Languages

Major Languages of India: Hindi, Tamil, Urdu
National Language: Hindi
Mother of All Languages: Sanskrit
Most Spoken Language: Hindi, English

There are 16 main languages in India, but there is no single language whose roots are purely Indian. Being a vast country which has absorbed its conquerors, India speaks with a different tongue wherever you go. It has become the home of numerous races and communities which came here to settle never to return. They chalked out certain parts of the country and thus established different linguistic zones. Thus, this vast nation has as many languages as there are races and communities. The number of states have their boundaries marked on the basis of the language spoken there.

Common Idioms, Words and Phrases:
There are 16 main languages in India, but there is no single language which can be said to be 'Indian'. Being a vast country which has absorbed who so ever came here; numerous races and communities came and settled. Each one had differnt language and from other and they settled in different parts of the country. Thus, this vast nation has as many languages as much there are races and communities. number of states have their boundaries marked on the basis of the language spoken there.

The number dialects are even more confusing and at times lead to misunderstanding. In general it can be said that hindi is one langfuage which is spoken and understood by more than half the Indian population. But it is English which is most widely spoken and understood. One can say that even after half century of Independence English continues to be the contact language in India. It is very easy to get around India with English -- fater all many Indians have to speak English to each other if they wish to communicate. Nevertheless it is always better to know at least a little of local language. Here are listed few common words and phrases in Hindi :

English	Hindi
Where is the Hotel (tourist office)?	Hotal (turist afis) Kahan hai?
How far is ....?	......kitni dur hai?
How do I get to ......	.....ko jane ke liye kaise jana parega?
Hello, goodbye	Namaste
What is your name?	apka shubh nam?
yes / no	han / nahin
please	meharbani se
What is the time?	Kya baja hai
thank you	shukriya, dhanyawad
come here	yahan ao
how much?	kitne paise
show me the menu	mujhe minu dikhao
this is expensive	yeh bahut mehnga hai
the bill please	bill lao
big	bara
small	chota
today	aaj
day	din
night	rat
week	saptah
month	mahina
year	sal

English	Hindi
medicine	dawa
ice	baraf
egg	anda
fruits	phal
vegetables	sabzi
water	pani
rice	chawal
tea	chai
coffee	kafi
milk	dudh
sugar	chini
butter	makkhan
prize	inam
tobacco	tambaku

Numbers
1	ek
2	do
3	tin
4	char
5	panch
6	chhe
7	sat
8	ath
9	nau
10	das
100	sau
1000	hazar
100,000	lakh
10,000,000	crore

Thar Desert	Kerala Backwaters
Ajanta Ellora Caves	Goa Beaches
Corbett Park	Himalayas
Khajuraho

Taj Mahal	Elephanta Caves
Fathehpur Sikri	Agra Fort
Konark Temple	Qutub Minar

Adventure	Ayurveda
Architecture	Beaches
Arts and Crafts	Festivals
Pilgrimage	Heritage

Agra	Delhi
Jaipur	Mumbai
Bangalore	Kerala
Goa

Varanasi	Hyderabad
Lucknow	Konark

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