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The truth is, we didn't learn a lot of new words in India. There are many languages spoken in India, and as soon as we'd learn a word in one, we'd be in a place where another was spoken. Officially, there are 18 languages in India, but unofficially there are more than 1,500 languages and dialects. (A dialect is a slight difference in a language, like the difference between the English spoken in Australia, America and England). In India, Hindi is mostly spoken in the north, and Tamil in the south.
Because the British had control in India for about 200 years, English is spoken everywhere. Although British rule came to an end 50 years ago, it is still a popular language in India. It is the language used by their courts. Sometimes Indians even have to speak English to each other to be understood!
Since we were mostly in the north, the words we learned were in Hindi. A teacher we met in Agra wrote them beautifully in her familiar Hindi script, but we had to search together for the letters to make the right sounds in English.
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Hello/Good-bye: Namaste* (Muslims use "salom"*)
Please: Kripya* (or meharbani seh)
Thank you: Dhanyuvad
Excuse me: Maaf* kijiyeh*
Good night: Shubh raat*
Please take tea: Kripya chai* rijie
Song: Crana*
Sing a song: Crana crayie
So nice: Bahut acha
Very beautiful: Bahut sunoler
Sugar: Chini
Milk: Dudh*
How are you? Aap* kaiseh hain?
OK: Acha*
Find the words with the * in the game to the left. Remember that the words can go forward, backward, on a diagonal and straight – but they never bend.
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