Mumbai's many auto rickshaws.
After living in Mumbai for a year and a half now, and constantly using auto rickshaws to get around, I thought I’d pretty much perfected my Hindi communications with the city’s taxi and auto wallas. They seem to understand me just fine, and I can get where ever I need to go (even if I’m not sure of the way!).
However, my view changed after I was in an auto rickshaw with my husband the other day. He told the driver, in Hindi, to stop on the side of the road. I couldn’t understand what he said at all.
Initially, I thought he was just speaking really fast Hindi — which he was. However, even when I got him to repeat the sentence slowly, I still couldn’t figure out its meaning!
So what did he say? Side mein laga dena. The literal word for word translation of this is, “in the side fixed to give”.
It’s a lot different from side se ruko (by the side stop), which is what I would say!
For me, learning Hindi is an on-going battle to stop literally translating how I would say things in English, into Hindi. What really confuses me is that even simple, straight forward sentences are often phrased completely differently in Hindi than English, just like the above example. To me, the Hindi version makes very little sense. Without the assistance of a native speaker, I’d be clueless!
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Pronunciation is my downfall. I can construct the sentence but my execution is terrible. My partner says I’m like a French person using an English accent trying to speak Hindi, and by the look on the walla’s faces I’m sure they would agree. I think it’s a large exaggeration on my speech but I often have to remind him that I’m form Australia where one-syllable words are all the go, Yep, Nah, Mate!!
Oh that’s so funny and true V! The Aussie accent is so hard to overcome. I had terrible problems at the start and was really reluctant to open my mouth!! I knew how bad I sounded and would laugh (partly out of self consciousness) when I spoke, which made it sound even more ridiculous. A friend once told me I sounded like I was savaging the Hindi language. lol. Constantly being around Hindi speakers and becoming familiar with the words has helped a lot though. However, as soon as I get to hear an Aussie accent or speak English freely with with someone who’s not Indian…my dreadful pronunciation then comes back with vengeance!!
Mumbai patois – called Bambaiya isn’t exactly standard textbook Hindi but of course you already know that
Another good one is “आगे जाओ, वहाँ एक बिल्डिंग गिरेगी” – aage jao, wahaan ek building giregi – go further, you’ll find a building there – but they use giregi (will fall) instead of milegi – मिलेगी (will find)!
So true! I was questioning my husband yet again about the meaning of something in Hindi the other night and he didn’t really know. I said to him, can you actually speak Hindi properly? He said, I speak Bombay Hindi.
But, this is great! Some Hindi script as well.
This giregi is a new word for me. I’m familiar with padegi/padna पड़ेगी / पड़ना (lay down), and of course milegi/milna.
I just checked out your blog. It’s in Hindi script too! de Hindi alok nau do gyaarah. nine two eleven? Now I know where to go for some reading practice!
Hindi script
Devanagari – देवनागरी – script
English: Latin script::Russian: Cyrillic:: Hindi/Marathi/Sanskrit:देवनागरी script
Sharell – that is interesting. I like your website, so nice. And best part is that you see things from a different perspective than I have done all my life.
About language, honestly, like any big country, India has its own variation. For example, I used to boast, I can work my way anywhere in India except 4 south states. When I reached Bombay(I still somehow cannot call it Mumbai), few years back, I had a hard time understanding vendors. I would get half of it but never the gist. For example – batata, safarchand etc. Makes you feel better?
The easiest words would be “Yahan rukiye” ,point out the direction with ur hand.U must be familiar wid day(right),bay(left) by now.If u want him to turn to the right,u’ll say:Aage se day taraf ghuma lijiye.
I do sometimes say “yahan rukiye”. Well actually “yahan ruko”, because I’ve become rather impolite living in Bombay.
Oh my gosh, such complicated Hindi for turning right though! I usually just say “aage se right lena”. It’s amazing how many different ways there are of saying something. I get really confused.
This is a beautiful blog portal, I have ever read my kwnoledge. As an outsider you are pretty perfect giving your observations; really like them.. I liked your blog to that extend.. I have spent half of saturday reading lots of articles;
Regarding this blog will say; Indian languages are derived from old language called Sanskrit. Hence most of all indian langugages has 49+ characters in their library as comparison to only 26 in english. So technically if you consider permutation & combination formula Indian laguages will create more number words than English. And looking to different region, different people, different situation anybody can use their prefered phrase or vocabulary for communication… So it is not a complecated language, it is a robust laguage
Hope you will have fun learning this.
When I started learing english; I get surprise & confused when I use “You” to address everybody. But in Indian language it is absolutely differnet. If somebody is elder it is “Aap”, near to your age “Tum” & if other person’s age is less than you or if he is a buddy, it is “Tu”. In Bombay locality some people used to with SLAN version of Hindi.
Have fun… keep us posted with your new discoveries about life
Hi Brajesh, welcome to the blog. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed reading it! Thanks so much for your very kind feedback. It really inspires me to keep writing.
That’s an interesting observation about Indian languages. Hopefully, I’ll get to appreciate the robustness more as my confusion decreases! Slowly, it’s all starting to make sense. And I’m also beginning to realise that although English has less letters in its alphabet, it’s a particularly confusing language for people to learn. At least Hindi is a phonetic language.
Dear Sir,
please make small sentences in hindi while going for shopping in groceries ,vegetables shop and purchase of general items.Because, i don’t know Hindi.
