Thanks. Er. Gracias, merci, grazi, and so forth… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/10 "2005-02-08T01:57:52Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > On a similar note, I’m trying to learn how to order a beer in about 12 languages. I’m up to six. Can you please translate, “one beer, please” into Hindi for me? And then you might want to add pronunciation hints. > > Thanks. Er. Gracias, merci, grazi, and so forth… In Hungarian _Kérek egy sört_ “KAY-rek edge SHIRT” lit. Please a beer Polish: _Jedno piwo proszę._ “YED-noh PEE-voh PROH-sheh” lit. A beer please. Croatian/Serbian: _Jedno pivo molim_ “YED-noh PEE-voh MOH-leem” lit. A beer please. Czech (and possibly Slovak as well) _Pivo prosim_ “PEE-voh PROH-seem” lit. Beer please. Slovenian: _Eno pivo prosim_ “EH-noh PEE-voh PROH-seem” lit. A beer please. Russian: _Одно пиво, пожалуйста_ “odd-NAH PEE-vah pah-ZHAH-loo-stah” German: _Ein bier, bitte_ “INE BEER BIT-uh” lit. A beer, please. French: _Une bière, s’il vous plaît_, “oon bee-air, see(l) voo pleh” I think that’s the extent of my international beer-ordering abilities. Oh yeah, of course the Spanish, _Una cerveza por favor_. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/11 "2005-02-08T02:39:18Z")
Tragically Dip, Hindi is the language for much of North Central India, and IIRC the most widely spoken language there. But there are literally dozens of major languages spoken in India, from four different language families: Rajasthani, Gujarati, Bengali, Newari, Telegu, Tamil, Malayalam, Gondi, Assamese… It would help immensely if we knew **where** in India the lady came from – she’s actually **more** apt to understand English than Hindi if she’s from another area than where it’s spoken; it remains something of a _lingua franca_ for the subcontinent, though that usage seems to be declining. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/12 "2005-02-08T03:46:12Z")
I think it’s actually kind of unlikely that the neighbor speaks Hindi, Polycarp, but it’s worht a shot. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/13 "2005-02-08T04:27:36Z")
> [@](#): > > I think that’s the extent of my international beer-ordering abilities. Trinidadian: Pour me one Carib, bwoy, an mek it fas. ---
**Author:** ![Tragically\_Dip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Tragically\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tragically_Dip)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/14 "2005-02-08T18:29:09Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > But there are literally dozens of major languages spoken in India, from four different language families: Rajasthani, Gujarati, Bengali, Newari, Telegu, Tamil, Malayalam, Gondi, Assamese… I could very well be screwed. Anaamika was kind enough to translate for me, and I dropped the note in their mailbox this morning. We will see. Now, let’s assume they do speak a different language than Hindi. Would this be the equivilant of someone writing me a letter in German (I speak none), or will many words and phrases “carry-over”? I guess I’m asking _how_ different the languages are? And now, I think I’ll go order a beer. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/15 "2005-02-08T18:38:59Z")
None of the words will carry over unless they speak one of a limited number of languages. Gujrat, which is not far from Punjab, speaks a completely different language than Hindi. Perhaps close to Spanish & Italian, where you think you can understand the words but you actually don’t, they just sound similar. ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-translate-something-into-hindi/288817/16 "2005-02-08T19:51:02Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > On a similar note, I’m trying to learn how to order a beer in about 12 languages. I’m up to six. Can you please translate, “one beer, please” into Hindi for me? And then you might want to add pronunciation hints. > > Thanks. Er. Gracias, merci, grazi, and so forth… In case you hadn’t got it in Japanese yet Bi-ru onegaishimasu (beer(u) o-ne-guy-she-mass). Literally “Beer please”