100 Most Common Hindi Words Every Beginner Should Know

Here's a fact that changes how you approach Hindi: just 100 words make up roughly 50% of all everyday Hindi conversation. Learn these 100 words and you'll go from understanding nothing to catching the gist of most basic Hindi exchanges.

This list is organized by category, with Devanagari script, romanized pronunciation, and English meaning for each word. Bookmark this page — you'll come back to it often.

Pronouns (सर्वनाम)

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
1	मैं	main	I
2	तुम	tum	you (informal)
3	आप	aap	you (formal)
4	वह	voh	he / she / that
5	यह	yeh	this
6	हम	hum	we
7	वे	ve	they
8	कोई	koi	someone / anyone
9	कुछ	kuch	something / some
10	सब	sab	all / everyone

Question Words (प्रश्नवाचक शब्द)

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
11	क्या	kya	what
12	कौन	kaun	who
13	कहाँ	kahaan	where
14	कब	kab	when
15	कैसे	kaise	how
16	क्यों	kyon	why
17	कितना	kitna	how much / how many

Essential Verbs (क्रियाएँ)

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
18	है	hai	is
19	हूँ	hoon	am
20	हैं	hain	are
21	था / थी	tha / thi	was
22	करना	karna	to do
23	होना	hona	to be / to happen
24	जाना	jaana	to go
25	आना	aana	to come
26	खाना	khaana	to eat / food
27	पीना	peena	to drink
28	देना	dena	to give
29	लेना	lena	to take
30	बोलना	bolna	to speak
31	सुनना	sunna	to listen
32	देखना	dekhna	to see / to look
33	समझना	samajhna	to understand
34	चाहना	chaahna	to want
35	जानना	jaanna	to know
36	रहना	rehna	to stay / to live
37	सोचना	sochna	to think
38	पढ़ना	padhna	to read / to study
39	लिखना	likhna	to write
40	सीखना	seekhna	to learn
41	चलना	chalna	to walk / to move
42	मिलना	milna	to meet / to find

Common Nouns (संज्ञा)

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
43	पानी	paani	water
44	खाना	khaana	food
45	घर	ghar	house / home
46	काम	kaam	work
47	दिन	din	day
48	रात	raat	night
49	समय	samay	time
50	लोग	log	people
51	बात	baat	thing / matter / talk
52	जगह	jagah	place
53	आदमी	aadmi	man / person
54	औरत	aurat	woman
55	बच्चा	bachcha	child
56	दोस्त	dost	friend
57	पैसा	paisa	money
58	नाम	naam	name
59	देश	desh	country
60	शहर	shehar	city
61	रास्ता	raasta	road / way
62	दुकान	dukaan	shop

Adjectives (विशेषण)

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
63	अच्छा	achha	good
64	बुरा	bura	bad
65	बड़ा	bada	big
66	छोटा	chhota	small
67	नया	naya	new
68	पुराना	purana	old (things)
69	ज़्यादा	zyada	more / too much
70	कम	kam	less
71	सही	sahi	correct / right
72	ग़लत	galat	wrong

Time Words (समय शब्द)

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
73	आज	aaj	today
74	कल	kal	yesterday / tomorrow
75	अभी	abhi	right now
76	बाद में	baad mein	later
77	पहले	pehle	before / earlier
78	हमेशा	hamesha	always
79	कभी	kabhi	sometimes / ever
80	फिर	phir	then / again

Connectors and Essential Words

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
81	और	aur	and
82	या	ya	or
83	लेकिन	lekin	but
84	क्योंकि	kyonki	because
85	अगर	agar	if
86	तो	to	then / so
87	भी	bhi	also / too
88	सिर्फ़	sirf	only
89	बहुत	bahut	very / a lot
90	थोड़ा	thoda	a little

Everyday Expressions

#	Hindi	Pronunciation	English
91	हाँ	haan	yes
92	नहीं	nahin	no / not
93	ठीक	theek	okay / fine
94	नमस्ते	namaste	hello
95	धन्यवाद	dhanyavaad	thank you
96	शुक्रिया	shukriya	thank you (casual)
97	माफ़ कीजिए	maaf kijiye	sorry / excuse me
98	चलो	chalo	let's go
99	बस	bas	enough / that's it
100	अच्छा	achha	okay / I see (conversational filler)

How to Use This List Effectively

Don't try to memorize all 100 words at once. Here's a practical approach:

Week 1: Words 1-25 (pronouns, question words, basic verbs). These are the structural backbone of every sentence.
Week 2: Words 26-50 (more verbs + common nouns). Now you can build real sentences: मैं पानी चाहता हूँ (I want water), वह घर जा रहा है (He is going home).
Week 3: Words 51-75 (nouns, adjectives, time words). Your sentences get richer: आज मौसम बहुत अच्छा है (Today the weather is very good).
Week 4: Words 76-100 (connectors, expressions). Now you can link thoughts: मैं जाना चाहता हूँ लेकिन अभी नहीं (I want to go but not right now).

Pro tip: Learn each word in Devanagari from the start, not just the romanization. It takes slightly more effort now but saves you months later.

What 100 Words Gets You

With these 100 words, you can:

Introduce yourself and ask basic questions
Order food and drinks
Ask for directions and prices
Express basic needs and preferences
Understand the gist of simple Hindi conversations
Follow basic Bollywood dialogue (with some gaps)

You won't be fluent — but you'll be functional. And that's a massive leap from zero.

Ready for the Next 100?

Indilingo's structured Hindi course takes you from these basics to full conversations through interactive lessons, AI-powered practice, and pronunciation feedback. Learn at your pace, from your mother tongue.

Download Indilingo for free on the Google Play Store and start building your Hindi vocabulary today.