I want to learn it in deep.Please help me to speak hindi fluently.If there is any site offering free e-books, please give that url.
MG Ramalingam
superb blog.
Sid mein laga dena would be more correctly translated as ‘Keep it to the (road)-side’, which is an idiomatic Mumbaiyya expression.
My Chinese gf has been trying to learn Hindi herself; sadly, like your husband, I excel only in _dialectal_ Hindi, the Hyderabadi flavour to be precise, and I fear my gf could be speaking more grammatically-correct than me pretty soon.
http://bambaiyya.wordpress.com/
Hi Sharell,
I conduct Hindi Language course designed for Expatriates in Mumbai. I would greatly appreciate if you could let me know if any of your friend including yourself would like to join. My contact Number is 9619355705. And my email address is dhirendra.ukarde@gmail.com. Thanx.
Hi Sharell
please do not publish my email!
I’m enjoying your blog. I’m amazed how well you are coping and have adjusted to your new situation. The thing that really blows me away is how willing you are to take on the local habits and customs. Some of the things you mentioned, I could not do. eg. I would not be thrillled to make my husband’s lunch every day and I would resist not calling my husband by his name and I would not like to be called “wife” or whatever you get called. And the feet kissing things makes my skin crawl. I recently learnt that there is no way I could become an Indian wife. I am not flexible enough.
But on to the topic at hand, I’ve just got home from India and am trying to learn hindi too. Progress is slow. However, I started to notice the sort of thing you mention – how the indians have an utterly different way of putting a sentence together that a straight translation doesn’t work. You are lucky you have someone to learn the usual phrases from. But i guess the thing is, so long as people can understand you, you are doing pretty well.
About the respect given you and not your husband, what i’ve noticed about indians is that they show little respect to those below in the hierarchy. Its not about you at all. (Though you might know that). It’s just about him and whoever it is he’s in communication with. If he’s younger, he will get less respect. He is has less authority, he will get less respect. I guess it would grate on your nerves but i suspect your husband is used to it and accepts it.
Manners make a difference…….. in all languages.
Your husband said “Side mein laga dena” and generally it meant “park on the side”
You use “side se ruko” and it also means “park on the side”
more mannered : Aage side pe rok dijye
Rckshawalla would love to hear : kinare pe rok dijyega
Hi! I have just come across this blog and as a Hindi learner living in UK I do find it interesting.
I just wanted to make something clear with regards to hindi grammar in this context. Here you translated ‘dena’ part of the verb, but in this context it would not be translated. You see this is a compound verb. There is the verb ‘lagana’, in the stem form, then dena. Both lena (take) and dena (give) can be used to ‘flavour’ a verb (when attached to the stem of a verb), but would not alter the english translation:
lena – there is a benefit in the given action to the performer of the action.
dena – there is a benefit in the given flowing AWAY from the performer of the action.
I hope this helps
Thanks for your help, John! Compound verbs are the bane of my existence in the Hindi speaking world.
I’m only just starting to properly get the hang of their use now (probably a year after I wrote that post!). And “lagana” and its uses is a whole separate challenge for me! I was warned by my husband not to say “niche lagao” to the carpenter when he came to hang something downstairs, because it can be interpreted in a whole different (and crude) context. 
Hello!
Your Blog is very interesting, I just came across it on the web today.
I am an expat as well from the US. My husband and I just moved here 4 months ago for work. I have been visting Mumbai since I was a kid and lived here for a few years as a child so culture wise, its not much of a shock. But I do agree with you that life is much tougher and sometimes the simplest things are tedious and cumbersome. I am used to living an independent life in the US where things can be done with convenience. Even with helpers, I feel like India is somehow is tougher. I feel like the helpers are harder to manage and following up with them and making sure stuff is done is ironically tougher than doing stuff myself back in the US. Not to mention we have home later here, I prefer getting to work early and getting home earlier.
Hi Siddhi, I agree managing staff is tough (I only have a maid who comes every second day to do the floors for that very reason). And the loss of autonomy is really difficult to deal with. All these things are hard to understand if you haven’t experienced them. Many people think the idea of having a driver is wonderful… but having to call someone and rely on someone every time you want to go somewhere. I would much prefer to get in my car and drive myself (unfortunately, I have neither option here — so it’s rickshaws for me!).
Hi, Sharell!
Just stumbled by your bog and found it fascinating, to say the least.
Wow! You have had an adventurous life so far….
In Mumbai, no one speaks proper ‘Hindi’ or ‘English’ or ‘Marathi’ or ‘Konkani.’
Its a ‘bhel’ of all three.
The “Side ko lagana” phrase is a literal translation from the original Marathi way of saying “Side (English, obiviously) la / madhe lav (= lagana in Hindi).
There are other phrases also….
Like the popular one “Vaat lag gayi.”
The original Marathi phrase is “Vaatola jhala.” Vatola = A Circle, which, well, looks like a zero. So it means, “Fortunes turned to zero….”
Now that “la” in “Vaatola” is not your usual Hindi “ल” as in “lagaya” but the more irritating Marathi variant “ळ”. This figure of eight hanging innocently has been a cause of frustration to many non-Marathi students in school studying Marathi. It appears at unexpected places and is mighty difficult to pronounce.
Anyway, my point being that probably due to these reasons, the word has been cut to the more popular “Vaat”.
Then, it became the Hindi phrase “Vaat lag gayi, yaar!” or Marathi “Vaat lagli!”