A small set of words carries most of everyday Hindi: postpositions, pronouns, and a handful of high-frequency verbs. Learn these hundred first and you can already follow the shape of a sentence, even before you know every noun in it.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Hindi | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | है | is | यह मेरी किताब है।This is my book. |
| 2 | का | of (masc.) | यह राम का घर है।This is Ram's house. |
| 3 | के | of (pl./oblique) | बच्चों के खिलौने यहाँ हैं।The children's toys are here. |
| 4 | की | of (fem.) | यह सीता की किताब है।This is Sita's book. |
| 5 | में | in | बच्चे बगीचे में खेलते हैं।The children play in the garden. |
| 6 | को | to / object marker | मैंने राम को पत्र भेजा।I sent a letter to Ram. |
| 7 | और | and | मुझे चाय और कॉफ़ी दोनों पसंद हैं।I like both tea and coffee. |
| 8 | से | from / with | वह दिल्ली से आया है।He came from Delhi. |
| 9 | यह | this | यह मेरा नया फ़ोन है।This is my new phone. |
| 10 | वह | that / he / she | वह कल आएगा।He will come tomorrow. |
| 11 | पर | on / but | किताब मेज़ पर है।The book is on the table. |
| 12 | एक | one / a | मुझे एक कप चाय चाहिए।I want a cup of tea. |
| 13 | हैं | are | वे बहुत अच्छे लोग हैं।They are very good people. |
| 14 | था | was (masc.) | कल मौसम बहुत ठंडा था।Yesterday the weather was very cold. |
| 15 | थी | was (fem.) | वह लड़की बहुत खुश थी।That girl was very happy. |
| 16 | कि | that (conjunction) | मुझे पता है कि तुम सही हो।I know that you are right. |
| 17 | जो | who / which | वह लड़का जो वहाँ खड़ा है, मेरा भाई है।The boy who is standing there is my brother. |
| 18 | भी | also | मैं भी वहाँ जाऊँगा।I will also go there. |
| 19 | नहीं | not | मुझे यह पसंद नहीं है।I don't like this. |
| 20 | लिए | for | यह तोहफ़ा तुम्हारे लिए है।This gift is for you. |
| 21 | तो | then / so | अगर बारिश हुई, तो हम घर पर रहेंगे।If it rains, then we will stay home. |
| 22 | ही | only / indeed | वह यही किताब चाहता है।He wants only this book. |
| 23 | अगर | if | अगर तुम आओगे, तो मुझे खुशी होगी।If you come, I will be happy. |
| 24 | लेकिन | but | मैं थका हुआ था, लेकिन मैं गया।I was tired, but I went. |
| 25 | क्योंकि | because | वह रोई क्योंकि वह उदास थी।She cried because she was sad. |
| 26 | मैं | I | मैं हर दिन पढ़ता हूँ।I read every day. |
| 27 | तुम | you (informal) | तुम कहाँ जा रहे हो?Where are you going? |
| 28 | आप | you (formal) | आप कैसे हैं?How are you? |
| 29 | हम | we | हम कल बाज़ार जाएँगे।We will go to the market tomorrow. |
| 30 | वे | they | वे बाहर खेल रहे हैं।They are playing outside. |
| 31 | उसका | his / her | यह उसका बैग है।This is his bag. |
| 32 | मेरा | my | मेरा नाम राज है।My name is Raj. |
| 33 | तुम्हारा | your (informal) | तुम्हारा घर कहाँ है?Where is your house? |
| 34 | हमारा | our | यह हमारा स्कूल है।This is our school. |
| 35 | क्या | what | तुम क्या कर रहे हो?What are you doing? |
| 36 | कौन | who | दरवाज़े पर कौन है?Who is at the door? |
| 37 | कब | when | तुम कब आओगे?When will you come? |
| 38 | कहाँ | where | तुम्हारी किताब कहाँ है?Where is your book? |
| 39 | कैसे | how | तुम यह कैसे करते हो?How do you do this? |
| 40 | क्यों | why | तुम उदास क्यों हो?Why are you sad? |
| 41 | सब | all | सब लोग खुश थे।All the people were happy. |
| 42 | कुछ | something / some | मुझे कुछ पानी चाहिए।I need some water. |
| 43 | बहुत | very / much | यह शहर बहुत बड़ा है।This city is very big. |
| 44 | अच्छा | good | यह खाना बहुत अच्छा है।This food is very good. |
| 45 | बुरा | bad | यह एक बुरा विचार है।This is a bad idea. |
| 46 | बड़ा | big | उसका घर बहुत बड़ा है।His house is very big. |
| 47 | छोटा | small | मेरा कमरा छोटा है।My room is small. |
| 48 | नया | new | उसने एक नया फ़ोन खरीदा।He bought a new phone. |
| 49 | पुराना | old | यह एक पुराना मंदिर है।This is an old temple. |
| 50 | होना | to be | खुश होना ज़रूरी है।It's important to be happy. |
| 51 | करना | to do | मुझे यह काम करना है।I have to do this work. |
| 52 | जाना | to go | हमें अभी जाना चाहिए।We should go now. |
| 53 | आना | to come | उसे यहाँ आना पसंद है।He likes to come here. |
| 54 | देना | to give | कृपया मुझे पानी देना।Please give me water. |
| 55 | लेना | to take | तुम्हें दवा लेना चाहिए।You should take medicine. |
| 56 | कहना | to say | सच कहना हमेशा अच्छा है।It's always good to speak the truth. |
| 57 | देखना | to see | मुझे फ़िल्म देखना पसंद है।I like watching movies. |
| 58 | सुनना | to hear | मुझे संगीत सुनना अच्छा लगता है।I like listening to music. |
| 59 | जानना | to know | मुझे उसका नाम जानना है।I need to know his name. |
| 60 | समझना | to understand | यह सवाल समझना मुश्किल है।This question is hard to understand. |
| 61 | चाहना | to want | हर कोई खुश रहना चाहता है।Everyone wants to stay happy. |
