Hindi

American  

[hin-dee] / ˈhɪn di /

noun

1. the most widely spoken of the modern Indic vernaculars, especially its best-known variety, Western Hindi.

2. a literary language derived from Hindustani, used by Hindus.

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Hindi British  

/ ˈhɪndɪ /

noun

1. 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

2. a formal literary dialect of this language, the official language of India, usually written in Nagari script

3. a person whose native language is Hindi

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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; Sind

Compare meaning

How does hindi compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Urdu vs. Hindi
• Hindi vs. Hindu
• Sanskrit vs. Hindi

Example Sentences

Called 120 Bahadur – Hindi for brave hearts – the film tells the story of Indian soldiers who fought valiantly to defend the Rezang La pass in the freezing Himalayan mountains of Ladakh.

From BBC

It also played renditions of other popular Hindi melodies.

From BBC

"People were making jokes and memes and it felt very wrong," Mr Rajput told BBC Hindi from his home in Jabalpur.

From BBC

Khan has spent more than three decades in the Hindi film industry and reinvented himself from being an actor to running a major production house and owning a cricket team.

From BBC

Over time, Hindi, the predominant north Indian language, has become more widely understood across the country.

From The Wall Street Journal