Hindi
Americannoun
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the most widely spoken of the modern Indic vernaculars, especially its best-known variety, Western Hindi.
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a literary language derived from Hindustani, used by Hindus.
noun
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a language or group of dialects of N central India. It belongs to the Indic branch of the Indo-European family and is closely related to Urdu See also Hindustani
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a formal literary dialect of this language, the official language of India, usually written in Nagari script
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a person whose native language is Hindi
Etymology
Origin of Hindi
First recorded in 1790–1800; from Hindi, Urdu, equivalent to Persian Hind, Hindu (compare Sanskrit Sindhu “river,” specifically the Indus river, with the extended sense “region of the Indus; Sind”) + -ī a suffix indicating relationship or origin; replacing Hinduee, from Persian Hinduī; see also Sind
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Recordings, paintings, manuscripts and more reveal how songs in Persian, Urdu, Classical Hindi and Punjabi spread throughout the Mughal Empire and across the network of the East India Company from the 16th century onward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Pradhan announced his resignation on X in a post in Hindi saying he "respected the aspirations, dreams, and expectations of the youth" and was "pained by the events" of the past few days.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
"I have sent my resignation letter to the prime minister," Pradhan said in his letter in Hindi.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
Prabhujyot Singh told BBC Hindi that his son called him during the fire and said: "Papa, there's a fire. Save me, I'm trapped inside."
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
As soon as Mr. Rao introduced himself as calling from an Indian software firm, the U.S. executive said to him, “Namaste,” a common Hindi greeting.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