| 62 | मिलना | to meet / get | मुझे कल उससे मिलना है।I have to meet him tomorrow. |
| 63 | रहना | to stay / live | वे मुंबई में रहते हैं।They live in Mumbai. |
| 64 | खाना | to eat / food | बच्चे खाना खा रहे हैं।The children are eating food. |
| 65 | पीना | to drink | मुझे ठंडा पानी पीना है।I want to drink cold water. |
| 66 | काम | work | उसके पास बहुत काम है।He has a lot of work. |
| 67 | समय | time | हमारे पास ज़्यादा समय नहीं है।We don't have much time. |
| 68 | दिन | day | आज एक सुंदर दिन है।Today is a beautiful day. |
| 69 | रात | night | कल रात बहुत ठंड थी।Last night it was very cold. |
| 70 | साल | year | वह हर साल भारत जाता है।He goes to India every year. |
| 71 | घर | house / home | मैं अभी घर जा रहा हूँ।I am going home now. |
| 72 | आदमी | man | वह आदमी बहुत लंबा है।That man is very tall. |
| 73 | औरत | woman | वह औरत बाज़ार में खड़ी है।That woman is standing in the market. |
| 74 | लड़का | boy | वह लड़का फुटबॉल खेल रहा है।That boy is playing football. |
| 75 | लड़की | girl | वह लड़की स्कूल जा रही है।That girl is going to school. |
| 76 | बच्चा | child | बच्चा सो रहा है।The child is sleeping. |
| 77 | माँ | mother | मेरी माँ खाना बना रही है।My mother is cooking food. |
| 78 | पिता | father | मेरे पिता डॉक्टर हैं।My father is a doctor. |
| 79 | दोस्त | friend | वह मेरा सबसे अच्छा दोस्त है।He is my best friend. |
| 80 | पानी | water | कृपया मुझे पानी दो।Please give me water. |
| 81 | किताब | book | यह किताब बहुत दिलचस्प है।This book is very interesting. |
| 82 | स्कूल | school | बच्चे स्कूल जा रहे हैं।The children are going to school. |
| 83 | शहर | city | दिल्ली एक बड़ा शहर है।Delhi is a big city. |
| 84 | देश | country | भारत एक बड़ा देश है।India is a big country. |
| 85 | दुनिया | world | यह दुनिया बहुत बड़ी है।This world is very big. |
| 86 | लोग | people | बहुत सारे लोग वहाँ थे।A lot of people were there. |
| 87 | बात | matter / talk | यह एक ज़रूरी बात है।This is an important matter. |
| 88 | जगह | place | यह एक शांत जगह है।This is a quiet place. |
| 89 | रास्ता | way / road | यह रास्ता स्टेशन तक जाता है।This road leads to the station. |
| 90 | पैसा | money | उसके पास ज़्यादा पैसा नहीं है।He doesn't have much money. |
| 91 | चीज़ | thing | यह कौन सी चीज़ है?What thing is this? |
| 92 | नाम | name | तुम्हारा नाम क्या है?What is your name? |
| 93 | सवाल | question | उसने एक सवाल पूछा।He asked a question. |
| 94 | जवाब | answer | उसने सही जवाब दिया।He gave the right answer. |
| 95 | खुश | happy | मैं आज बहुत खुश हूँ।I am very happy today. |
| 96 | उदास | sad | वह आजकल उदास रहता है।He has been sad these days. |
| 97 | सुंदर | beautiful | यह बगीचा बहुत सुंदर है।This garden is very beautiful. |
| 98 | जल्दी | quickly / early | कृपया जल्दी आओ।Please come quickly. |
| 99 | आज | today | आज मौसम अच्छा है।Today the weather is good. |
| 100 | कल | yesterday / tomorrow | मैं कल आऊँगा।I will come tomorrow. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
आप vs. तुम vs. तू
Hindi has three words for 'you', and they are not interchangeable. आप is formal and respectful, used with elders, strangers, and anyone you want to show respect to. तुम is casual, used with friends and peers, and तू is intimate or, depending on tone, rude, used only with very close family or in anger. Picking the wrong one can sound stiff or disrespectful.
का, के, की agree with the thing owned
Unlike English 'of', these possessive markers change form based on the gender and number of the noun that follows, not the owner. राम का घर (Ram's house, masculine) but राम की किताब (Ram's book, feminine). Get the gender of the possessed noun wrong and the sentence is off even when the meaning is still clear.
The ने marker for past tense
When a transitive verb is in the simple past, Hindi requires the subject to take ने, an ergative-style marker with no real English equivalent. मैंने किताब पढ़ी (I read the book) needs ने, but मैं गया (I went, intransitive) does not. Forgetting ने is one of the most common mistakes English speakers make in Hindi.
है vs. हैं
है is singular, हैं is plural, and the agreement has to match the subject exactly, including honorific plurals used out of respect for a single formal person. वह अच्छा है (he is good) but आप अच्छे हैं (you, formal, are good) even when 'you' refers to just one person.
Matras can change a word entirely
Devanagari vowel signs, called matras, sit above, below, or beside a consonant, and a small change shifts the word completely. कल (kal, yesterday or tomorrow) and काल (kaal, time or death) differ only by a vowel-length mark, so reading the script carefully matters as much as knowing the word itself.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Hindi and following it.